Lassen High wrestlers honored at season’s end

The Lassen High Grizzlies saw a great wrestling season this past year with personal records made and friendships built.

To shine a final spotlight on the wrestlers who made the team strong, the Grizzlies hosted a banquet on Tuesday, March 21 at the high school.

Of the many student athletes on the team, the first to be recognized were those who maintained a grade point average of 4.0 or higher throughout their time on the mats.

Head coach Errin Montgomery said, “Overall, our average (GPA) on the team is around a 3.0, which is really good.”

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The four students with a 4.0 GPA or higher were Chase Montgomery, Levi Prater, Hunter St. Andre and Nubia Figueroa. Each received a certificate and a round of applause for their academic achievement.

Coach Montgomery then introduced the awards specific to wrestling.

Chase Montgomery earned the Most Takedowns Award as well as the Most Reversals Award. Over the course of the season, Chase Montgomery had 55 takedowns and 30 reversals.

Tucker St. Andre was honored with the Most Pins Award with 23 pins recorded from the 2016-17 season.

Hunter St. Andre earned the Most Escapes Award with 29 escapes on his record for the season. Additionally, Hunter St. Andre also received the Most Wins Award after winning 37 matches.

Prater was awarded the Most Nearfalls Award with 42 on his record from the 2016-17 season.

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The next honorees were those with traditional awards who displayed their passion and effort consistently throughout the season.

The Most Improved Award was given to Chandler Monahan. “He’s come a long ways, and he’s going to be a handful next year,” said coach Montgomery.

Kyle Mejia was honored with the Most Outstanding JV Award. Coach Montgomery mentioned Mejia’s

tendency to keep positivity in the team while also being a tough wrestler. Mejia is expected to become a top opponent during his high school wrestling career.

The Outstanding Freshman Award was presented to Dillon Boyer.

Chris Clements was awarded the Outstanding Female Wrestler Award.

Coach Montgomery commented, “Chris is a pretty tough girl. She went to sections. If she had won her last match, she would have qualified for the state tournament. She’s got one more year, so we’re going to get there.”

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Three wrestlers were honored with Coaches’ Awards.

Tucker St. Andre was the first honoree. Coach Montgomery said Tucker St. Andre was often the leader of the room and would try to always keep everyone entertained.

The next Coaches’ Award was given to Prater. Senior Prater was the only four-year wrestler at Lassen for this season. His record throughout his high school career was 100 wins and 63 losses.

Lane Bias received the final Coaches’ Award. Bias received the award for his diligence, as he did not miss a practice. He also received the award for smiling everyday, as he was known to do to brighten up the days of his teammates.

The next two awards were the Iron Man Award and the Dave Foster Award.

Hunter St. Andre was honored with the Iron Man Award. Coach Montgomery said, “The Iron Man Award acknowledges the guy that is week after week after week that keeps grinding it out and gets a piece of the pie.”

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Coach Montgomery continued, “Almost every weekend, Hunter was in the finals. He gets a piece of the pie. And he was a true leader. And we are going to miss him.”

Richie Camarena was presented with the Dave Foster Award. The award is presented to the most outstanding wrestler of the year.

Camarena also received a ring for being the North Section Champion at 106 pounds for the 2016-17 season. Camarena won at Sectionals this year and moved onto the State Tournament.

Coach Montgomery finished the banquet by saying, “Thank all you wrestlers, especially you seniors; it’s been a great year. We’re going to miss you guys.”