NorCal Wrestling’s Power Five | De La Salle

In Second Season Since His Passing, Mark Halvorson’s Standard For Excellence Lives On In A Very Talented De La Salle Wrestling Room

Over a month of California prep wrestling has cleared the way for five of Northern California’s best boys wrestling programs to represent the true power of NorCal grappling. This five-part series takes a close look at the teams and wrestlers expected to amass the most hardware at section and state finales in February 2023. It continues with De La Salle Wrestling. NEXT UP: Vacaville (Dec. 22, 10 a.m.). PREVIOUSLY: Oakdale

De La Salle Spartans

Head coach: Jon Clark
Projected Lineup:
106: Manuel “Slim” Martir, Jr.
113: Caleb Tatad, Jr.
120: Gio Cuevas, Jr.
126: Carlos “Bubba” Vazquez, Jr.
132: Joshua Perez, Jr.
138: Atri Feizi, Sr.
145: Franklin Enkhmandakh, Jr.
152: Gavin Fernandez, Sr.
160: TJ Arvizu, Jr./ David Moore, Sr.
170: Alexander Ortiz, So./ David Moore, Sr.
182: Sebastian Ramirez, Jr./ Leo Torres, Jr.
195: Rolando “Lance” Sanchez, Sr./ Omar Torres, So.
220: Stefan Bakiev, Sr.
285: Cooper Cazares, Sr.

Mark Halvorson didn’t just craft a dynasty inside the De La Salle wrestling room — he founded a legacy.

Halvorson guided the Spartans to 11 of 12 North Coast Section titles before his sudden death in 2021, and more importantly, helped build a network of alumni-powered diligence to excellence.

Less than two years since his passing, De La Salle has rallied together a remarkable support system of coaches, led by 2004 alumni and head coach, Jon Clark. The De La Salle wrestling coach was a CIF medalist and collegiate wrestler at UC Davis.

“Coach Halvorson established a tradition here by training guys at a young age to be successful,“ Clark said. “We took over the program from him and kept running with the same expectations.

“We just have a lot of fun. It’s a big family.”

Lets take a look at the other minds teaching take downs on the Spartan mat, starting with the alumni:

• Alex Hayworth (class of 1990, San Francisco State)
• Danny Pease (class of ’02, NCS champ, Menlo College)
• Brandon Zoeteway (class of ’05, two-time state medalist, CSU Bakersfield)
• Aaron Pease (class ’13, NCS champ and two-time state qualifier)
• Justin Pease (class of ’15)
• Adrian Gomez (class of ’17, Cal Baptist and Northern Michigan)
• Daryll Aiello (class of ’17, three-time state medalist, Clackamas)
• Jake Lilienstein (class of ’17, two-time state qualifier)
• Carlos Sumulong (former head coach at Northgate-Walnut Creek, 10-year DLS coach, San Francisco State All-American and HOF honoree)
• David Ridge (Former Acalanes-Lafayette head coach and Virginia state champ)
• Cliff Conte (Penn State)
• Nicholas Matayoshi (Hawaii State Champion, Wesleyan)
• Solly Fulp (Oregon)

There would be some intense challenge matches, but Spartan coaches easily could form their own stout lineup.

Instead they’ve focused on a prep squad on the cusp of 13 NCS titles in 14 seasons (would be eight straight).

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The squad rallies behind returning state medalist Gavin Fernandez, who was just third in the NCS, but won five straight matches in the consolation bracket at state to secure his medal (fourth at 152).

The other team captain is Carlos “Bubba” Vazquez.

“Bubba is just a killer in the classroom, weight room and on the track,” Clark said. “He comes in every day and does all the right work.”

Vasquez will cap a hugely talented Spartan group in the lower weights, starting with 2022 state qualifier Manuel Martir, who was 113 last year, but should drop to 106 for the 2023 postseason. This will allow stalwarts Caleb Tatad (state qualifier), Gio Cuevas and Vasquez to all fit into the first four weights.

Arti Feizi (138) and Stefan Bakiev are also returning state qualifiers. They didn’t wrestle at Oakdale’s prestigious James Riddle Memorial Classic on Dec. 10, but Martir, Vasquez, Franklin Enkhmandakh (145), TJ Arvizu (160), Fernandez, Rolando Sanchez (195) and Cooper Cazares (285) all medaled in the top six.

All the wrestlers on De La Salle’s lineup will fight desperately to make the state meet, but that road got a lot tougher in the offseason. Seeds to state are determined by continued success at state, and limited medalists by the section has encouraged state officials to remove the third ticket from the NCS Championships. 

Only the top two wrestlers in each weight will move on, and the consolation champion will get a shot at the finals loser (true second), unless he already lost to that wrestler in the same tournament.

“It’s interesting from a coaching standpoint,” Clark said. “If your guy loses, he has to fight to get third, and if you have a finalist that loses, you have to turn around and get them geared up, right after losing a section title.”

It adds a bit more drama to an already intense postseason tournament that seems to grow the De La Salle legacy each year.