By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– Something just clicked for McNary senior Jesse Mendoza Falcon Saturday evening at the Central Valley Conference District Wrestling Meet.
The senior heavyweight has had a tough run in the District tournaments in recent years where he may have won a match or two, or even have went two-and-done, but in the twilight of his prep career, Mendoza Falcon found a way to extend his season in a big way.
After receiving a first round bye, he picked up a first peroid pin. From there he won a close 2-0 decision over Sprague’s Gabriel Gonzalez to reach the 285 pound District Title Match ever where he met a rugby teammate in North Salem’s Roberto Garibay III.
And the momentum didn’t stop there for Mendoza Falcon has he quickly went to work and picked up a 14-0 Major Decision victory for his first-ever District Title.
“It means a lot, especially the last few years I’ve gone 1-2 or 0-2. It just means a lot to come out here and wrestle, and it’s really fun that I got to wrestle one of my rugby teammates in the final. It’s something special,” said Mendoza Falcon “It’s kind of a surreal moment for me. This is actually the first tournament I’ve taken first at too, and it’s something special for me.”
And now that he gets to extend his season to the absolute last weekend of the year, Mendoza Falcon is hoping to make the most of it and see how many matches he can win.
Ten total Celtic wrestlers qualified for the 6A State Tournament in Portland that features District Winners in Luis Martinez Hernandez at 106 pounds and Derek Jones at 120 pounds joining Mendoza Falcon as District Winners. David Ramirez Sierra (120), Liam Koenig (126), and Evan Snowden (132) all finish District Runner-Up in their respective weight classes.
