Prep Wrestling : Southern Section Title Up for Grabs : Fountain Valley and Loara in Search of 4-A Championship

Fountain Valley and Loara high schools appear to have the best chance of keeping the team title in Orange County when they compete in the Southern Section 4-A Wrestling Championships today and Saturday at Fountain Valley.

Some of the best prep wrestlers in the state will be competing in the meet, with the top five finishers in each weight class advancing to the Southern Section Masters Meet Feb. 23 at Westminster High. Fountain Valley was ranked third in the most recent 4-A poll. Loara was ranked fifth.

Six county wrestlers are top-seeded in their divisions for the meet, which begins today at 3 p.m. and runs through the championship sessions Saturday at 7 p.m.

El Dorado junior Steve Lawson is the favorite in the 178-pound class. Lawson has compiled a 36-1 record this year, and his only loss came via a disqualification. Other top-seeded wrestlers include: Ed Ruiz (Marina), 129 pounds; Albert Lee (Canyon), 135 pounds; Trent Kenney (Fountain Valley), 141 pounds; Chris Wright (Loara), 157 pounds and Tom Berry (Cypress), heavyweight.

Scott Schumm of Edgewood is the favorite at 148 pounds. Schumm (31-0) finished second in the state last year as a junior and was fifth in the state as a sophomore. Covina’s Frank Trujillo, a three-time place winner in the state championship, is 39-0 this season and is favored at 122 pounds.

Saturday competition begins at 11 a.m., with the championship semifinals scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The evening session, which will consist of third and fifth-place matches, is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Fountain Valley Coach John Rosales predicted the race for the team championship will be the closest its been in recent years. “Any one of six teams is capable of taking the team title home with them,” he said. “If we wrestle to our seeds, we’ll be in the running.”

Lompoc and Channel Islands were the top-ranked teams in the 4-A poll. Newbury Park was fourth, El Dorado seventh and Edison eighth. Canyon, unranked in the 4-A poll but ranked second in the last poll of county coaches, is the defending team champion.