Irvine, CA — RECAP: Every year Irvine hosts the Andrew Pena Classic, and this was the 2nd year without the Legendary Coach Phillips. Just like last year, the tournament was a success!! Whether they wrestled or ran tables, this is the one time of the year where we get the entire program and some parents involved at the same place and time to host some good ole wrestling. Because it is our own tournament, we reserve the freedom to send some of younger kids to get some varsity experience. Freshmans Mekan Geldiyev, Chad Russom, Luke Lim, Sage Valk, James York, Landon Jackson, and Cevin Blanco along with Sophomore Siavash Mavandadnejad got to experience varsity level competition in their first year of wrestling. They may not have been too successful this time around, but the future looks bright when we have young wrestlers who are game to compete no matter the level of their opposition. From our varsity wrestlers we had 7 medalists. At 120 Jeremiah Herrington reached the finals after getting a 26 second fall in the semis. In the finals he rematched a familiar opponent from the San Clemente Rotary. Unfortunately, he lost the match 4-3, with this match being closer than the last. Jeremiah will be eager to get his win back and will be looking to place in CIF later this season. Sophomore Alek Culciar got a great start to the tournament by pinning his first opponent in 14 seconds. He dropped a close match in the second round 5 - 3, and then went on to win 3 in a row with a nail biting 7-6 win in his final match to earn himself 3rd place! Junior Kyle Pajouhesh won his first round with an 8-1 decision. He wrestled a tough match with the eventual tournament champion but was unfortunately defeated. In the consolation bracket Kyle picked up 3 wins (2 by fall) to get himself a 3rd place medal! Junior Hadi Hammoudeh showed his improvement by dominating his way to the finals. In the finals he met a top 30 ranked wrestler in the state and Hadi was able to get the first takedown. Although he was defeated in the end, Hadi learned a lot about himself and where he's at with his wrestling and he's eager to make some more noise the rest of season. Armaan Nikoo found himself in the finals after a tough semifinal win over a tough El Toro wrestler. He met with League rival Portola in the final and dominated the match 11 - 2. Armaan finds himself as an Andrew Pena Champion as a Sophomore. Senior and Team Captain Beni Magyar wrestled at a weight up to challenge a state ranked opponent from Laguna Beach. Magyar picked up 3 effortless pins to win himself his second Andrew Pena Classic gold medal. Junior Joseph Tierney brought the heat as he pinned his opponent in speedy fashion, so fast that he pinned all 3 of his opponents in 3 minutes and 49 seconds. With such a dominant performance, he earned himself the Upper Weight MVP Plaque. Irvine as a team finished in 2nd, 5.5 pts behind the tournament champions El Toro. We didn't have any wrestlers at 106,113, or HWT this time around, and despite this we were only a match away from becoming tournament champions. This shows just how well our wrestlers are competing at this time. We are Peaking at the right time, and we will continue this streak at our Last Home dual and Senior night this Wednesday when we face off against University High School. Finally, thanks to all wrestlers and parent who contributed to this Tournament. None of this is possible without the support of the Irvine Wrestling Family.