A Robust Reversal : Once-Forlorn El Camino Real Program Got Off Mat to Become Wrestling Power

As debuts go, it was only slightly better than that of “Heaven’s Gate.” And it was as interminable.

The year was 1974. Milton Goffman, the coach of the fledgling El Camino Real High wrestling team, received a call from the coach at Hart, who had an established program with a solid team. The Hart coach suggested a match between the schools.

“I had all brand new students and probably 20 boys on the team who had never seen a wrestling mat in their life,” Goffman said. “As a matter of fact, we didn’t even have a mat. We just put the old gray mats together and worked out on those.

“I told the coach we were brand new and that we’re not going to be very competitive. He said, well, his kids are new, too, and that we’ll just have a friendly match.”

Friendly?

Twelve of El Camino Real’s 13 wrestlers were unceremoniously pinned. The other wrestler tied.

“It was very demoralizing for my kids,” Goffman said. “At that point I said, someday, we’re going to get back at these people.”

So Goffman, who learned to wrestle at L. A. State College (now, Cal State L. A.) and during a two-year stint in the Army, went about building a program.

He scoured the Woodland Hills campus for potential wrestlers. He picked likely candidates from his wrestling physical education classes and coaxed them into trying out for the team.

If you thought Cal Worthington was the king of the hard sell, you’ve never heard Goffman try to talk a teen-ager into spending several hours a day sprawled on a mat with someone’s armpit in his face. The joy of a perfect cradle has got to be tougher to peddle than a ’78 Buick station wagon with power windows.

But Goffman persevered. The coach’s chief selling point was the individualism wrestling affords in a team environment. That had appealed to Goffman from the start.

“I always liked the one-on-one competition,” he said. “I liked that if you win, you stand on your own. If you lose, you stand on your own. Basically, I liked the activities where you have to fend for yourself. I think that’s the student we get for wrestling. The kid that doesn’t need the team support, who doesn’t want to get lost in the shuffle of helmets and shoulder pads.”

It did not take Goffman long to convince the El Camino Real populace of the virtues of wrestling. The Conquistadores have lost only 29 dual matches since the Hart fiasco and have won 224. This season, Goffman presides over 60 wrestlers in his program.

El Camino Real enters Saturday’s City Section championships at San Fernando with its seventh Valley League title on its sleeve, including its third in a row. The Conquistadores are represented with a varsity wrestler in every weight class--six as league champions and three as runners-up.

Goffman’s junior varsity teams have been even more successful, posting a record of 138-1-1 in dual matches and winning all four City junior varsity tournaments from 1980 to ‘83--the only years it was held.

Despite its unbridled success, El Camino Real won its only City varsity championship in 1986. That, Goffman claims, is by design.

“My philosophy is I’d rather have a strong team,” Goffman said. “I’d rather win a league championship than win a City championship, because that means it’s a team effort rather than three or four kids.”

This season appears to be an uncommon combination of both. The Conquistadores were undefeated in league dual meets and won the Valley League finals by 53.5 points over second-place San Fernando and 56 points over third-place Canoga Park.

El Camino Real is among the favorites in the City finals, in which the top four wrestlers in each class advance from each of the two leagues to form eight-man brackets. Conquistadores Greg McMurray (105-pound weight class), Marc Pietrolungo (112), Carl Hasz (132), Jason Emard (138), Joe Kim (154) and Tylyn Cook (175) each won individual league championships.

San Fernando was in the same situation last year and walked away with its sixth City championship. Sam DeJohn, who has coached at San Fernando since 1965, is looking for a repeat.

“El Camino Real’s the front-runner,” said DeJohn, who Goffman endearingly calls “the grandfather” of City wrestling mentors. “But you never count San Fernando out.”

The Tigers boast defending 165-pound City champion Mario Varella, along with Ruben Moncada (98), Danny Andrade (119) and Sal Duran (126).

Goffman would prefer a reversal.

“San Fernando is notoriously physically strong, very strong,” he said. “When we have matches it’s a classic confrontation between the boxer and the puncher. We’re the boxer. I think we’re better technically. He teaches kids strong moves and strength. It’s the tough kid against the wrestler.”

Wilson, the City League champion, is also a contender for the City title.

Win or lose, El Camino Real has come a long way since the old gray mats and its first match with Hart. Goffman, however, may never know exactly how far the Conquistadores have come since 1974.

“Three years later we had developed a pretty good program, and I called Hart back and said we’re ready for you now,” Goffman recalled.

Goffman was stung when the voice at the other end of the line replied that Hart had since rolled up its mats and folded its program.

“I had vengeance in my heart,” Goffman said with a smile, “and never repaid it.”