INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS
(L-R) Diego McDonald and Keen Velasco (Photo – Jaco Naranjo)
Two Marshall Fundamental wrestlers will compete in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Tournament. Sophomore Keen Velasco (106 pounds) and junior Diego McDonald (150 pounds) both qualified for the Masters Tournament and will represent the Eagle team on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at Sonora High School in La Habra.
By Felita Kealing
Saturday’s event features the top 30 wrestlers from over 360 schools in the CIF Southern Section, which spans from Santa Barbara in the north to Orange County in the south, and from Palm Desert in the east to Santa Monica in the west. Both Keen and Diego have had impressive seasons—Diego earned a first-place finish in the Mission Valley League, while Keen qualified with a second-place finish.
During the season, the Eagles led the Mission Valley League team standings and remained undefeated until the Eaton Fire forced them to forfeit their remaining matches.
Undeterred, the team excelled by having wrestlers place in five separate Invitational tournaments: the Edison Beach Bash, Nogales Superchamps, Ralph Harris Invitational, Bob Bellot Classic, and Thousand Oaks Thunderclap Tournament.
At the League tournament, the Eagles had eight wrestlers place, with notable finishes including:
- Diego McDonald: 1st
- Mathew Estevez: 1st
- Keen Velasco: 2nd
- Mauricio Moreno-Jones: 2nd
- Isaac Benevidez: 2nd
- Samson Allen: 2nd
- Chris Murillo: 3rd
- Garabet Marmarian: 3rd
- Joseph Montoya: 3rd
For the season, Marshall’s varsity wrestling team sent eight wrestlers to CIF, with five successfully returning for day two of the tournament: Diego McDonald, Keen Velasco, Chris Murillo, Mauricio Moreno-Jones, and Isaac Benavidez. Unfortunately, three wrestlers lost in the “blood round” and did not advance.
The team would like to extend a huge thank you to Coach Paul Bauberger, Coach Brandon To, and Coach Dan Jarashow for their unwavering support this year. Special recognition goes to Coach Paul for raising the bar of excellence for many of our wrestlers throughout the season’s tournaments.
Marshall Fundamental is still the only school in the Pasadena area with a wrestling team. From this group, Keen and Diego are the second and third student-athletes in our program’s history to qualify for the Masters Tournament. Additionally, senior Isaac Benavidez is the first Marshall wrestler to ever reach 100 career wins.
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