Senior Ryan Lee made League and school history with his performance at the Mother Lode League wrestling tournament this past Friday, February 6 in San Andreas. Competing were male and female wrestlers from Big Valley Christian, Bret Harte, Calaveras, Linden, Riverbank and Summerville.
Calaveras Enterprise’s Guy Dossi reported, “With his first-place finish in the 138-pound division, Lee became just the fifth Mother Lode League wrestler to win in four different weight classes. The previous wrestlers to accomplish the difficult task included Calaveras’ Greg Kirk (1986-89), 98, 112, 119 and 126; Calaveras’ Scott Kirk (1987-90), 105, 126, 132 and 138; Argonaut’s Caleb Patrick (2011-14), 112, 120, 126 and 132; and Sonora’s Coleton Sanguinetti (2015-18), 113, 120, 132 and 138.”
Adding, “It was also a historic day for the Bret Harte wrestling program, as senior Ryan Lee became just the fourth Bullfrog grappler to become a four-time Mother Lode League champion. He is also the first Bret Harte wrestler to win an individual championship at four different weights (120, 127, 132 and 138).”
Joining Lee as a 2026 League champion is freshman Fulton Scott in the 120lb class and junior Tobias Siegler in the 190lb class. Earning second-place honors was junior AJ Peil in the 165lb class. Finishing in third was freshman JW Fredrick in the 126lb class and freshman Drew Woodhams in the 150lb class.
All Bret Harte wrestlers are expected to move onto the Sac-Joaquin Section D5 wrestling tournament scheduled for this Friday, February 13 at Hughson High School. Matches begin at 10:00 AM. More details can be found at https://www.cifsjs.org/wrestling.
Last year the League added a female individual division to the annual championship tournament. Senior female wrestler, Peyton Lawrence, become a two-time League champion in the 155lb class, a first for Bret Harte’s wrestling program. She joins Calaveras’ Storey Kancianich and Vanessa Lee to have earned this League designation.
Lawrence shared with Dossi, “ 'To be able to have this title, I hope I can inspire more girls to wrestle and be able to compete in our league and be this role model for the future of women’s wrestling in our league.’ ” Adding, “ 'Now, I’m focused on the next match at regionals.’ ”
Peyton qualified for and will compete in the Sac-Joaquin’s girls southern regional qualifier scheduled to begin this Friday, February 13 at Central Valley High School in Ceres. Matches begin at 9:00 AM. More details can be found at https://www.cifsjs.org/wrestling.
Read more about Friday’s League championships at https://www.calaverasenterprise.com/articles/featured-stories/calaveras-claims-third-straight-mll-tournament-title/. Photos courtesy of Calaveras Enterprise Sports.