Highland Comes Out on Top as Garfinkel Scores Perfect 10

It took John Garfinkel of Highland High 13 seconds to record a pin against Joey Gonzalez of Quartz Hill on Saturday in the Highland wrestling tournament.

It took Garfinkel nearly four years to total 123 pins, a milestone he achieved by flattening Eugene Korchmarev of El Camino Real in 1:34 in his final match.

Garfinkel, a senior at 160 pounds, raised his season and career totals to lofty levels by going undefeated in 10 matches in the two-day dual-meet tournament.

Highland (24-5), six-time defending Golden League champion, also was 10-0, defeating El Camino Real, 37-26, in the final match to decide the championship.

Garfinkel (40-1), a state qualifier last season at 145 pounds, moved up in weight and has dominated.

On Friday, Garfinkel became Highland’s leader in victories for a career at 204. His 27 pins this season tie him with former teammate Stuart Young for the state record for a career, a mark record he undoubtedly will own before season’s end.

Against Korchmarev, Garfinkel had his first takedown in 44 seconds. After an escape by Korchmarev, Garfinkel took him down again and soon had him on his back and the referee in position to stop the bout.

“He’s tough, he’s good . . . he’s great,” said Korchmarev, defending City Section champion at 160. “He’s gotten a lot stronger, putting on 15 pounds.”

Between victories over Gonzalez and Korchmarev, Garfinkel had little difficulty defeating Andres Ojeda of Chatsworth, 4-1. Ojeda, whose only tournament loss was to Garfinkel, likewise praised his opponent, whom he defeated as a sophomore.

Garfinkel, fifth last season at the Southern Section Masters tournament, ranks among the region’s most-formidable middleweights and is a legitimate contender for a state title in March.

“I’ve been going to a lot of camps and lifting a lot of weights,” Garfinkel said after defeating Ojeda. “I had a hard time turning him over out there. It seemed like I was doing better on my feet.”

Garfinkel was among 12 wrestlers undefeated in 10 matches.

Sophomore Mike Estrada of Highland was perfect at 103 pounds. Teammates Joey Wilson (112), Jon King (145), Jeremiah Pedersen (171), Adam Cloud (189) and Paul Soto (heavyweight) were 9-1. Cloud, a senior and returning league champion, placed first.

Thousand Oaks, which tied El Camino Real and Yucca Valley at 8-2, claimed second place on tie-breaking criteria. Jason Park (135), Larry Schneider (152) and Chris Jansen (heavyweight) were 10-0 for Thousand Oaks. Micah Bedrosian was 9-1 and placed first at 112.

Other undefeated wrestlers from the region included Jared Briggs of Littlerock (119), Dusty Wiley of Quartz Hill (145), Anthony Thomas of El Camino Real (171) and Adam Wheeler of Lancaster (215).