Marina girls wrestling coach Chris Rasmussen has been questioning the ranking system used fordetermining the state’s top teams and best individual wrestlers for some time now.
The Vikings don’t appear on the California Wrestler’s list of top 10 teams or top 10 wrestlers.
Marina made its case on the mat, winning the team competition with 92.5 points Saturday at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.
Gilroy was second with 68 points and Arroyo and Birmingham were tied for third with 58 points.
“As a team, they just had a great momentum all together,” Marina coach Chris Rasmussen said. “Theyreally gelled. They came out here under the big lights. Nobody knows who Marina High School is andthey came out and performed.”
While the Vikings didn’t finish with any individual champions, they had four wrestlers win medals,the most of any team.
Kaelani Schufeldt (101) and Alexandra Lopez (143) both took second after losing their respectivechampionship matches.
Brianna Gonzalez of Arroyo scored on a takedown against Schufeldt nine seconds into the championshipmatch and went on to win, 5-1.
Lopez was trailing, 9-5, against Montclair’s Jo Forman heading into the third period in the championshipmatch.
Lopez was awarded two points after Foreman was called for stalling twice, but she couldn’t score atakedown which would have forced overtime.
The Vikings’ other placers were Jordan Chrisco, who placed seventh at 116 pounds, and Kacey Schafer,who finished eighth at 106 pounds.
Capistrano Valley’s Neila Fritts also came into the state tournament as a virtual unknown among theNorthern California wrestling powerhouses, despite being a proven winner in tournaments in SouthernCalifornia.
Fritts also stated her case on the mat, winning the 235-pound title with a 1-0 victory over Annika Milesof Elk Grove in the championship match.
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Fritts’ escape in the third period accounted for the only scoring in the bout.
Fritts adds a state championship to her first-place finishes at the CIF SS Masters tournament and CIF SSEastern Division tournament.