Jan. 5, 2007 - Bruin wrestlers pin D'backs with a shutout EL DORADO - As a youngster Jesse Routsong dug around in the gravel behind the dugout while his older brother Jeff played in Little League games. Now, the two are book ends - Jesse at 103 pounds and Jeff the heavyweight - for Ponderosa High's once-again highly successful wrestling program that dominated host Union Mine Wednesday by the score of 76-0. While the Bruins rolled in the Sierra Valley Conference dual meet, the Routsong siblings didn't have it so easy. Jeff, wrestling last, yielded 58 pounds to his Diamondback opponent while Jesse, in the varsity opening match, trailed 6-1 after the first period. Both came through with pins, which contributed a third of Ponderosa's team total. Combined with three Diamondback forfeits, two technical falls and a win awarded to the Bruins on amassed rule violations, Union Mine stood little chance to compete on the scoreboard. “Our kids wrestled really well. Union Mine is a rival school so that's always incentive for the team to do well,” Bruin co-head coach Tyson Escobar said. Ponderosa was fresh off its first place showing at the 20-team Iolani Invitational in Hawaii. The Bruins wrestled 100 bouts in the islands, going 77-23 and defeating Lake Arrowhead's Rim of the World 55-12 in the finals before taking in some snorkeling and a hike to Diamond Head. Wednesday against the D'backs, Jesse, from “down the hill” wrestled his “up the hill” buddy Evan Barba. Barba tallied two takedowns and a near fall in the first but Jesse rallied in the second with a head and leg tilt 39 seconds in. Tanner Bell (112) posted a third-period pin of David Shackelford and after Travis Brown's 17-1 tech win in the 119 braclet over Brenton Wilde, Ponderosa was up 17-0. Ryan Meniketti (125) followed with a 4-zip decision of Aaron DeKalb, holding DeKalb down the final two minutes before Bruin Robbie Bell (130) took the first of the three UM forfeits. The others went to Brett Blubaugh (152) and Justin Danz (189). Every Bruin wrestled up a weight. Justin Durham (135), who placed second at the tough Reno Tournament of Champions tourney, stacked Nick DeKalb on his shoulders for a pin 59 seconds into their match. “I used a cradle. I took him down and he turned into me with his knee up which is the perfect cradle position,” said Durham, whose goal for his senior season is to be a state champion. Jace Miller (140) was in the closest fight. He led D'back Aaron Casper 6-1 but Casper tallied the next four points to pull within one late in the third. With 10 seconds left and Casper desperately trying to escape Miller's hold, Miller scored a three-point nearfall for a 9-5 win as time expired. In the 145 bracket, Bruin Jordan Haley turned two takedowns into a first-period pin of Adam Scott while Nick Gill (160) dominated Brian Johnson 15-0 in a match that ended after the second period. With Ponderosa leading 52-0, Brad Pace (171) was up 8-2 after the first period before pinning Jeremy Scott 36 seconds into the second. After Danz raised his arm in a forfeit win, Dominic DeMarco (215) took on a heavier Gavin Cooper. DeMarco quickly scored a takedown but Cooper tied the score with his reverse. Cooper's lack of mat experience after not wrestling for most of the last two years came to light as four technical fouls for illegal holds awarded an automatic victory to DeMarco. It then came down to Jeff. After having watched his teammates not surrender any points, pressure not to be the first was squarely on his mind. After sizing up Union Mine's Jeremy Boles - and not liking what he saw - for the first minute of action, Jeff threw Boles down for the takedown and 12 seconds later pinned him. “I just came out fired up - it wasn't about me but getting points for the team. Our goal was to come out with a shutout and show them how it's done,” said Jeff with the adrenaline still pumping. “I knew I was going to win the second I stepped on the mat. I snapped him down, did a bulldog move and put him to his back.” Despite the lopsided score, D'back coach Tim Brown still managed to find a silver lining. “Ponderosa's an outstanding program, Tyson's (Escobar) done an excellent job - they're tough, prepared and outstanding athletes,” Brown said. “But one thing, though we got beat up, the kids didn't wrestle afraid.” Today, the Bruins are in Clovis at the two-day Doc Buchanan tournament while Union Mine hosts the D'back Tournament tomorrow.
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