FIVE COUNTIES WRESTLING TOURNAMENT : Mitchell, Cooper Lead Canyon to Title

Canyon High School won two individual championships for 108.5 points and a sixth-place finish in the Five Counties wrestling tournament Saturday.

Canyon’s Jason Mitchell decisioned Marco Ahlgren of Rancho Buena Vista, 7-3, in the 138-pound division. Teammate Zack Cooper, the state’s No. 1 wrestler in his weight class and defending tournament champion at 191, decisioned No. 2 David Popejoy of Bellarmine College Preparatory, 7-1.

“This was the toughest invitational tournament we have been in, and this year’s competition was tougher than last year’s (when Canyon won it),” Canyon Coach Gary Bowden said. “I can’t praise the team enough. They wrestled as hard as they could.”

Cooper said he went into his championship match “nervous and hesitant. I had never seen Popejoy wrestle until this tournament.”

Cooper said he regained his confidence after the first period, then “set up my moves and waited for him to make mistakes.”

Clovis won the tournament championship with 151 points, followed by Valhalla (136), Selma (120), Overfelt (110.5) and Bellarmine College Preparatory (109). Valencia finished ninth (82) and Esperanza and Savanna tied for 15th (48).

Savanna’s Tony Okada (132) won the tournament’s most outstanding lightweight trophy after pinning Covina’s Richard Martinez in 3 minutes 6 seconds. Okada (29-0) had two pins, two technical falls and a 9-0 decision in the tournament.

“In the beginning, I didn’t think the final match would be close,” Okada said of the final. “But I threw Martinez with a head-and-arm lock and went for the pin while he was on his back.”

Esperanza’s Rob Langenwalter (25-2), 1989’s Five Counties champion at 105 pounds, won the 126-pound class by default over Roseburg’s Richard Allen. Allen couldn’t wrestle in the final because of an injury.

Valencia’s James Lopez (112) lost his match to Madera’s Ben Ervin by a referee’s decision.