TURLOCK — East Union High’s Marco Castaneda continued his recent tear in the non-league tournament circuit, finishing second in the 119-pound division during Saturday’s Rumble in the Jungle hosted by Pitman High.
Castaneda, though, forfeited in finals showdown against Josh Delgado of Davis, but it was another impressive showing for the junior after claiming the Dave Mendoza Tournament at Lincoln of Stockton Jan. 17.
Jason Cortez (125) also placed, as he shut out Dominic Rios (Hilmar), 7-0, in the third-place match. Matt Neves also had a shot at a third-place finish but dropped a close 3-1 decision to Hugh Ewing (Hilmar) at 145 pounds.
Heavyweight Hector Fajardo missed out on a top-five finish, placing seventh.
First-year Lathrop had a few wrestlers test the waters in their first varsity competition.
Christian Pena, one of the Spartans’ top up-and-comers, was Castaneda’s victim in the second round to finish without a win, while Andrew Aquino went 1-2 at 112 pounds.
Mark Maynard (140) was Lathrop’s top finisher, as he finished a respectable 2-2. Maynard grinded out a 13-8 victory to open the tournament before losing Matt Morse (Granite Bay), the eventual third-place finisher. Maynard picked up one more win by pinfall before getting eliminated before the medal rounds.
Lathrop’s Sammy Rodriguez scored three pins to win the 125-pound title. The Spartans ended up with four runner-up players, while four finished fourth.
East Union also had a strong overall showing in the junior varsity tournament.
Chris Wells, (114 B), Tyler Watt (119 C), Marcos Aleman (135 B), Carlos Pitts (140 B) and Aaron Ochoa (215 B) each earned second-place finishes. Standout freshman D.J. Ortega (114 A) and Ryan Treat (125 A) were both third.