The Patterson High varsity wrestlers would have liked to nab a few more Western Athletic Conference titles, but members of the team were generally pleased with their performance in the WAC championship Saturday, Feb. 9, at Los Banos High, according to coach Lee Scoles.

The Tigers send eight wrestlers — including two league champions and six others with top-four finishes — to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV tournament Friday, Feb. 15, at Los Banos High.

Scoles said his team’s recent success should translate into the same at the divisional competition.

”This was a competitive tournament up and down,” Scoles said. “I think that we were prepared physically and emotionally. The demeanor and the effort were there, and I’m more than happy with how we performed.”

For the fourth consecutive season, Los Banos led the WAC tournament team standings, while Central Catholic High of Modesto was second.

Patterson, which finished the league season with a 2-4 record, placed fifth out of seven teams.

“This is a strong league with a lot of talented wrestlers throughout the 14 weight classes,” Scoles said. “What we were able to accomplish is something that we can be proud of.”

The top four varsity wrestlers from each weight class in Saturday’s tournament qualified for the Division IV championship in Los Banos, with the fifth-place finisher in each weight class serving as an alternate.

The leading wrestlers in Division IV will look toward the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters tournament Feb. 22 and 23 in Stockton, followed by the California Interscholastic Federation state championship March 1 and 2 in Bakersfield.

“We have a lot of kids on the brink of something special,” Scoles said. “We are a young team with a positive upside and a bright future.”

Among Patterson’s first-place finishers was sophomore Daniel Cota, who repeated as WAC champion in the 122-pound weight class.

“Daniel was motivated to be in a position to defend his title,” Scoles said. “He is starting to put it all together, and is taking the right mental approach.”

Patterson senior Joey Howard, whose junior season was shortened by a broken bone in his leg, took first in the 147-pound class.

“Joey really controlled his matches. He takes a more cerebral approach when trying to score points,” Scoles said. “It’s been a long comeback for him, and I’m happy that he’s in the position that he is in.”

Junior Manuel Cruz (134 pounds) and sophomore Francisco Plascencia (195) each finished second Saturday. Jordan Canseco (115), a junior, took a third, and classmate Josh Roberts (126) and sophomore Eloa Chadwick (160) both earned fourth-place nods.

Junior varsity

The JV Tigers, the 2013 Western Athletic Conference champions, had a slew of top finishers Saturday, Feb. 9, in the league championship tournament.

Tony Halcon (126) and Zeke Miranda (152) took home first-place honors.

Armando Saucedo (heavyweight) earned a second-place finish, and Mitchell Matthew (106), Dylan Christiansen (132), Keith Gordon (138) and Daniel Linares (152) earned third-place medals.

Jose Jaramillo (115), Kinoa Garza (126), Daniel Arteaga (132), Brandon Rice (145) and Marc Lopez (183) all placed fourth, rounding out the Tigers’ medalists.

Contact Marc Aceves at 892-6187, ext. 28, or marc@pattersonirrigator.com.