Friday, Dec. 16, 2011

Second Morning Star Invitational begins Saturday

Coaches expect very competitive field

About 260 wrestlers will descend upon Los Banos High this Saturday for the second annual Morning Star Invitational, which is quickly gaining a reputation as a tough early-season test for Valley wrestlers.

"It's going to be a good field -- very competitive," Los Banos coach Josh Adams said. "Teams have started to send me their rosters, and we'll have some returning state qualifiers. One of the marquee weights might be at 132, where we have Jimmy Felix, but the kid from Merced, Christian Ebert, and Trent Nicholson from Kimball will also be there."

In addition to host Los Banos, local teams will include Pacheco, Patterson, Livingston and Central Valley from the Western Athletic Conference; Dos Palos, Merced, Golden Valley and Buhach Colony from the rest of Merced County and a host of other schools from Union Mine of El Dorado in the north to Mission Oak of Visalia to the south for a total of 27 teams (one brings just a girls' contingent), up from 22 in the tournament's first edition a year ago.

"I actually had to turn away teams this year," Adams said. "We have 26 in the varsity tournament, and that's about as high as we want to go, because then you start running into problems with the maximum five matches per day."

Another notable squad is reigning state champion Clovis, which will bring its B squad.

"They're the front runners to win state again, so even the 2s are pretty tough," Adams said.

Los Banos finished third in the inaugural tournament in 2010, with Golden Valley taking the championship and Buhach Colony finishing second.

"I thought it was tough last year, and then talking to some of the coaches, they were impressed with the competition level," Adams said. "They're back at it, and I think it'll be a good early-season tournament."

Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com