Wrestling notes: West’s John Fonseca has added motivation

Being unable to make weight brought West wrestler John Fonseca’s appearance at the Class 6A tournament to a sudden halt last season.

Fonseca, now a senior, isn’t likely to have that problem this season.

Pioneers coach Kenny Taylor is having Fonseca wrestle at 132 pounds – up from his first three years at 113.

Fonseca finished 33-10 as a junior.

“He should wrestle what he weighs and have fun,” Taylor said. “(He should) go out and try to achieve his goal of standing on the podium at state.”

The abrupt ending – where Fonseca had to forfeit a consolation-bracket match – has only made him more determined, Taylor said.

“It lit a fire underneath him,” Taylor said. “(Realizing) how close he was to getting a medal.”

Not having the added stress of reaching weight has also freed his mind, Fonseca said.

“At practice, I’m putting more focus on wrestling and learning the moves,” he said. “I don’t have to wear sweats and long sleeves all the time, or run (additionally) after practice.”

Fonseca (3-1, ranked sixth in 132) has adjusted to the higher weight by frequently wrestling bigger wrestlers in practice.

“I’m still trying to wrestle 132 instead of 113,” he said. “I’ve been going against 138s and 152s.”

Sometimes, he will wrestle lighter teammates like junior Kesean DeShazer, who provide him with the challenge of a quicker wrestler.

Taylor said his focus with the Pioneers is less about duals and more about placing at the state tournament.

“Duals are like quizzes,” said Taylor, in his fourth year as coach at his alma mater. “We use those matches to prepare for the state tournament.”

Fonseca isn’t the only West wrestler making a jump in weight class.

Senior Jared Stevens moved from 138 to 160. He made the 6A tournament as a sophomore but fell one match short as a junior.

Another senior, Kevin Robinson, is wrestling at 138, up from 126.

The underclassmen are strong as well with DeShazer at 126 and Brandon Fiedler replacing Fonseca at 113, up from 106 last season.

Andover Central young, talented – Andover Central graduated two seniors from a team that was seventh in Class 4A, and coach Chris Saferite said his returning wrestlers are giving rise to optimism for this season.

Leading the returnees on a squad that has no seniors are juniors Jake Patch (third at state at 106) and Bryant Page (fourth at 126).

Patch is wrestling 113 this season. Filling in at 106 will be another junior, Griffin Baker, who was the victim of a numbers game last season, Saferite said.

“He was behind (Jake) Patch at 106-107 pounds,” Saferite said. “He wasn’t quite big enough (to crack the lineup).”

Patch’s twin brother Josh will compete at 120, and the last of the Gentzler line, junior Gunnar, will go at 132 and seek to carry on the tradition of older brothers Jake and Zac, who went on to Newman and Oklahoma State, respectively.

“(Gunnar) struggled at 120, so we wanted him to come in not cutting weight,” Saferite said. “It’s good for him, and good for us.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Wrestling notes: West’s John Fonseca has added motivation."