Hoover High wrestling reduced to two advancers

A nine-wrestler contingent from Hoover High was reduced to two advancers after the first day of the CIF Southern Section Eastern Division Individual Wrestling Championships at Perris Citrus Hill High.

Only Tornadoes senior Artur Ghukasyan and sophomore Narek Zamanyan are still in contention for a Masters Meet bid.

Ghukasyan turned in a brilliant effort, finishing 2-0 and advancing to the 160-pound championship semifinals, where he’ll face San Jacinto’s Mark Aceval on Saturday.

Ghukasyan received a first-round bye and parlayed the rest into a pin at 4:19 over Lancaster’s Nathan Sears, which was followed by a 10-0 win over Tahquitz’s Fernando Blanco.

As for Zamanyan, the 132-pounder was 3-1 after the first day of competition.

Zamanyan went 1-1 in the championship bracket, collecting a fall versus Rialto’s Robert Villareal in 2:33 before surrendering a technical pin, 16-0, versus Hemet’s Garrett Willerford.

Zamanyan recovered from the setback by picking up two wins in the consolation bracket, which vaulted him into a match against Victorville’s Andrew Mazziotti on Saturday at 11 a.m.

A few wrestlers concluded their seasons Friday.

Hoover 113-pounder David Balakeseryan capped his season with a 10-6 record, first being pinned by Silverado senior Jaime Ayala at 2:57 in the first round before grabbing a bye in the consolation bracket.

Balakeseryan was then pinned in the consolation bracket by Oak Hills’ Tyler Caldwell in 1:25.

Sophomore Jessie Martinez, who competed at 138 pounds, also went 0-2 in dropping his season record to 22-9.

Martinez was pinned in the first round in 3:48 by Hesperia’s Jacob Shurtliff before going down to defeat to Oak Hills’ Angel Flores, 5-2, in the consolation bracket.

Martinez’ brother, Geraldy, came up just short of advancing to Saturday by finishing 1-2.

Geraldy Martinez was pinned in the first round by West Valley’s Alex Hernandez in 4:26 before recovering for a victory over Littlerock’s Daniel Lucatero, 7-2, in the consolation.

Geraldy Martinez’s season officially ended, though, after a 7-5 loss to Silverado’s Cody Murdock.

One of Hoover’s best hopes, senior Sebastian Ghouliance, felt the sting of a concluded season.

The 170-pound senior fell in the first round, 9-4, to Fountain Valley’s Stone Escobedo before rebounding for a 6-3 victory over Kevin Escolero.

Unfortunately for Ghouliance, the senior fell in a tough-fought 3-2 decision to Pacifica’s Tristan Todd in the final consolation match.

As for the rest of Hoover’s upper weights, 184-pound senior Mike Sosa, 195-pound senior Kenneth Garcia and sophomore heavyweight Sean Waasdorp finished 1-2 in capping their seasons.