Flashes Wrestlers have strong showing against Nordoff in League Match

On Wednesday 1/18/12 the Flashes hosted Nordoff for a League Wrestling Match. After a strong showing at Chaminade the Flashes looked focused yet loose and relaxed for the 5:00 PM match up. The evening started with 3 JV matches and came away with 2 wins and 1 loss. Jonathon Minero, recovering from an injury, stepped back into the ring and won on points. Andrew Bonilla, a freshman, gave it his all but ultimately pinned by his opponent. Alexis Ramirez matched up against a Nordoff’s lone female wrestler and was able to pin her in the 2nd period.

Varsity wrestling started off at the 126 pound weight category. Reporting for Fillmore was Micah Chumley who won by forfeit. Team Captain Robert Bonilla came out fast and strong overwhelming his opponent quickly showing his aggressive technique. Bonilla won by pin. Mark “the man behind the mask” Zavala, also a Team Captain, went into the 3rd period and found his opportunity to pin his man for the win. Alex Rivera won by points in what was the lowest match score of the night 2 – 0. Rudolfo Lopez wrestled well but was pinned by his opponent. Gilbert Murillo a relatively new wrestler gave it 100% and was able to make correction during the match while Coaches Ponce and Estrada calling in the moves, but he was ultimately pinned by Nordoff. Joseph “Beast” DeLaMora showed his sheer physical dominance and pinned his man for the win. Michael Castro lost by pin in the 2nd period. George Orozco won by forfeit. Sammy “They Bull” Orozco, Team Captain, put on a points clinic and decided to win by technical default rather than by pin as is his usual preference. Marco Vega, Team Captain, won by forfeit as did David Cadena. Nic Stehly and freshman on the Varsity Team, lost to a Senior from Nordoff but not before showing great promise. Joseph Rojas, a freshman for the Flashes, also lost by pin.

The final match score was Fillmore 44 – Nordoff 30.

Next week Fillmore hosts two matches. On Tuesday 1/24/12 LA Baptist travels to Fillmore for a 5:00 start time. This match will be held in the High School Gym.

On 1/25/12 the Santa Paula Cardinals travel to Fillmore. This match will be held in the Middle School Gym. Santa Paula has been the reigning league champions for 3 years in a row. The Flashes fielding a full squad hopes to change that record this year. If can only see one Flashes Wrestling Match this year this will be the one you’ll want to see. Come prepared because this will be off the hook good.

On Saturday 1/7/12 the Flashes traveled to Chaminade High School in North Hills for the annual Chaminade Tournament. Chaminade always hosts a great tournament which is attended by big wrestling schools such as St. John Bosco and Bishop Alemany. After Saturday’s matches the Flashes can be added to the list of tough wrestling schools.
The Flashes fielded both JV and Varsity team for the match. Coach Calderon and Coach Ponce split their efforts with Coach Calderon taking the Lady Flashes to the Santa Paula All Girls Tournament. Coach Ponce had his hands full running both JV and Varsity squads, but as always Coach Ponce delivered the goods.
Standout JV Flashes wrestlers include: Nic Stehly at 113 pounds who took 1st place, David Cadena at 106 took 2nd place, George Orozco wrestled at 195 and took 1st place, Cameron Riley wrestled at 220 pounds and took 2nd place and Andy Vasquez matched up in the heavyweight division and came home with a 1st place. Great job JV Flashes.

As for the Varsity they meant business and they let their wrestling speak for them.
Robert Bonilla, Flashes Team Captain, wrestled at 138 pounds and went 5 – 0, with 4 pins and 1 bye, taking 1st place. He was voted on by all Coaches and was awarded Tournament Middle Weight MVP.
Sammy “The Bull” Orozco wrestled at 220 pounds and took 1st place with a record of 5 – 0, 4 by pin and 1 bye. Sam missed being awarded Tournament Heavy weight MVP by one vote.
Joseph DeLaMora wrestled at 170 pounds and took 1st with 3pins and 2 byes.
Mark Zavala took 2nd place with a record of 4-1, 3 wins by pin, 1 by points.

The Lady Flashes wrestled at the Santa Paula All Girls Tournament on Saturday. If you’re not aware of it the sport of wrestling is exploding with girls taking up the sport. Schools from as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Maria were in attendance. The Flashes have 9 female wrestlers in the program this year, unfortunately only 6 were able to attend the tournament. The wrestling was fierce and very competitive. Felicity Zavala placed 5th in her weight category. Blanca and Brenda both had 2 wins and Megan and Daisy were unable to get a win but got lots of mat time and gain valuable experience.

Stay tuned for video highlights of the tournament.

Upcoming Matches:
Thursday 1/12/12: Flashes travel to New Jewish Community 4:00 PM

Friday and Saturday 1/13 & 14: Flashes travel to Palmdale for the Highland 10 way.
Action starts promptly at 1:00 PM on Friday and 9:00 AM on Saturday.

