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| Tigers lose a close one to Livington |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 19 January 2008 | |
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LIVINGSTON — Wednesday’s league wrestling match between Patterson and Livingston was undecided until the final pair of grapplers took to the mats. In the end, the Tigers dropped a closely contested fight to the Wolves, 39-36. Livingston dimmed the lights and jogged into its home gymnasium to the tune of Nirvana’s 1991 chart-topper “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” While it has yet to be determined exactly what “teen spirit” smells like, this contest had all the aromas of hard work and dedication, though Patterson coach Lee Scoles said Livingston wrestled better overall. “Livingston out-wrestled us; they didn’t make the mistakes that we did,” Scoles said. “You can’t use moves that give points to get points, because you’ll lose.” The night started with the 154-pound wrestlers squaring off. Patterson’s Adrian Ramirez gave his team an early 6-0 lead after he pinned his Livingston opponent a minute and four seconds into the first round. Ramirez’s win was a good platform for his team, but it was no indication that the Wolves would go down easily.  Patterson's Adrian Ramirez works on pinning Livingston High's Gopi Dola during the 152-pound weight class bout Wednesday. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator With the score evened up at 12-12, Patterson’s 173-pounder, Brian Serpa, took to the mats to face Livingston’s Gustavo Gutierrez. The two jostled and jousted about, both searching for the upper hand. Near pins by both participants made this coupling one of the evening’s most unpredictable match-ups. It took all three rounds to decide the battle, with Serpa edging out his opponent to a grueling 16-14 win. The Tigers’ 191-pound grappler, Chris Todd, pinned Livingston’s Eric Arteaga with only 40 seconds left in the third round of their duel. Todd’s win gave his team a 15-6 overall edge early in the match. “It felt good to come out and benefit my team, get that pin, and put some points up on the board,” Todd said. The Tigers ballooned out to a 27-6 advantage, after heavyweight wrestler Adrian Rodriguez made short work of his opponent. Rodriguez manhandled the Wolves’ Sebastian Guzman en route to a win by pin in just less than a minute of the opening round. Other noteworthy Patterson victories included wins by 130-pound Michael Linez over Livingston’s Shane Baptista, and by the Tigers’ 121-pound Nelson Rangel over the Wolves’ Kevin Villalobos. Patterson’s lead slowly began to slip after forfeits and hit-or-miss matches. At times, the Tigers committed crucial mental mistakes or simply strayed away from the strategy of their coaches. “We reached back when we shouldn’t have; we kept our heads down way too much, and we had a relapse at a really bad time,” Scoles said. Livingston finished off the Tigers by winning the final three matches of the night. “Everybody worked their hardest, and I think that we have to be ready to see these guys again at the league meet,” Serpa said. “We can come back and beat these guys and show them what we can do.” Scoles also looks forward to facing the Wolves again at the league tournament. “The kids will rebound,” he said, “and the kids will do a good job.” To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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