Jags take fifth in San Ysidro wrestling tournament

With the Division IV CIF Wrestling Tournament three weeks away, the Valley Center varsity wrestling team has finally jelled into a very competitive team.
After taking a fifth place finish out of 23 schools at the San Ysidro Tournament and trailing by only six points top-ranked Clairemont High School, the Jaguars find themselves in store for an exciting season finale.
Other schools that will make the race interesting for championship are returning Division IV champions Imperial, Olympian , and Palo Verde high schools. Whichever school comes with the best effort will win the championship.
The Jaguars had eight place winners in the tournament. Juan Oros won his finals match with a 12-second pin over San Ysidro’s Miguel Flores. Dylan Smith made his second trip to the finals, earning a second place finish. Manny Boyle made his debut with third place victory over Mission Hills’ Marcus Cummiskey. Fourth place finishers were Dustin Miller, Christian Guerrero, Kyle Glennie, and fifth place finishers were Daquota Avila and Damian Stehly.
The Jaguars also earned their second consecutive team victory with a win over Guajome Park Academy, 56–6 on Thursday.
Freshmen Matt Barnes (154 pounds) will win his first varsity match with a 1:07 pin over opponent Jerod Adams. Also winning by pin were John Murphy (105 pounds), Dustin Miller (114 pounds), Daquota Avila (137 pounds), Pedro Flores (162 pounds), Kyle Glennie (191 pounds) and Jean-Marc Brierre (285 pounds). Christian Guerrero (142 pounds) won an 8–2 decision and Kevin Murphy (147 pounds) received a win by forfeit.
Valley Center is 2–1 in league so far, and the Jaguars hit the mat again on Thursday at home against Canyon Crest at 7 p.m.

Father & Son Earn Black Belts

Valley Center resident Jorge Flores and his son Antonio received black belts from Eldred’s Tae Kwon Do (TKD) School of Martial Arts in Escondido at a formal promotional dinner held at the California Center for the Arts Escondido on Aug. 15.
Antonio was enrolled in martial arts by his parents, Jorge and Carmen Flores, at the tender age of five, after watching his cousin, Analise, take classes at Eldred’s TKD.
Jorge, after watching for several years, also signed up, thinking it would be a great way to embrace fitness and do something together with Antonio.
After several years of learning how to spar, how to kick, basic forms and other martial arts skills, Antonio wasn’t so sure he liked it enough to continue. He wanted to quit. His parents, however, liked what Antonio was getting out of the experience, being the best he can be, self-defense, and achieving his black belt, wanted him to stick with it. They both wanted Antonio to overcome every difficulty by perseverance.
As time passed, they both moved up in rank in the belt system, and finally to black belt candidates. Jorge and Antonio thought it would be exciting to test together and get black belts the same year. They weren’t sure that was possible. Last year Antonio wasn’t ready to test because of several broken bones that set him back. This year in June an MRI showed a possible meniscus tear in his left knee, but the doctor wasn’t certain it was, so with rest and physical therapy there was tremendous improvement, and Jorge and Antonio got to test together.
In August, they both went through a grueling black belt camp that includes the main portion of the black belt test with a final show and sparring test, including board breaks, the following weekend.
At the end of the test, in front of the audience, Antonio had to do a board break. He wanted this break more than anything! He made the first attempt and didn’t quite have the follow-through.
Antonio thought, “This is it. I really want this. This is something I’ve been working on for six years.”
With a quick second attempt with acceleration and follow-through he made the kick and made a clean break.
Forms were challenging for Jorge because of the flexibility required, something that is easier for Antonio. After it was all done, they both were relieved.
Through years of hard work and perseverance, they got value out of it in very different ways, but the journey isn’t over.
This is just the first level of black belt, and if they like, they could test again for the next level in two years. That’ll be a change, because up until now they’ve tested every three months for a belt or stripes.