Saturday 1/13/12: JV travel to Hueneme for a JV 10 Way. 9:00 AM.

(l-r) Coach Ponce, Marco Vega (heavyweight took seventh place), Coach Cal, Robert Bonilla (132 lbs took third place), and Coach Froggy. It's been over ten years since a Fillmore wrestler placed at this tournament. There were over 20 schools participating.
Enlarge Photo

Fillmore Flashes Senior Robert Bonilla earns a bronze medal at the Gold Coast Classic.
Bonilla wrestled at 132 pounds and had a record of 3 wins, 1 loss. Bonilla won his first round with a Bye, due to tournament seeding. In his second match he pinned his opponent. Bonilla was pinned in his third round match for his only loss. Bonilla tech'ed his fourth round opponent with a score of 16 - 1. Outstanding performance by Bonilla.

Marco Vega, wrestling in the Heavy Weight Class, earned 7th place in the tournament.

Stay tuned for Match Highlight footage, coming soon.

Correction: The Gold Coast Classic is a one day tournament, not two day as previously reported.

The Annual Gold Coast Classic wrestling tournament begins today, 11/20. This is a two day individuals style tournament. Lose two and you're out. Historically this is where toughness is measured and wrestler grit is determined. Good luck to all the Flashes participating in the Gold Coast. Stay tuned for video highlights.

Go Flashes!

Video highlights, from the Flashes versus Fremont wrestling match. Film supplied by Jorge Bonilla.

Fillmore Wrestling 12 14 11 Match Highlights

Fillmore Wrestling 12 14 11 Fastest Pin

Fillmore Wrestling 12 14 11 Match of the Night

On 12/13/11 the Flashes hosted Fremont for the Flashes first home wrestling match of the 2011/12 season. Under the watchful eyes of Coach Calderon, Ponce and Penzato the Flashes protected their home mat against Fremont. The Varsity Flashes came out on top with a final score of 51 – 30 over Fremont. Nice work Flashes! Match videos will be uploaded soon, stay tuned to the Flashes Wrestling Blog.
132 Micah Chumley beat his opponent on points.
138 Robert Bonilla pinned his opponent.
145 Mark Zavala won by pin.
152 Alex Rivera also won by pin.
170 Joseph DeLaMora won on points.
220 Sammy Orozco won by pin.
Heavyweight Marco Vega won by pin.
Fillmore won the following weight classes by forfeit: 106 and 112
Flashes “Fastest Pin” goes to Heavyweight Marco Vega for pinning his opponent within 60 seconds. At weigh-ins Marco gave up 13 pounds to a heavier opponent, but that didn’t seem to slow Vega down one bit. Great work Marco for getting it done quickly.
Prior to the Varsity match several JV Wrestlers took to the mat. Coach Calderon reported that Lilly Duran really came out prepared to wrestle and awarded her the “Flashes Standout Match of the Night”. “Lilly is relatively new to wrestling and is building on her skills… tonight she used her basic wrestling skills to control her opponent… I am really proud of her effort” said Coach Calderon. Unfortunately the Flashes lost the JV Match against Fremont.
Up Next: Flashes travel to Channel Islands for the Channel Island 10 Way on Friday and Saturday. Flashes, go represent!

Flashes Wrestlers earn GOLD and SILVER at Camarillo 10 Way Tournament

On December 9 - 10, the Fillmore Flashes traveled to Camarillo to compete in the Camarillo 10 Way Tournament. This is the first large tournament to kick off the Flashes wrestling season. For new wrestlers, this may be the first experience walking into a gym with 6 mats packed with wrestlers and coaches and stands packed with parents and fans. The atmosphere is loud and, at first, seems rather chaotic with matches going off randomly, whistles blowing, coaches coaching and wrestlers encouraging their teammates. It can be overwhelming and intimidating to the uninitiated. For the seasoned wrestlers, this is where they want to be. All the gym time, all the practice, all the mat time, and all the video watching leads up to this point; match time. Some of the Flashes have been here before. They know what to expect and they know the work that lies before them. For new Flashes wrestlers, this is an opportunity to be tried and tested, to compete, and to learn and grow.
A full squad is comprised of 14 wrestlers. Team points are tallied by combining the score of each individual wrestler. Each individual wrestler earns a win/loss record at each tournament in their respective weight class. This allows both school and individual to be ranked. For the Camarillo 10 Way the Flashes fielded the following squad.
Weight Class / Wrestler Name / Tournament Record (wins –loss)
106 David Cadena 4-6
113 Nick Stehly 1-9
120 Joseph Rojas 3-7
126 Micah Chumley 5-5 (2 pins)
132 Forfeited class
138 Robert Bonilla 9-1, (7 pins, 2 decision)
145 Forfeited class
152 Mark Zavala 2-8
160 Alex Rivera 5-5, (3 fault pins)
171 Jonathon Munoz 1-9
182 Forfeited class
195 Michael Castro 5-5
220 Sam Orozaco 10-0. (9 pins)
HW Marco Vega 9-1, (9 pins)

