Max White: Staff Writer

If the South Pasadena Wrestling Team was looking for redemption in last Saturday’s Rio Hondo league finals, then they must have gone home happy.

After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Monrovia and an unexpected defeat at the hands of La Cañada, the Tigers had to settle for a disappointing 2-2 record and third place finish in league. A determined South Pas squad entered league finals set on avenging these tough losses, and left with eight league champions.

On January 21, the Tigers clashed with the Wildcats in a tight 40-33 duel. South Pas battled back from an 18-point deficit to tie it after 125-pound senior Chris Nuñez, 130-pound junior Nick Benzoni, and 135-pound Sebastian Shipley all pinned their opponents. After senior co-captain Sam Wagner pinned his 145-pound challenger, the Tigers suffered a winning drought that would last the rest of the meet, as co-captain Grayson Kopperud earned their last six points by default. This defeat put the league title out of the Tigers’ reach, and left the South Pas squad exhausted going into what would prove to be a disastrous 41-28 loss against the Spartans.

This match, an away meet at La Cañada, was a close 29-28 in favor of the Spartans with three matches still to go. Pins from Nuñez, Kopperud, 112-pound sophomore Sean Ehrlich, and 171-pound Sean Ishikawa, kept the Tigers within one point. Unfortunately, South Pas dropped the next three duels, forfeiting 18 points and the victory to La Cañada.

Last Tuesday’s match versus Temple City ended in a decisive 69-12 Tiger victory. The Tigers slaughtered the Rams, with six wins from forfeits and six from duels. “We looked good, and made very few mistakes with the exception of the two losses,” said Coach Al Shuton after the match.

South Pasadena outmatched every other school at league finals, with 119-pound sophomore Bennet Kopperud, 145-pound junior Adam Ismail 150-pound senior co-captain Macon England, Ehrlich, Nuñez, Shipley, Wagner, and Grayson Kopperud all emerging as league champs for their respective weight classes. Ishikawa, who placed 2nd in the 170-pound weight class, along with third place finishers 135-pound Benzoni and 191-pound Patrick Fu, will join the league champs at CIF.