Wrestlers Place 13th at Blackwatch

Pali High’s Jake Carpenter Is Upper Weights MVP and Hamzah Alsaudi Wins His Division to Stay Undefeated

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Last year, Jake Carpenter took third place in the 140-pound weight class at the City Section Wrestling Championships. Coming so close to capturing the title gave him more motivation this season and the Palisades High  senior is off to a fabulous start.

After winning his division at the Newbury Park Invitational and taking third at the West Coast Classic in Rosemead, Carpenter    recorded four falls and a technical fall on his way to winning the 160-pound title and earning Upper Weight MVP honors at the prestigious Blackwatch Tournament last Wednesday and Thursday in Upland.

Carpenter received a first-round bye, then pinned La Puente’s Ricardo Escalante in 44 seconds and followed that with a pair of first-period pins against Palmdale’s Luis Zarazua and Frankie Guerra of City rival Birmingham. In the semifinals, Carpenter pinned La Canada’s Ben Donoho in the third period and in the finals he piled up points early to score a decisive victory over top-seeded Hunter Medina from Aztec, New Mexico.

“Jake was in top form,” Pali High Coach Aldo Juliano said. “He beat a really tough kid in the finals.”

Also winning his division was Pali High senior Hamzah Alsaudi, who kept his perfect record intact with three pins and two technical falls at 220 pounds. The two-time  City 195-pound champion was the  No. 1 seed and he looked the part, pinning Carlos Perez of Palm Springs in 50 seconds in his first match, pinning Edward Palomo of Rio Mesa in 49 seconds in the third round and pinning Birmingham’s Moses Trujillo in 5:10 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he dominated Chris Albrecht from Redlands East Valley, 18-2.     

Alsaudi looked equally impressive in the finals, taking out Apple Valley’s Carter Oliver 17-2 for his fourth title this year.

Junior Aaron Galef placed fifth at 138 pounds with a 12-4 decision and technical fall, freshman Max Much competed at 106 pounds, sophomore Parsa Pourmoula reached the fourth round of the back draw at 120, freshman Eric Smith-Williams competed at 126, senior Edwin Duarte at 152 and sophomore Max Palees got a pin at 182 for the Dolphins, who totaled 106 points to place 13th out of 63 teams. Aztec (244.5) was first, followed by Roosevelt (177)  and Birmingham (176).

“Two of our best wrestlers, Chance Chapman and Joseph Velado, were sick and couldn’t make it there,” Juliano said. “Otherwise we would’ve scored more points.”