Drake the Perfect Host for MCAL Wrestling Championship

didn't have a single wrestler finish in the top three at the Marin County Athletic League Championships on Saturday, but the school could nonetheless walk away from the day-long meet feeling like champions.

The Pirates hosted the championships, which were almost universally applauded at day's end by the rival coaches.

"It went very smoothly," Drake coach proudly boasted afterward. "We got a lot of help."

Drake will send one wrestler to next week's North Coast Section Championships. earned a trip to Newark Memorial High by virtue of a fourth-place finish in the 191-pound division.

Only the top three finishers automatically qualify for NCS, but Gazzoli caught a break as the first alternate when one of the top three in his weight class announced he could not attend the meet.

Gazzoli was pinned by San Rafael's Shaq Mearse in 3:54 in the third-place finals.

Pirates teammate also finished fourth, losing a third-period lead in a 4-3 loss to Tam's Demetrius Jetton in the battle for third place in the heavyweight division. Sayge had been pinned by Jetton earlier in the day.

Drake also had three fifth-place and three six-place finishers in the MCAL event.

Gerlach said his team had some close calls, a competitive effort that made the coach proud.

"We're very young," he noted. "Some of these teams have 20-25 guys in the room. We barely have 15.

"[Terra Linda coach] Danny (Dardon) told me, 'You know you're getting better when you get upset at losses.' That's how I felt today. We're definitely going forward."

Gerlach wasn't the only coach who walked away from the Drake gym happy Saturday night, something that made him feel good.

"In the past, it's been borderline impossible for one school to host a tournament like this," he said. "Today was very, very wonderful in terms of support. It really helped the tournament run so smoothly."

Terra Linda won the team title, edging Marin Catholic.