Wrestling: Seniors make most of final Orange Coast League meet
SANTA ANA — Those who have completed high school have likely heard the term “senioritis.”
Apparently, the condition is not exclusive to academics.
Estancia High’s Kyle Nguyen may have said it best. Wrestling is a tough sport. It takes everything out of the athlete, but the Eagles senior was fortunate to have motivational speakers in his corner.
“I had a discussion with my friend yesterday,” Nguyen said. “He was like, ‘I know that we’re both getting over this sport. It’s a hard sport, but you just have to go out with everything that you’ve got. You can’t let that mindset ruin your year.’”
With a place in the postseason on the line, Nguyen recalled that conversation as he rallied himself from a first-round defeat to place in Tuesday’s Orange Coast League Finals at Saddleback High.
Nguyen battled his way back through the consolation bracket to take third in the 145s. He won by technical fall over Godinez’s Diego Solorio, 18-2. The senior edged Costa Mesa’s Raul Mojica by decision, 8-3, in the third-place match.
“I thought about what I’ve been through this whole year,” Nguyen said. “I just thought, ‘I can’t let my senior year end like this.’”
Others felt the call to finish their careers on a high note.
Three Costa Mesa seniors became first-time league champions, and each had a unique story to tell.
Brian Connors, who took the 195s title, worked his way back from a broken femur this year.
The injury occurred during a practice last season, and Connors admitted to experiencing some trepidation on the comeback trail.
“It was a long one, going through physical therapy and all that,” he said. “Finally coming back to wrestling, I was really scared and nervous.”
“After the first match, I pinned the guy. My confidence went up from there, and I just kept going.”
Ray Welsher won the 160s for the Mustangs. He had not allowed a point to a league opponent all year until he found himself in a tight match against Calvary Chapel’s Brandon Bollinger.
Calvary Chapel forfeited all of its dual meets, choosing to emphasize the individual side of wrestling. Welsher beat Bollinger, 7-5, and he said anything beats the draw that he received last year.
“I wrestled the state champion from Calvary last year, so anything other than a state champ is better this year,” he said. “I actually wrestled Jeremy Thomas [170s state champion in 2016]. He’s a stud. Crazy body, crazy technique. He’s got it all.”
For Costa Mesa’s Adrien Plancarte, he was not aware that he was in the title bout until after he had won it.
It is all part of his built-in strategy to bring the same level of competitiveness to every match.
“My strategy is I don’t look at the brackets so I don’t know who I’m facing,” he said. “I don’t underestimate and I don’t overestimate.”
There is no reason for Plancarte to change his ways, as he majored Garden Grove’s James Ownby, 14-3, for the 170s crown.
“It’s awesome,” Plancarte said of winning his first league title. “I’ve been working all season for this feeling. I always wanted to become league champion.”
“It’s a dream come true, but it wasn’t easy. I had to cut weight every single night. If I wanted to eat dinner, I had to make sure that I went to the gym right after practice.”
The Orange Coast League is seven teams deep, meaning that the top four placers in any weight class move on to the CIF-SS Individuals at Westminster High on Feb. 17-18.
Costa Mesa advanced 11 wrestlers to CIF. Estancia had three, the others being Jacob Parsons (220s) and Nicholas Anaya (120s).
Parsons improved from a fourth-place showing last year to take second in his sophomore year.
Puwakun Bunyalug (106s) and Jacob Jones (152s) also reached championship matches for Costa Mesa.
Championship Matches
106 – Easton Amuro (Calvary Chapel) maj. Puwakun Bunyalug (Costa Mesa), 19-5.
113 – Andrew Sparks (Calvary Chapel) dec. Brian Delgado (Godinez), 5-4.
120 – Luciano Arroyo (Calvary Chapel) pins Ricardo Pineda (Godinez), 1:52.
126 – Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel) pins Eduardo Jimenez (Garden Grove), 3:31.
132 – Oliver Rivero (Godinez) maj. Richard Gurule (Calvary Chapel), 17-3.
138 – Blayke LaLonde (Calvary Chapel) pins Daniel Toledo (Godinez), 2:50.
145 – Gustavo Mello (Calvary Chapel) pins Angel Munoz (Saddleback), 0:59.
152 – Nathan Zotea (Calvary Chapel) pins Jacob Jones (Costa Mesa), 1:58.
160 – Ray Welsher (Costa Mesa) dec. Rudy Rocha (Santiago), 6-0.
170 – Adrien Plancarte (Costa Mesa) maj. James Ownby (Garden Grove), 14-3.
182 – Jeremias Ferro (Garden Grove) tech. fall Carlos Torres (Santiago), 17-1.
195 – Brian Connors (Costa Mesa) pins Hector Pineda (Godinez), 1:52.
220 – Juan Mendoza (Godinez) dec. Jacob Parsons (Estancia), 8-1.
285 – Nathan Tran (Garden Grove) pins Kenny Sierra (Saddleback), 5:22.
Third-Place Matches (Top four qualify for CIF-SS Individuals)
106 – Roberto Piaquito (Garden Grove) uncontested.
113 – Alejandro Rojo (Costa Mesa) pins Abel Mendoza (Santiago), 2:49.
120 – Sam Galdamez (Santiago) pins Nicholas Anaya (Estancia), 5:30.
126 – Andrew Argueta (Godinez) pins Sebastian Sotelo (Santiago), 3:28.
132 – Andrew Flores (Garden Grove) dec. Kevin Pham (Santiago), 9-3.
138 – Cody Merrifield (Costa Mesa) dec. Edgar Nolasco (Santiago), 7-4.
145 – Kyle Nguyen (Estancia) dec. Raul Mojica (Costa Mesa), 8-3.
152 – Sabastian Leon (Saddleback) pins Zachary Bickerman (Santiago), 1:46.
160 – Javier Gonzalez (Garden Grove) pins Brandon Bollinger (Calvary Chapel), 1:03.
170 – Angel Resendiz (Godinez) pins Leo Patino (Santiago), 2:22.
182 – Richard Jacobo (Saddleback) pins Saul Lagunas (Costa Mesa), 0:45.
195 – Tu Tran (Garden Grove) pins Liis Rosales (Saddleback), 4:45.
220 – Brennan Scully (Garden Grove) pins Jonathan Dominguez (Costa Mesa), 5:27.
285 – Mario Lopez (Godinez) pins Antonio Leal (Costa Mesa).
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
