Officials
Front Row L-R Back Row L – R Who Are These Guys? They are the most experienced and hard working officials available and that’s why they are refereeing the TOC. In the early years of the TOC, high school wrestlers were the referees. Of course those were the days when kid wrestlers wore jeans and tennis shoes while competing on the mat. As the wrestlers moved into singlets, kneepads, headgear and fancy shoes the TOC had to keep pace by hiring the best officials we could find. . The referees we now have in the tournament have worked the California and Nevada High School State tournaments, college matches and tournaments and most have been working the TOC for many years as well. They know wrestling and the rules inside and out, keep abreast of the latest rule interpretations, have knowledge of junior high kids and there tendencies and , most of all, know how to protect the kids from injury. They are all professional and serious about doing a quality job on each match.. RON MARQUEZ - Originally from Fresno, Ron has been a wrestling referee for 30 years. Ron’s knowledge of the sport and the rule book is unmatched. He is a leader in the Northern California Officials Association and lives in Sacramento and just recently retired from the Calif. Tax Franchise Board. Ron is active in rule interpretations, training and rating of officials, and has refereed the California State HS tournament several times. He is generally acknowledged as one of the top officials in the Sac Joaquin Section and in all of California. He serves as our Head Official at the TOC. Ron was elected into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009. CODY OLSON - With Cody on the mat you will have to wrestle hard or you will be hit with stalling right away. Decisive and very consistent in his calls, Cody is a top level collegiate and high school official. Cody was selected to officiate at the NCAA tournament in 2005 and 2006 and refereed in the NCAA East Regional tournament finals in 2003. He has also officiated many PAC 10 matches in recent years and the California high school state meet. Cody is a former Nevada state high school champion and was a California high school state runner up in 1984 at Bella Vista High School. VIC GONZALEZ - Vic hails from the Fresno area where he is recognized as a top level official in the Central Valley. Matches run smoothly and without error when Vic is officiating and he has a calm and decisive demeanor. Since coming to the TOC 9 years ago we have had many compliments about Vic’s ability on the mat. JOE RIOS - Joe is from Chico in the north valley and is the top rated official in his area. He moves quickly on the mat and is always in control of the match. Joe has been chosen to ref at the California high school state meet several times by his peers and has received very high marks as a state wrestling official . Joe referees many community college matches in the northern part of the state. His son, Desmond, is an outstanding wrestler at Pleasant Valley HS in Chico ( 6th at state 152 lbs in 2009). MARK HERNANDEZ - Mark lives in Chico and along with Joe Rios is consistently chosen to represent the North Section at the California high school state tournament. Mark has a very calm demeanor on the mat and relates well with the athletes, coaches and parents. His calls are decisive and his judgment is considered excellent by coaches and fellow officials. He has officiated at the TOC for the past 5 years. KEN GAUDREAU - A former high school state champion for Bella Vista in 1984, he also wrestled at Columbia University in New York. Ken has risen quickly to the top of the officiating ladder. Extremely knowledgeable about the sport, Ken’s calls are decisive and consistent. He has a lot of energy on the mat and is always in good position. He was chosen to ref the state high school tournament for the first time in his career in 2003 and has been invited back several times since then. Ken is also an accomplished collegiate official. Ken has officiated many times at the California high school state. LES RASMUSSEN - Les is from Reno and has been a permanent fixture at the TOC and in all the Nevada top tournaments for many years. Les has great command of a match. You rarely see coaches argue with his calls as he is always active, in the correct position and has great officiating mechanics. He is very experienced around junior high kids and anticipates extremely well. A very popular official, Les is consistently invited to attend top tournaments in several western states. His two sons were outstanding high school and college wrestlers. STEVE ROMAN - Another veteran official, Steve has also coached at several high school programs in the Sacramento area. He has officiated quite a bit of freestyle before joining the high school officiating ranks and now is recognized as one of the better officials in the Sac-Joaquin Section as he was selected to officiate in the California high school state meet in 2007. He moves to position quickly and is a very conscientious official with great focus on each match. Steve, wife Michele and daughter, Samantha return yearly from their home in San Diego to work the TOC. SCOTT WARDEN - Scott is a now a veteran referee in the Sacramento and Foothills area. A former Ponderosa HS wrestler from 1987-91, Scott was a section place winner and state qualifier in 1991. He wrestled at Sac City in the early 90s before having coaching stints at El Dorado HS, Bear River HS and Golden Sierra HS. He has been refereeing wrestling since 1998 and has done the Sierra Nevada Classic and Foothill Asics classic in addition to several subsection tournaments and the TOC for the past few years. Scott is active on the mat and is a rules aficionado who makes consistent and accurate calls. TONY TRABUCCO – A former All-American wrestler at Chico State, Tony lives and works in Sacramento and is a very experienced official. He has worked the college circuit for many years in California and was a top high school official in the Sac Joaquin Section and Sacramento area before choosing to move his officiating to the North Section He has been chosen several times to work the California state high school tournament as well as the Community College State tournament. Tony has great skill in his positioning, correctness and consistency in his calls. DAVE BRANSTETTER – A former Sacramento State wrestler, Dave is a teacher and former wrestling coach at Roseville High School. Once he gave up coaching to become an official it quickly became apparent that he would be a premier official in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Dave also officiates community college matches in the fall and has outstanding judgment and mechanics on the mat. We finally were able to lure him to TOC a few years ago and we are very happy we did. Dave’s brother, Wayne, is the outstanding coach of the perennial California high school powerhouse Poway HS in the San Diego area. LARRY FLETCHER – Larry is a retired teacher and coach at Bella Vista HS in Sacramento. He coached many sports in his teaching career working alongside the legendary wrestling coach Charlie Lee at BV. He has been an outstanding wrestling ref for over 30 years and serves as our assigner of officials in the Sacramento and Foothills area. He is also an official body fat checker for the Sac Joaquin Section. Larry was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009. MARK HERNANDEZ – Mark lives in Chico and along with Joe Rios is consistently chosen to represent the North Section at the California high school state tournament. Mark has a very calm demeanor on the mat and relates well with the athletes, coaches and parents. His calls are decisive and his judgment is considered excellent by coaches and fellow officials. He has officiated at the TOC for the past 3 years. SCOTT SELTER - No longer just an up and coming official in the Sacramento area, Scott was chosen last year for the California high school state meet and will return this year as he was rated highly in the state tournament. Scott is a former wrestler and coach at Lincoln High School (Lincoln, CA). An outstanding wrestler and very successful coach, Scott quickly transferred those skills into his officiating. In just a few years of officiating Scott has become a top quality high school official who is recognized for his good positioning, calm demeanor and accurate calls. Other top officials who have officiated in recent years at the TOC include Brad Martin, Brock Brown and Dallin Wills.
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