A pair of Riverbank wrestlers brought home fifth place medals among a tough field of competitors at the James Riddle Classic at Oakdale High on Saturday.
The two medals were nice honors to bring home for a Bruin program that was unable to snare a tournament placement last year until the Trans-Valley League finals.
Ben Hodges went 3-2 in the 145-pound weight division to collect fifth place honors. Riverbank 189-pounder, Isaiah Amaya, bullied his way to the fifth place match where he ultimately snared a pin fall to end his run on a high note.
Both finishes were signs of improvement for second year coach Kevin Hejnal.
"They are on the right track to where I want them to be, but I'm never happy," Hejnal said. "You've got to keep improving."
All Riverbank wrestlers that made the trip won at least one match, and Angel Duarte went 2-2 in tournament action.
The team also sent a host of grapplers to the Beyer junior varsity tournament, where Junior Tovar (171) and Dillon Foster (152) each snared tournament championships. Chris Elwell (189) was third.
Riverbank wrestlers will be tested today when the Bruins take on visiting Denair at 4:30 p.m. The Coyotes were top-10 at the James Riddle and should make for a tough opponent to open action on the home mats.
"I watched Denair in the tournament, so I know pretty much what to expect, and we will be ready for them," Hejnal said. "I will just put my guys where they match up best."
The two medals were nice honors to bring home for a Bruin program that was unable to snare a tournament placement last year until the Trans-Valley League finals.
Ben Hodges went 3-2 in the 145-pound weight division to collect fifth place honors. Riverbank 189-pounder, Isaiah Amaya, bullied his way to the fifth place match where he ultimately snared a pin fall to end his run on a high note.
Both finishes were signs of improvement for second year coach Kevin Hejnal.
"They are on the right track to where I want them to be, but I'm never happy," Hejnal said. "You've got to keep improving."
All Riverbank wrestlers that made the trip won at least one match, and Angel Duarte went 2-2 in tournament action.
The team also sent a host of grapplers to the Beyer junior varsity tournament, where Junior Tovar (171) and Dillon Foster (152) each snared tournament championships. Chris Elwell (189) was third.
Riverbank wrestlers will be tested today when the Bruins take on visiting Denair at 4:30 p.m. The Coyotes were top-10 at the James Riddle and should make for a tough opponent to open action on the home mats.
"I watched Denair in the tournament, so I know pretty much what to expect, and we will be ready for them," Hejnal said. "I will just put my guys where they match up best."
