STOCKTON – East Union ran up against a tough opening-round opponent in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Team Duals Championship and was blitzed by Vista del Lago of Folsom 54-18. 

“They were No. 2 in their league,” Lancers coach A.J. Reindel said. “We wrestled well but they beat us. They had better wrestlers. I believe we won four out of 11 wrestled matches. 

“We won what we could.”

Of those four East Union wins, none was more difficult than Jaysen Reindel’s at 285 pounds. The Lancers heavyweight normally dispatches his opponents through pins, but he had been battling the flu and still came out with a win by decision. 

“I woke up a week ago really, really sick and couldn’t breathe,” Jaysen Reindel said. “Come Monday I had to stay home from school because I could barely move. I started going to practice a little n Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a rough week. 

“I was breathing hard today before I even got on the mat. My head was spinning and I just wasn’t feeling good at all.”

Joe Luna (134) was taken to overtime before escaping with a 9-7 win. 

“I felt like I could have wrestled much better,” Luna said. “I gave up some points that I shouldn’t have.

“When we went to overtime I knew I had to get the first takedown to win.”

The other two East Union wins came via pin with the first one coming in the third round by Tyler Dias (115).

“I was on top and he tried to swim to my head,” Diaz said. “So I threw may arm and put him on his back and stuck my legs and I pinned him.

Nicholas Sims (197) notched a second-period pin.

“I discouraged him in the first period by showing him that his height did not matter to me,” Sims said. “He gave up by the second period.”