Hoover wrestling enjoys forfeits for once in victory over South Pasadena

Maybe the biggest sign that the Hoover High wrestling team continues to grow and progress in what is its fifth season came in the final moments of Thursday afternoon’s Rio Hondo League-opening match against visiting South Pasadena.

The Tornadoes led by less than nine points, but won the match when the Tigers forfeited the final three upper weight classes in a 51-24 Hoover victory.

PHOTOS: Hooher High defeats depleted South Pasadena

Only a year earlier, Hoover forfeited two matches and needed a late rally to defeat Monrovia, 39-36, in the season opener.

This time around, Hoover only forfeited the starting weight class and then watched as another league opponent struggled to field a full squad.

“This is our first league dual match and I liked how we competed and battled,” Hoover High Coach Dave Beard. “We’ve been there before where we’ve had a few forfeits and we want to be past that. It was a great effort from the guys and that’s the type of team we have to be.”

South Pasadena (0-1) raced to a 17-6 lead thanks in part to a pin from 113-pounder Irvin Perez and an 18-2 technical fall from 126-pounder Caleb St. Julian.

Hoover’s only victory during that spurt was at 120 pounds when Artur Harutunyan pinned South Pasadena’s Nathalie Lizama in 1:56.

The turning point for the Tornadoes soon followed, however, as Hoover (8-3) picked up its second pin from senior Jessie Martinez, who overcame an early illegal takedown with a fall at 2:24.

The pin was followed by falls from Hoover’s 138-pounder Narek Zamanyan and Geraldy Martinez at 145 pounds as the Tornadoes rallied to a 24-17 lead.

While Hoover dropped the next two bouts at 152 and 160 pounds, Tornadoes Ryan Halawi and Michael Fernandez both avoided pins, which only allowed the Tigers to only tie at 24.

Hoover 170-pounder Murad Muradyan gave his team the lead for good, 30-24, when he overcame several near misses to pin South Pasadena’s Parker Bell in 4:23.

“My head was pounding and I’m happy to win,” Muradyan said. “I kept on showing my head and everyone was screaming to keep my head down and get the pin.”

Maybe the most surprising win came at 182 pounds when Hoover’s Allen Melikyan overcame a 2-0 hole after one period and a 3-2 deficit after two rounds. Melikyan delivered a tying escape with 1:07 remaining and then a bout-winning takedown with 11 seconds for a 5-3 win.

“I’m not really happy with my performance,” Melikyan said. “I mean, I won the match at the end and that was great, but I want to do better.”

The victory gave the Tornadoes a 33-24 advantage, which ballooned with South Pasadena’s forfeits at 195, 220 pounds and heavyweight.

“It just low numbers for us and a lot of new kids,” South Pasadena Coach Al Shuton said. “All in all, it was pretty good today. We fought a good Hoover team that keeps on improving each year.”

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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter: @campadresports