BREA >> Villa Park set some team goals heading into the wrestling season.
Spartans coach Aaron Cross wouldn’t reveal those goals after the CIF SS Southern Division Tournament wrapped up Saturday at Brea Olinda High School.
But after the Spartans won the tournament with 256.5 points, qualifying eight wrestlers for next week’s Masters Tournament in the process, Cross said his goals are still intact.
Villa Park’s 170-pounder Joaquin Garcia and 182-pounder C.J. Laabs both won their championship matches and were among five county wrestlers who won their weight classes.
Finishing second for the Spartans were Eduardo Salmeron at 195 and Mike Ruiz at 220.
“Our upper weights are really strong,” Cross said. “Those are our big horses but we won the tournament (because) we had all these guys who came in and took sixth and seventh and eighth. They came up huge in this tournament. I was so proud of those guys who aren’t the big stars of the team.”
The top six placers at 106, 120, 132, 145 and 195 advance to next weekend’s Masters. The top five advance to Masters at 113, 126, 138, 152 160.
The lower weight MVP was Marcos Polanco of Bishop Amat, who pinned all five opponents on his way to the 132-pound championship.
Walnut 285-pounder William Von Goeben also pinned his five opponents and was named upper weight MVP.
While a computer determines the upper and lower weight MVPs, an argument could have been made for Esperanza’s Aaron Nagao, who is ranked No. 2 in the state at 126 and was the top seed at that weight in the tournament.
Nagao won 1-0 over No. 2 seed Christian Nunez of Bishop Amat, who is ranked No. 4 in the state.
Nunez allowed Nagao to escape early in the second period, accounting for the only point in the match, but was then unable to score against Nagao.
Nagao was the aggressor most of the match, but Nunez, a skilled defensive wrestler, countered several takedown attempts.
“He’s a tough kid,” Nagao said. “He was a good scrambler.”
Nagao, who finished second in the state finals last year at 113 pounds, was out with an injury for most of the season and was wrestling for the first time since late December.
“I feel a lot better in the weight class,” Nagao said. “This is the fastest and strongest I’ve ever felt. I know I’m peaking at the right time.”
Esperanza’s other first place finisher was No.1 seed Ethan Gould, who won the 120-pound class.
The Aztecs finished third as a team with 206.5 and will send seven wrestlers to the Masters, including Yorba Linda took fourth as a team, with seven advancing to the Masters.
Canyon’s Callum Bisping finished first at 195 and is one of two Comanches who will compete at Masters.
