Hawaii trip builds Ponderosa unity
By John Parker - Bee Staff Writer

Rather than spend a chilly New Year's holiday in Sacramento, some Ponderosa High School wrestlers and coaches rang in 2007 in Hawaii.

It's OK to be envious, most of the area wrestling community is, albeit for different reasons.

The Bruins have two wrestlers ranked in the top two in the state -- Justin Durham is second at 125 pounds and Justin Danz third (171) -- and have run off a recent string of strong performances.

Durham took a silver medal at the massive Reno Tournament of Champions two weeks ago, and Danz was third. Then the Bruins went 8-0 in duals -- they won 77 of 100 individual matches -- at the Ioloni Invitational in Honolulu. Then came Wednesday night when Ponderosa demolished Union Mine 76-0 in the teams' Sierra Valley Conference opener.

"This is one of our rivals -- of course we wanted to wrestle well," co-coach and athletic director Tyson Escobar said.

Escobar and co-coach Soren Murphy credit the Bruins' recent success to bonding, and a greater sense of team unity especially nurtured by the trip to Hawaii.

The Ponderosa team wrestled for two days in the tournament and spent another four sightseeing, and performed team-building exercises, including snorkeling and hiking to the top of Diamond Head.

"Wrestling is such a grueling sport," said Escobar, who once donned a green singlet for Ponderosa, "You have to make it fun sometimes too."

Though the Bruins are hot, it is the end of the season Escobar and Murphy have their eyes on. Ponderosa is the three-time defending Division II section champion and is traditionally in that hunt. The Bruins have won the section championship 11 of the past 13 years. They regularly produce state championship qualifiers as well.

"Winning is in our kids' blood," Escobar said.

To be ready to maintain that kind of dominance, Murphy and Escobar devised a schedule whereby their wrestlers face stiff competition while staying fresh.

After a grinding tournament season and tough league schedule, the Bruins will have a week off in early February to keep them fresh for the remainder of the season.

"We want to be at our best at the end of the season," Murphy said.