The Bear Cubs were strong in the first two meets, winning them both by sizeable margins. They won 45-12 against Shasta College, then 35-23 on the same day against Delta College Sep. 13.
The third meet, Sept. 20, the Bear Cubs placed fourth, with Richard Morris at 141 pounds, went 4-0, with three pins.
In the next two meets, the Bear Cubs’ results weren’t as good, though individual results shined. On Oct. 3 they tied Chabot College 24-24, which saw Greg Robinson, 174 pounds, improve his record to 7-2, and lead the team with six pins. Morris remained undefeated with a 7-0 record and five pins. Quintton Bowlds, 285 pounds, improved his record to 8-1.
On Oct. 8, the Bear Cubs’ first loss came against Skyline College, losing 19-22. Morris kept his undefeated streak, increasing his record to 8-0.
The Bear Cubs finished fifth and sixth place at the Modesto Tournament Oct. 11 and the North Duals Oct. 18.
The next meet saw a different outcome. On Oct. 22, the Bear Cubs were shutout 0-53, with no pins or matchup wins.
The next week, the Bear Cubs placed tenth at the Lassen Tournament in Reno. Fred Duerr, 197 pounds, placed fourth, while Bowlds and Uriah Morgan respectively finished fifth in their classes.
The Bear Cubs bounced back Nov. 5 with a 33-21 win against Modesto College in Modesto.
In the Sac Duals on Nov. 15, the Bear Cubs faced three schools. They went 3-45 against Simpson University, 7-40 against Sacramento City College and 42-10 against Shasta College.
Seven days later on Nov. 22 in the Coast Conference Championships they placed third. Duerr was named the Coast Conference Champion with two pins at the event.
“It was awesome, the hard work paid off,” Duerr said.
Up next for the Bear Cubs is the North Regional Championships Dec. 6 at Chabot College, which will determine who moves on to the state championships.
“I’m pretty nervous about it, but I think I’m ready,” Duerr said. “I’ve been working hard and what I have to do now is just wrestle my hardest.”
The top six in each class qualify for the big showdown.
“Some of the guys are beat up and dealing with nagging injuries,” head coach Jake Fitzpatrick said. “They have worked hard and they are as ready as they can be heading into the big tournaments.”
Fitzpatrick expects five or six guys to qualify for the state tournament. He also believes with any luck they’ll also have two or three guys with a chance of medaling/placing in the top eight at state.
“Richard Morris at 141, Greg Robinson at 174, Fred Duerr at 197 and Quintton Bolwds at 285 have the best chances based on their season to date performances,” Fitzpatrick said.
The state championships are at Dec. 12-13 at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo.
