Forfeits costly to Trojan wrestlers

The Petaluma High School boys wrestling team forfeited its chance for a Sonoma County League dual match win last week, losing to Analy, 42-39.

Petaluma did very well on the mat, but gave up 18 points with three forfeits.

Petaluma girl wrestlers split the first two matches of the evening with Cindy Diaz winning at 108 pounds with a third-round pin, while Windy Orozco lost by pin at 113 pounds.

Petaluma wrestlers then flexed their muscles. Tyler Sullivan recorded a third-round pin at 123 pounds, Jackson Reynolds won by pin in the second round and Dominic Ayers recorded a thrilling 3-1 overtime win or Dustin Blumenthal.

At that point, Petaluma was looking good with a 33-12 lead. Even a forfeit at 140 didn’t appear costly when Noah Russell and Eric Machado came back with pins for a 33-12 Trojan lead.

Then came trouble. Petaluma surrendered pins at both 162 and 172 pounds and forfeited the 182- and 197-pound weight classes.

Petaluma’s Michelle Larsen, one of the best girl wrestlers in the state, gave a strong effort against Analy’s Vincente Carreras, but was pinned. Heavyweight Daniel Pacheco closed out the match with a pin for the Trojans, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their first SCL loss after an opening win.