A pair of Hoover wrestlers were crowned champions at the Rio Hondo League finals at Monrovia High on Feb. 2, solidifying their legacies into the record books.
Charles Martinito and Grickore Danelyan earned league titles that afternoon, and three others secured a spot in the CIF Southern Section Individual Championships with their runner-up finish in the league finals last week.
Martinito started off his tournament run with a first-round bye and met Giovanni Trevino of Monrovia in the following round. The 126-pound grappler defeated his counterpart in the second round to secure a spot in the championship match against Santiago Perez of San Marino. Martinito won the match, and the title, by a 16-3 decision.
Danelyan also started with a first-round bye, and went the distance against Felix Steinberger of San Marino in the 175-pound semifinal, winning the match in the third period. In the championship battle, Danelyan topped Maxwell Rosen of La Cañada in the first round to be crowned champion.
Vahagn Sakanyan finished runner-up in the 132-pound bracket. Sakanyan enjoyed a first-round bye and followed that up with a narrow victory in the semifinal against Adrian Navarro of Monrovia, a 16-14 decision. Sevak Araklyen of Burbank bested Sakanyan in the opening period of the championship battle.
Two members of the Hoover girls’ wrestling team finished second in their respective divisions. Serineh Crane fell to Jianna Lee of La Cañada in the 115-pound championship match, and Angel Bogharyan lost to Allison Ingrassia of La Cañada in the 125-pound title bout.
The CIF Southern Section Individual Wrestling Championships took place over two days beginning Friday, Feb. 9, across six different school sites. Wrestlers participated in the semifinal and championship matches on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Top finishers will qualify for the CIF Southern Section Wrestling Masters Meet to be held at Palm Springs High School on Friday, Feb. 16.
First published in the February 10 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
