Mennonite Church holds wrestling tournament

The Mennonite Brethren Church of Shafter held its annual Youth Wrestling tournament on Saturday, attracting almost 100 wrestlers from all over the valley.

There were several wrestlers from the Shafter Spartans who participated, along with wrestlers from Wasco, Bakersfield, even Fresno.

The event was run by Pastor Pat Coyle, who also leads a wrestling camp every summer. The tournament is for mostly novice and beginners to the sport, who use this tournament as a way to get exposed to a competition setting.

This is the beginning of the wrestling season, and the tournament is a good starting point for eager, young wrestlers.

A few of the wrestlers who participated from Shafter were Aden Ruelas, who won his first match of the day. Evan Jimenez also competed, wrestling a great first match, beating his opponent in the last seconds.

Coyle said that a lot of the young wrestlers use these kinds of tournaments to get their feet wet, and learn how to compete in a tournament setting. "It is a lot of fun, and I think that the kids learn a lot as well."