Buchanan vs. Poway Girls Wrestling Dual Turns Wild as a Last-Second Pin Swings the Night

After four straight pins by Poway flipped the match early, Buchanan answered with bonus-point bursts and a dramatic buzzer-beater fall to secure a 39-28 victory.

Buchanan's Marcia Nunez flipped a back-and-forth battle with Poway's Isabella Fodera, with a last second pin, to help the Bears claim a 39-28 victory. / Buchanan Girls Wrestling

Prior to the big national showdown of No. 1 Buchanan and No. 8 Poway, the girls’ squads from each of those schools engaged in a dual that was interesting in the pacing that led to the hosts claiming a 39-28 win.

Streaks Defined the Match for Both Sides

The match was defined by streaks after No. 2 Christina Estrada’s dual opening 20-4 technical fall of Poway’s Noemi Cordero at 120 pounds. Poway answered Estrada’s win by taking the next four to go up, 24-5, on the scoreboard.

No. 18 Aleia Apostol came out at her customary 125 pounds and squared off with the Bears’ Trinity Garza, up from 120 pounds where she is ranked second in the country by High School on SI. Apostol grabbed a quick takedown off the whistle then wasted little time before running a half and gaining the fall in 38 seconds.

Sophia Fodera (130) followed Apostol’s lead down to the takedown and a half, but ended her encounter with Isabella Varney in a leaner, 31 seconds. Eva Ebrahimi (No. 28 at 120 pounds) is now up at 135 pounds and used a Bear Hug to the back to keep the pin streak alive, registering hers in 1:02.

At 140 pounds, Kaitlyn Krenz made it four falls in a row for Poway when she stuck Laila Hawkins in the second period, 2:20, at 140 pounds. After those four ladies finished their work, the tide turned against them as it was Buchanan’s turn to peel off four straight wins.

Bonus Points Aided the Bears

The Bears would get bonus points in three of those including a 1:49 ending handed to Evana Akel on a cradle by Victoria Ohanian at 170 pounds and two forfeits collected by Syraha Gonzales (145 pounds) and Alexa Herrera (105).

Olivia Faust added four to Buchanan’s tally in what was easily the most entertaining bout on the card at 155 pounds. It was a wild match that defies description. It would take forever to explain the many twists, turns, and zaniness the fans witnessed in this one. It was a football score at the end that favored Faust, 23-13, over Emmyjane Bragg.

After Herrera received her forfeit at 100 pounds, Buchanan was back in the lead, 27-24. Matches were not contested at 190 and 235 pounds.

No. 7 Ava Fodera (105 pounds) brought excitement back to Poway when she dominated Alex Marin en route to posting a 12-0 major decision to put the Titans back out front, 28-27.

The 110-Pound Match Was Exciting, Dramatic and Decisive

We are not privy to the inner working of California and have only recently been tracking the ladies, but from our research and observations, the 110-pound match was a toss-up. The Bears’ Marcia Nunez is rated 23rd in our 105-pound national rankings. Isabella Fodera is No. 24 at 110. By our limited notes, the two have not met.

The evidence was being proven correct as the match was tight at the end. Nunez had a big opening round where she got a takedown and picked up two near-fall points. Fodera answered with a reversal, then added points and took the lead on stalling calls that elevated her to a 6-5 edge.

Almost immediately after the two-point stall call, Nunez caught Fodera low and forced a spin behind with such force she was able to get a shoulder down and worked that into pinning position where she achieved that result with time expiring, 5:59.

Nunez’s fall pushed the Bears to the front, 33-28. The ending would be anticlimactic as the hosts were given one final forfeit to Marianna Gonzalez to close it out at 115 pounds.

Buchanan 39, Poway 28

(match started at 120)

120-Christina Estrada (B) tech-fall Noemi Cordero, 20-5

125-Aleia Apostol (P) pinned Trinity Garza, :38

130-Sophia Fodera (P) pinned Isabella Varney, :31

135-Eva Ebrahimi (P) pinned Emma Anderson, 1:02

140-Kaitlyn Krenz (P) pinned Laila Hawkins, 2:21

145-Syraha Gonzales (B) won by forfeit

155-Olivia Faust (B) maj-dec Emmyjane Bragg, 23-13

170-Victoria Ohanian (B) pinned Evana Akel, 1:49

100-Alexa Herrera (B) won by forfeit

105-Ava Fodera (P) maj-dec Alex Marin, 12-0

110-Marcia Nunez (B) pinned Isabella Fodera, 5:59

115-Marianna Gonzalez (B) won by forfeit