For Cobos, Schneider It’s Same Old Same Old

Wes Cobos and Larry Schneider had been down this road before, so the outcome was no surprise.

Cobos and Schneider, seniors at Thousand Oaks High, successfully defended their Marmonte League wrestling titles Saturday at Simi Valley High with victories over the same opponents they defeated in the finals last season.

Cobos (145 pounds) and Schneider (152) were among three wrestlers to win titles for Thousand Oaks, which claimed a second consecutive league dual-meet championship with a 6-0 record.

Cobos won a third consecutive title by defeating Shannon Sams of Royal, 5-3, in overtime. Schneider won a second title in a row with a 3-2 victory over Chris Rueckert of Royal.

Cobos, who defeated Sams, 1-0, in last season’s final, trailed, 3-2, before recording an escape with 22 seconds left in regulation. Cobos ended the meet 44 seconds into overtime, taking down Sams by the leg.

“I wanted to take a good, safe shot,” said Cobos, who improved to 28-1. “It’s always tough against him. This year, I beat him in double-overtime.”

Schneider defeated Rueckert, 11-3, for the title last season. The battle was considerably closer this time.

Heavyweight Chris Jansen of Thousand Oaks pinned Simi Valley’s Kevin Francis in 1:29.

Royal and Simi Valley also had three champions. Moorpark and Newbury Park each had two. The top three placers in each of 14 weight classes advanced to the Division III finals Feb. 20 at North Torrance.

Tyson Hadduck of Simi Valley (171) and Kirk Bermudez of Moorpark (103) recorded pins.

Hadduck, a junior and third in the league last season, stopped William Little in 1:55 to improve to 30-5 with 18 pins.

“I just wrestled him last week, so I was expecting his moves,” Hadduck said.

Bermudez flattened Andy Maldonado of Thousand Oaks in 1:55.

Royal’s Jason Schliekelman (125), Andrew Davidson (160) and Jon Koppenhaver (189) won titles. Schliekelman defeated Matt Javid of Agoura, 3-1, in overtime.