The Monte Vista wrestling team just reached a historic milestone this past weekend as MV junior Trevor Economos won the North Coast Section (NCS) Boys Wrestling Championship. His victory marks a significant moment in Monte Vista’s athletic history, as he’s the first Mustang to win a NCS title since 1982. For over four decades, Monte Vista wrestlers have tried to earn the top spot on the podium, but the gold medal remained out of reach until Economos’ outstanding performance.
To fully understand how impressive this feat is, it’s important to understand the tournament Economos competed in. The NCS Wrestling Championship is an event where only the top wrestlers from various local leagues qualify to compete in, with all the competitors in the competition being from the North Coast Section. It follows a double-elimination format, which means although a single loss could stop a participant from getting the gold, a participant would need to lose twice to be fully eliminated from the tournament.
The tournament itself is separated into different weight classes, and Economos dominated his 150 weight class with continuous wins. Throughout the multi-day event, he faced various opponents from across the section, winning several matches by significant point margins. In the final round, Economos faced a high-ranking opponent in a tough match. But by maintaining control of the position and executing successful escapes, he secured the points necessary to win.
“I got it off of a very late move. I was down, and then I scored…” Economos said. “It was so surreal. My coaches were going nuts in the corner.”
His victory serves as a testament to the coaching staff’s development of the program and student athletes’ own hard work and rigorous training. The win not only adds a trophy to the school’s collection, but also shifts the reputation of Monte Vista boys wrestling within the section. While the NCS title is a great achievement, it also serves as a qualifier. By finishing at the top of his weight class, Economos has earned a spot in the CIF State Wrestling Championships, which was held from February 26th to the 28th. The tournament brings together the top placers from every section in California to compete for the ultimate state title. Competing against the best of California, he finished in the top 24— an amazing result, and definitely well deserved. To some of the aspiring wrestlers out there, here’s some advice from Economos himself.
“You gotta love it. If you don’t enjoy doing it, you’re not gonna want to be there, and you’re not gonna actually get better because you don’t care about getting better.” Economos said.
“Watch a lot of high-level wrestling. That’s really what helps, cause when you watch a lot of high level wrestling, you just start to naturally implement it into your wrestling in general.”
As the wrestling competitions are ending for the season, the 1982 banner finally has company. The Monte Vista community celebrates a NCS boys wrestling championship win that has been nearly half a century in the making.
