By Lou Ponsi | Correspondent / Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Andrew Silva of Servite, facing up, competes with Ibrahim Ahmed of Palm Desert in the finals of the 113 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Luka Wick of San Marino, left, blue jersey, competes with Cael Valencia of St. John Bosco in the 145 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Marcos Polanco of Bishop Amat wins the finals match in the 132 weigh class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Nate Clay of Santa Margarita, top competes with Randy Arriaga of Capistrano Valley in the 285 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Arriaga went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Tristen Wilson of Servite, front, competes with Ben Gould of Valencia in the finals of the 195 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Antonio Lorenzo of St. John Bosco, top, competes with Richard Castro-Sandoval of Santa Ynez in the finals of the 120 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Lorenzo went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Aaron Nagao of Esperanza, right, competes with Christan Nunez of Bishop Amat in the finals of the 126 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Nagao went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Alan Clinton of Servite boys wrestling stands with his wife as he receives the 2017-18 Sectional Coach of the Year award from the NFHS Coaches Association during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
***Requested by Lou Ponsi for future use***
Marcos Polanco of Bishop Amat, top, competes with Collin Hayes of Northview in the finals of the 132 weigh class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Polanco went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Trey Munoz of Trabuco Hills, left, and Ryan Cosio of Temecula Valley, gold jersey top, complete in the finals of the 170 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Collin Hayes of Northview, top competes with Marcos Polanco of Bishop Amat in the finals of the 132 weigh class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Polanco went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Aaron Nagao of Esperanza, top, competes with Christan Nunez of Bishop Amat in the finals of the 126 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Nagao went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Aaron Nagao of Esperanza, left, back, competes with Christan Nunez of Bishop Amat in the finals of the 126 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Nagao went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Chris Caldaron of Esperanza, top, competes with Fernando Barreto of Rowland in the finals of the 106 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Barreto went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Andrew Silva of Servite, left, top, competes with Ibrahim Ahmed of Palm Desert in the finals of the 113 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Luka Wick of San Marino, left, blue jersey, competes with Cael Valencia of St. John Bosco in the 145 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Erich Osten of Chaminade, top left, and Guillermo Escobedo of Bishop Amat compete in the 220 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
The referee gets close moments before Jesse Vasquez of Excelsior Charter pins Luciano Arroyo of Calvary Chapel in the 138 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Tristen Wilson of Servite, left, competes with Ben Gould of Valencia in the finals of the 195 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Luciano Arroyo of Calvary Chapel is face down as he competes with Jesse Vasquez of Excelsior Charter in the 138 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Vasquez went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Ryan Cosio of Temecula Valley, gold jersey left, and Trey Munoz of Trabuco Hills, competes in the finals of the 170 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Luka Wick of San Marino, top, blue jersey, competes with Cael Valencia of St. John Bosco in the 145 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Max Wilner of Fountain Valley, facing up, competes with Louis Rojas of St. John Bosco, gold jersey, in the finals of the 160 weight class of the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Wilner went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Antonio Lorenzo of St. John Bosco, top, competes with Richard Castro-Sandoval of Santa Ynez in the finals of the 120 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Lorenzo went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Nathan Haas of St. John Bosco, face on mat, competes with Nico Hanessian of Simi Valley in the finals of the 182 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Gould went on to win the match. Haas went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Nathan Haas of St. John Bosco, top left, competes with Nico Hanessian of Simi Valley in the finals of the 182 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Gould went on to win the match. Haas went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Fernando Barreto of Rowland, facing up, competes with Chris Caldaron of Esperanza in the finals of the 106 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Barreto went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
The referee gets a close look moments before Troy Mantanona of Palm Desert pinned Sonny Santiago of St. John Bosco in the 152 class weight during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
Tristen Wilson of Servite, left, competes with Ben Gould of Valencia during the finals of the 195 weight class during the 2019 CIF Southern Section Masters wrestling meet at Cerritos College, February 16, 2019. Gould went on to win the match.
Steven Georges, Contributing Photographer
NORWALK — To capture a team championship in wrestling, putting wrestlers on the podium is what it’s all about.
So while Servite didn’t have any individual champions at the CIF-SS Masters Meet on Saturday at Cerritos College, the Friars won the team championship as eight wrestlers earned medals.
All eight advance to the CIF State Tournament next week in Bakersfield.
Servite finished with 185 points to edge Trinity League rival St. John Bosco, which finished with 175.5 points. The team championship is the first for the Friars.
The top nine placers in each weight class advance to the state tournament. Servite didn’t have anyone place lower than fifth.
The Friars’ top wrestlers were Andrew Silva (113) and Tristen Wilson (195), who both finished second.
“It was a lot of hard work by the young men all year long,” said Friars coach Alan Clinton. “They’ve just been grinding every week to get it done.”
Before the championship matches started, Clinton was named the National High School Wrestling Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Trabuco Hills’ Trey Munoz, a 2018 state finalist, was named upper-weight MVP. Munoz pinned two opponents in the two-day tournament, won a match by forfeit and won a match due to an injury. He won the 170-pound title with an 11-1 victory over Temecula Valley’s Ryan Cosio.
Fountain Valley sophomore Max Wilner won the championship at 160 pounds. Last week he was a champion at the CIF-SS Northern Division meet, his second CIF-SS title.
In the 126-pound final, Esperanza’s Aaron Nagao, the top-ranked wrestler in the state, earned a 5-2 decision over Bishop Amat’s Christian Nunez, the No. 2 wrestler in the state. The match was scoreless going into the final minute, and Nagao took a 1-0 lead on an escape. Nunez took a 2-1 lead on a takedown, but seconds later Nagao scored two points on a reversal and two more points for a near fall, ultimately winning 5-2.
The match was a rematch of last week’s CIF Southern Division final, won 1-0 by Nagao.
“I moved a lot more in this match, compared to last week,” said Nagao, who missed much of this season due to an injury. “I just had fun trying to score points.”
The heavyweight final featured a pair of Orange County wrestlers, with Capistrano Valley’s Randy Ariaga coming away with a 3-2 victory over Santa Margarita’s Nate Clay.