Irvine High School boys wrestling team captures silver division tournament title

Irvine’s wrestling team came away with a silver division tournament title. (Photos courtesy Irvine wrestling).

Irvine High School’s boys varsity wrestling team is off to a fast start with some key wins and a tournament championship.

The Vaqueros captured victories over Yorba Linda (36-32) and Laguna Beach (57-21) heading into the Battle of The Bay tournament with some momentum.

“In pools, we beat San Juan Hills 65-3 but lost to San Clemente, a tough team but our lower weights really stepped up and had some good wins,” said Coach Tommy Ricci (the son of football coach Tom Ricci).

“With that loss, we were sent to the silver bracket which had Troy, San Marcos and CdM. Even with a bye at 165 and 113 we came out on top, won all three matches, and became the silver bracket Battle of the Bay champions. On top of being champions, we also had five gold medalists.”

Neo Li (sophomore), Todd Bryan (senior), Armaan Nikoo (senior ranked 33^rd in the state), Micah Nguyen (sophomore) and James York (junior) won medals for Irvine.

“Our young guys stepped up a ton on Saturday and showed that they compete at the varsity level,” Ricci said. “We also showed that even though we have a young team, we can still take down good teams like CdM, Troy, and San Marcos.

“I’m really proud of our boys. You could tell as the tournament was dragging on that the other schools were starting to get tired and were low energy, but Irvine was still fired up and willing to go one more match. I know it’s early, but I can’t wait to see how this team does in February.”

For best view, click on the photo:

Irvine's medal winners were from left Neo Li, Todd Bryan, Armaan Nikoo, Micah Ngyuen and James York.

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