As a team, the Flashes were victorious over the following schools: Rio Mesa 48-33, San Luis Obisbo 39-33, and Harvard Westlake 39-36. As a team the Flashes lost to Pacific 54-22, Centennial 69-6, Pioneer 62-18, Thousand Oaks 60-24, Camarillo 51-27 and Ayala 42-30. The Flashes tied in their match with San Marcos 42-42.

After two days of wrestling, the following Flashes earned Gold and Silver Individual medals for their efforts:
Sam Orozco, wrestling at 220 pound, was perfect with 10 wins and 0 losses. 9 of Orozco’s wins were by pin. This level of effort earned Sam “The Bull” 1st place in the 220 lbs weight class.
Robert Bonilla , wrestling at 138 pound, ended up with a 9-1 record. He earned 2nd place in his class. Robert’s loss was to a California State Masters competitor. At the end of three periods of wrestling it came down to points, 5-2.
Marco Vega, wrestling Heavy Weight Class, earned 2nd place with a 9-1 overall record. All of Marco’s wins were by pin. It’s worth noting that Marco is “wrestling up” and is giving up 50 pounds in some cases to his opponents.

When asked what this week has in store for the Flashes, Coach Calderon explained,
“Some of wrestlers, like Mark Zavala, will be able to move to their normal weight class. Once that happens I expect to see great things…Mark’s results this past weekend do not reflect his wrestling ability and talent; I expect great things from him and our other wrestlers… This will be an exciting season once we fill out all the weight classes and stop giving up team points due to forfeits”.

On Wednesday, 12/14/11, Freemont will travel to Fillmore for a Flashes home match. JV Matches will begin at 5:00 PM with Varsity Matches immediately following. Come on out and support the Flashes Wrestling Team!

I checked in with Coach on 12/9/11 and he was very excited to report that he’s brought in a real “Technician” for the Flashes to learn from. I was introduced to Ian Penzato and had the opportunity to see his instruction to the Fillmore Flashes Mat Rats. Coach Penzato wrestled at Lincoln College in Illinois but was unable to make the final team due injury. When asked about his wrestling career he was upbeat and said “even though I didn’t make the final team due to a severe knee injury I am proud to say that wrestling go me to college”. For those that are unaware wrestling is THE sport back east. If you are on your High School Varsity Team people in town know who you are and they support you. The stands are filled to capacity for matches, weekly local access TV shows are produced which highlight wrestling, the wrestlers themselves and what to expect at the next match. Coach Penzato said “I hope to be able to teach the Flashes a few things and ramp up wrestling in Fillmore”. Coach Calderon continues to find a way to elevate wrestling at Fillmore High School and the addition of Coach Penzato to his staff should yield great results for the Flashes. Also on the mat tonight was Coach Ponce who is assisted by Flashes alumni and well respected wrestler, now MMA fighter, Jose “Froggy” Estrada.
When I asked the Coach who is looking solid at this point in the season Coach Cal said “Robert Bonillo is wrestling with a lot of intensity this year, he’s like a tiger on the mat, really aggressive and focused”. “Mark Zavala is our “Technician” this year and has a lot of moves in his arsenal” said Calderon. “I’m just really excited about what I’m seeing from all the Flashes wrestlers this year”. Based upon the amount of sweat on the backs of the squad at 7:15 PM I think we all should look forward to what the Flashes Wrestlers achieve this season.

12/9/11 the Flashes travel to Camarillo for the Camarillo 10 Way Tournament two day tournament. The Flashes brought home several gold medals last year and they hope to better that this season. Go Flashes!

On 12/7/11 the Flashes made the trek to Santa Ynez for the midweek match. Coach Calderon was excited and upbeat about the performance turned in by his wrestlers. The match final score was Santa Ynez 53 – Fillmore 30. Last year Fillmore earned a total of 6 points against Santa Ynez. 2011 is looking good for us” said Coach Cal. Winning by pin against Santa Ynez was, Robert Bonilla 138 pounds, Jonathon Minero 145 pounds, Mark Zavala 152 pounds, George Orozco 195 pounds and Sam Orozco 220 pounds. “The score doesn’t do justice to the level that Fillmore wrestled at.” “We either won by pin or lost by pin and we forfeited at 132 pounds, so I’m pleased with what they did” said Coach Cal. “The ones we lost by pin it comes boils down to technique. We’ve got some freshmen in our lineup and they’re learning and coming along really well”.