Sean Yamasaki and Conner Lee have played significant roles in Dos Pueblos’ Channel League wrestling dynasty.
The Chargers won their sixth straight league championship this season, with Yamasaki capturing a record-tying fourth individual title and Lee winning his second in a row.
They both earned podium finishes at the CIF-SS divisional championships. At the Masters Meet, Lee went on to qualify for the CIF State Championships while Yamasaki just missed advancing, losing by a point in an overtime match.
Their body of work is being recognized by the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table. The organization is honoring Yamasaki and Lee as the High School Boys Wrestlers of the Year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yamasaki and Lee are being presented their awards in a virtual format on the Round Table’s social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and on the Noozhawk Sports Page.
The Round Table is honoring all the high school and college athletes of the year for the fall and winter seasons. There are no awards for spring because the season was cut short by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Yamasaki became only the third wrestler in the history of the Channel League to win four titles, tying his father, Dos Pueblos alum and assistant coach, Mike (1979-82), and Ron Wilson of Camarillo (1968-71).
Sean Yamasaki had a tremendous senior season. He earned podium finishes in all the regular season tournaments. He opened the year with a first place at the Newbury Park Tournament and was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the lower weight classes.
He beat the top-seeded wrestler from Utah to win a title at the Ed Spring Tournament and finished No. 1 in his weight class at the Asics Southern California Championships. He took fifth at the Battle of the Belt and won a bronze medal at the California Invitational Tournament.
At the CIF-SS Inland Division championships, he finished in third place at 132 pounds. He bounced back from a 3-2 loss in the semifinals and won his next two matches 16-0 and 2-0.
Yamasaki, who also played for the DP golf team, will continue his wrestling career at San Francisco State.
Lee was a two-sport standout for the Chargers. He earned All-CIF, All-Channel League and All-South Coast honors in football and accepted an offer to play football at Whitworth College in Washington. He played running back, defensive back and returner for DP.
“In Conner, they get a high-motor versatile player who is explosive in all phases of the game,” said DP football coach Doug Caines. “With a high GPA, high motor, Whitworth is getting a rare talent.”
Lee used that high motor to his advantage on the wrestling mat. At the CIF divisional meet, Lee pulled out a 14-11 win in the semifinals before losing to the top seeded wrestler in the final.
Lee also took second place at the Ed Spring Invitational and repeated as a Channel League champion.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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