HOME SWEET HOME

By Brandon Petersen

Westcliff Wrestling hosted the first Warrior Classic in program history on Saturday, marking both the inaugural edition of the tournament and the first women's home meet the Warriors have ever held.

Barbara Greenberg set the tone in nearly every dual, opening with dominant wins that gave Westcliff immediate momentum.

And after watching Greenberg control her matches, freshman Vanessa Alvarado seemed to draw something from it. Still brand new to the college scene, Alvarado battled through each appearance and delivered one of her strongest performances of the young season, showing poise, toughness, and real growth in front of the home crowd.

"Vanessa impressed today," head coach D'Rell Gist said. "She's new, she's learning, but you can see her picking it up. The fight is there."

Reigning Westcliff Female Athlete of the Year Berlyn Davis looked sharp throughout the Classic, wrestling with the confidence and composure of an athlete returning from a national-tournament run.

She stayed clean, managed matches well, and gave Westcliff the steady presence it expects from one of its anchors. "Berlyn looked like the Berlyn we know," Gist said. "She's settling back into her rhythm."

Jeslyn Ledezma turned in perhaps the most quietly impressive weekend. Bumping up to 160 pounds for the team, she finished 3–1 with two falls against Grand Canyon and Vanguard and a tech fall over Menlo's Oak squad. Her only loss came to Menlo's A lineup.

Natalie Gonzales contributed two key victories as well, delivering points in the middle of the order when Westcliff needed them.

The Warriors finished the day 3–1, beating Grand Canyon 35–8, defeating Vanguard 29–19, and handling Menlo's Oak squad 30–17. Their lone loss came to Menlo's A team, 34–11.

"For our first home meet ever, I was proud of how the women competed," Gist said. "They fought for each other, bumped up when asked, and showed exactly what this program is becoming."

The tournament was held at Golden West College and was a packed house for the entire day. For its first-ever home tournament, Westcliff showed up, showed out, and was a fantastic host.

"It was huge," Gist said.  "I mean, it's been a couple years in the making. This was our first home event, which was pretty awesome. I really appreciated all the teams that came out. We had over eight teams here, and it was just awesome. I mean, everything ran smooth, and, you know, no complaints.

"I'm excited to just do this again next year, keep it growing, and it's going to be awesome."