Near-pin Helps Slack Rebound to Wrestling Title

came up with an unusual incentive while laying on his back, trying to keep his shoulders off the wrestling mat Saturday.

"I remember thinking, ‘If I lose to this guy, I’m going to remember this the rest of my life,’ '' the 147-pounder said before flipping his Redwood opponent and pinning him in the semifinals of the Marin County Athletic League Championships.

Slack went on to win the MCAL title, surprising Marin Catholic's Jake Newman 13-10 in the finals.

"I think he was overconfident today," Slack said of Newman, who had beaten him at the Dawn to Dusk Tournament earlier this season. "I kinda knew what to expect, so that was good. The week after (the earlier loss), I trained to his style."

The back-to-back stunning victories capped quite a day for Slack, who was one of three San Marin champions. The others were defending champion at 105 pounds, who got a tough battle from Tam's Pablo Cortez in the finals before winning 5-2, and 173-pounder , who handled Terra Linda's Nate Keeve 7-3 with the title on the line.

The top three finishers in each weight class qualified for next week's North Coast Section Championships at Newark Memorial.

"We had five guys in the finals. I felt the team had my back, and I had their back," Slack noted. "It's good to know people were there to support me."

Also advancing to NCS from the Mustangs were second-place finishers and , and third-placers (114), (142) and (217).

Wes Roberts and Vavuris both were pinned in the finals, Roberts losing in 1:56 to Conrad Caindec of Terra Linda, and Vavuris falling in 5:23 to Evan Egas of Marin Catholic.

Novato also had two wrestlers make the finals only to come up short: , who was pinned at 1:59 by Terra Linda's Kai Caindec at 114 pounds, and , who battled Marin Catholic's Michael Sitzman tough in the 137-pound title bout before falling 4-1.

Nguyen and Heath will be joined at NCS by teammate , who rolled over Marin Catholic's Mac Coll 15-1 for third place at 173.

Novato's (121), (132) and (147) finished fourth.

Terra Linda edged Marin Catholic for the team title.