Tracy High’s wrestlers took a close team loss at home on Wednesday, with the visiting Titans of Chavez High winning the match 38-36.

Tracy High coach Tony Leanos said that the difference again was which team could get the pins, and even though Tracy got individual wins in key matches, the difference that a pin could make in team points eventually ended up being the slim margin of victory that went to the Chavez team.

The loss puts Tracy a 2-2 in the San Joaquin Athletic Association, leaving the Bulldogs at a big disadvantage if they hope to reclaim the league title from Lodi. It’s still a possibility, but it will depend on how Tracy does against Lodi next Tuesday at home, and also how teams do in the SJAA league championships on Feb. 12.

Each team won seven individual matches, but Chavez got more team points for each of its wins, including four pins, two major decisions and a forfeit. Tracy had two pins, two decisions and three forfeits.

Leanos said his frustration was in seeing the next to last match end abruptly in overtime. With Chavez ahead 34-33, Tracy’s Bishop Nguyen and Chavez’ Kristopher Sanchez battled through three rounds. Nguyen had the advantage in the first round, scoring on a reversal, a near-pin and an escape. Sanchez scored in the second round on a couple takedowns, and they both scored on takedowns in the third round. Rodriguez was ahead 14-12 when Nguyen scored on a takedown in the last seconds to force the overtime round.

Nguyen scored on a takedown 17 seconds into the overtime round, but Leanos said that the referee ended the match on that score without giving Nguyen a chance to go for the pin, making the decision worth three team points for Tracy instead of six team points that a pin would have brought.

“We should have had the opportunity to work for the fall in that overtime round, and the referee made a mistake, blew the whistle, and that basically cost us the match,” he said. “In overtime if you take the guy to his back you’re allowed to work through the pin, until the guy comes off his back.”

It put Tracy ahead, but by only two points, meaning that either team could win the team match on a decision. Chavez’ Angel Gonzales beat Tracy’s Josh Gomez Zavala 12-2 in the last match of the night, and the four-point major decision put Chavez ahead 38-36 at the end.

“They definitely wrestled tough. Again it comes down to us getting pinned. That’s been the sign of the season so far,” Leanos said.

Wins for Tracy on Wednesday were: Mike Frymyer (137) beat Robert Rodriguez 12-8, Albert Landeros (114) pinned Marissa Short in 1:42, Zack Blackwell (121) pinned Gabrielle Savage in 27 seconds, and Bishop Nguyen (127) beat Kristopher Sanchez 16-14 in overtime.

Wins for Chavez were: Anthony Rodriguez (142) pinned Jake Koster in 3:48, Carlos Pitts (147) beat Tyler Hoffman 16-2, Milton Morales (173) pinned Brandon Varvell in 1:06, Michael Estay (287) pinned Johnny Bruder in 1:44, Hoa Le (105) pinned Dalton Gualco in 3:19, and Angel Gonzales (132) beat Josh Gomez-Zavala 12-2.

Tracy won the junior varsity match 48-16. The Bulldogs won four by pin and four by forfeit. Wins for Tracy were: Brad Johnson (142) won by pin in the second round, Lucas Furtado (191) won by pin in the first round, Gage Chavez (121) won by pin in the first round, and Austin Shankel (127) won by pin in the first round. Chavez won two by forfeit and one by major decision.