LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Wrestling Teams Aim for NCS


Front row, from left: Jose Herrera, Zach Francis, Alex Jang and Max Hahn

It's crunch time in the DFAL wrestling season.

The NCS Dual Meet Championships are looming on Feb. 14 and all three Lamorinda high school squads are battling to claim a spot in the competition.

With seniors Alexander Jang and Zachary Francis leading the way, Miramonte owns a 2-1 record in DFAL action. As head coach Jose Herrera explained, the team has also received key contributions from an array of underclassmen.

"We've had these young guys step up out of nowhere, put in the time and now our team is mostly young, hungry athletes," said Herrera, who has grown the program from eight wrestlers to 40 in the four years that he's been in charge. "We have an extremely young team where when we graduate our seniors, we're not going to be down at all. We might even be better."

To open up the season, the Matadors beat Acalanes on Dec. 11 and topped Dublin on Dec. 18. On Jan. 15, Miramonte lost its first league meet to Dougherty Valley, the reigning DFAL champs. With three matchups remaining on the schedule, the team has one clear objective: to finish in the top three at NCS.

"Our goal is to qualify for North Coast Section Duals and bring back a banner, a team banner," said Herrera.

Campolindo is also trying to win a banner of its own. With a 0-3 record in DFAL competition, the Cougars have plenty of work to do. So far, Campolindo has dropped meets to Dougherty Valley on Dec. 18, Alhambra on Jan. 8 and Las Lomas on Jan. 15.

"We're not where I want to be yet," said head coach Bob McLaughlin. "We need to go 2-1 or 3-0 to make it to NCS Duals, and I think we'll do better as the season progresses. The team's working hard. The kids are doing well. Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you."

Seniors Trevor Martinho, Eric Monasevitch, and Jason Pollock have been the Cougars most consistent wrestlers, while sophomore Avery Novick has also been impressive. McLaughlin is confident that his team will make the necessary adjustments in the second half of the season to earn a trip to NCS Duals.

"It's a process and I think the kids are aware of where we need to get to, and they're working hard to do that and I think they will," McLaughlin added.

Acalanes is also in need of a strong second-half showing if the team is going to make an NCS appearance. The Dons have a record of 1-2 in DFAL after claiming their first league win over Dublin on Jan. 8.

Acalanes began the season with back-to-back losses to Miramonte on Dec. 11 and to Alhambra on Dec. 18. The Dons still have three meets on the schedule including a rivalry matchup against Campolindo on Feb. 5.