After near falls and takedowns and grinding away for 5 minutes, San Marin High’s Tristan Lloyd powered his way to a dramatic pinfall victory. The Mustangs’ 165-pounder was one of four Mustangs to claim gold at Saturday’s MCAL individual championships, hosted by Novato High.

San Marin’s Spencer Sisneros (113), Sebastian McLean (120) and Supasin Wongkhum (215) also won their championship matches to lead the Mustangs to the team points championship.

“This is a bit of revenge,” said San Marin junior Levi Manville, who took second place against Redwood junior Hayden Schepps at 144 pounds. “We felt we should have won the duals title two weeks ago, so this means a lot to win the team title now.”

Tam High won the MCAL duals crown in the regular season finale during a tri-meet with Novato and San Marin as the Red-tailed Hawks beat both their opponents.

“This effort today is closer to our true potential than we showed the past couple weeks,” San Marin head coach Cory Boyd said after the Mustangs celebrated with their hard-won pennant. “The guys deserve this win. It’s the end of the season, they’re in the best shape they’re going to be.”

Saturday’s action ended with one of the most anticipated matchups of the season between heavyweights Braeden Carroll of Novato and David Coronado of San Marin. Coronado was unavailable to wrestling when the teams met in the regular season. The two dominating wrestlers locked horns, then Carroll pushed the Mustangs sophomore backward and Coronado stumbled. From that point on, the Novato junior was in control on the mat and got the pin in one minute.

“It was good. I was glad to wrestle David, someone in my weight class,” said Carroll, who is being touted as a favorite to win the 285-pound North Coast Section championship and contend for a state title. “I didn’t expect him to fall. I was going for the pin, then my coach told me it wasn’t time, so I was focused on getting the points before I pinned hm.”

Saturday’s champions will carry the banner for a robust contingent of Marin wrestlers heading to NCS. The championships are scheduled for Feb. 21-22, with the boys tournament hosted by James Logan High of Union City and the girls at Albany High.

“I’m looking forward to some rematches at NCS,” said Carroll, who won four tournaments this season prior to Saturday and is ranked 14th in the state. He pinned California High senior Taniela Pahulu in the 24th annual Mat Classic semifinals on his way to winning the title, and is looking forward to continuing the rivalry with Pahulu.

Tam’s Tyrell Smith won a 7-0 decision over San Marin’s Noah Albertson on Saturday to avenge a pinfall loss during the regular-season finale. Unlike in their first meeting, Smith was more patient in his attack, but took an early lead and racked up the points. Albertson was desperate to get the pin as time ticked away, but Smith avoided every effort to turn him.

“I knew last time I got gassed in our match,” Smith said. “So I tried to conserve energy. I came into this with more confidence and a new plan. It worked out.”

The Mustangs enjoyed one of the most dramatic victories of the day during the 165-pound championship. Lloyd scooped up his opponent from Archie Williams High and dropped him on the mat for the pinning attempt, but Oliver Valente kept his shoulders off the mat for 25 seconds as the first round ended.

Lloyd held an 11-0 lead entering the third period, forcing Valente to fire up his offense. Valente tried to pick up Lloyd, but the Mustangs standout fought his way out of the hold, then switched it up and got the pin with a minute left on the clock.

The Mustangs’ Wongkhum needed less than a minute to pin Terra Linda sophomore Josh Duvuloco. San Marin freshman Sisneros found himself in trouble at 113 pounds, trailing Archie Williams freshman Rainer Grabenkort 16-4 in the second period before Sisneros got Grabenkort on his back for the pin.

The championships took a scary turn in the 120-pound final. Novato junior Jiriah Vannasy pinned McLean in their matchup in the season finale, and was looking for a repeat. Vannasy got behind McLean and hoisted him over his shoulder. McLean landed awkwardly and lay motionless on the mat as trainers tended to him, wary of a possible concussion. A dizzy McLean eventually was helped off the mat, with the victory, as Vannasy was disqualified.

Among the Marin favorites to succeed at NCS is Redwood senior Alexander Berkowitz at 157 pounds. Berkowitz (36-5), who won the Mat Classic in January and the Bill Martell Invitational in December, is heading to NCS after claiming the MCAL title with a pinfall win over Tam junior Valentino Van Praag in just 59 seconds.

The 106-pound bracket featured only two wrestlers. Redwood freshman Ayaan Nasser earned a 17-3 major decision over Novato’s Max Kujawa in the final. Redwood sophomore Dylan Morton wasted no time in pinning Tam senior Sebastian Kauh in the 126-pound final before the seconds ticked off the clock. Shepps won a 15-3 major decision over Manville. The Giants’ Jackson Heravi earned a technical fall over Terra Linda’s Eric Jimenez for a quick end to the 150-pound final.

Tam sophomore Dylan Hayes continued to power up for a postseason run. After two impressive wins in the regular season finale, the Hawks’ 190-pounder dominated Terra Linda’s Tristan Collins (25-8), an accomplished senior. Hayes (30-16) scored a first-period takedown and led 10-1 after the first two minutes. He was leading 17-1 before finally getting the fall just 27 seconds into the second period.

Juniors Dylan Van Doren of Tam and Arthur Sepan of Terra Linda were evenly matched on paper heading into their 138-pound final. After the first period, Van Doren (24-10) took the base out from under Sepan (26-10) and turned him for the pin.

Novato senior Jonathan Bartnicki (27-9) had his hands full with Terra Linda junior Laszlo Chaffee in the 175-pound championship. Bartnicki to Chaffee on his back in the first period, but Chaffee rolled out. The two wrestled to a stalemate for the next four minutes before Chaffee forced the attack in the third period. Bartnicki turned the energy against Chaffee, however, to get the pin in the final minute.

“We’re doing well, we’ve shown a lot of improvement this season,” said Terra Linda coach Alex Wahl, whose team had nine placers in Saturday’s championships. The Trojans’ Arturo Gomez (285) and Kaden Pace (132) are among those expected to make some noise at NCS.