Markosian continues Hoover wrestling tradition
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Hoover High wrestling program qualified a grappler to the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.
Senior heavyweight Azad Markosian added his name to the list Saturday afternoon as the fourth-seeded senior finished a 3-2 run to take fourth place in his weight class on the second and final day of the CIF Southern Section Inland Division Championships at Temecula Great Oak High.
Markosian, the Rio Hondo League champion, was one of 16 area wrestlers to have qualified to the Inland Division Championships and is now one of four to advance to the Masters Meet along with La Cañada’s David Sarkisian, Ben Donoho and Colman Trulik.
The two-day Masters Meet begins Friday at Temecula Valley High.
Markosian joins the ranks of Hoover wrestlers to advance to the Masters Meet in Arthur Ghukasyan (2014), Edmen Shahbazyan (2015) and Geraldy Martinez (2016).
“That success isn’t about me personally, but about all the kids and coaches who have come out to help the program over the years, like Arthur and the Martinez brothers,” Hoover coach Dave Beard said. “It’s great to have that success.”
No area wrestler finished higher than Markosian, who tallied three pins.
The senior went 2-0 with a bye on Friday and opened Saturday’s action with a tough 3-2 loss to top-seeded Angel Munoz of Great Oak High, which dropped Markosian into the second-chance bracket.
There, the Hoover senior pinned Peninsula’s Zach Denny to move into the third-place bout against Rowland’s Josh Avila. Markosian’s final match ended in a 6-2 loss.
“I’m really proud of Azad,” Beard said. “He lost 3-2 to the No. 1 seed and took one bad shot that cost him. While I didn’t like the chance he took, I’m was rooting for him.
“Look, he’s still learning and he’s got another tournament to go.”
On the flip side, the season ended for Rio Hondo League 160-pound champion Allen Melikyan.
The senior finished 4-2, but placed seventh and just missed the top-five cut needed to advance to the Masters Meet.
Melikyan began with a second-chance bracket pin over Vista Murrieta’s Eddie Lee. That fall, however, was followed by an 8-1 loss to Santa Maria’s Frank Lopez. Melikyan, who was battling a shoulder injury all tournament, finished his season with a pin of Lompoc’s Jacob Gonzalez for seventh.
As a team, Hoover finished 31st with 35 points.
On Friday, Hoover 132-pounder Harut Mustafyan, 182-pounder Andrew West and 126-pounder Dominic Malone finished 0-2 and were eliminated.
