Masters Wrestling : County’s Best Focus on Berths at State

They don’t hand out trophies at the Southern Section’s Masters Wrestling Tournament. No scrolls, no medals--just six qualifying spots in 13 weight divisions.

The Masters is one of the Southern Section’s most pragmatic events--winning it is nice, placing in the top six is critical. The top six in each weight division continue on to the state meet March 4 and 5 in Stockton.

“There’s really no point in risking anything here,” said Jeff Roberts, Capistrano Valley coach. “All you want to do is get to Stockton. That’s all that matters.”

True to his word, Roberts took his best wrestler, Mike Phillips, out of the 148-pound championship match. Phillips fell hard on his head in his 22-9 semifinal victory over Katella’s Chris Mollokoy. The forfeit, to Cabrillo’s Guillermo Zubia, is Phillips’ first loss this season. He’s 47-1.

“Mike wanted to wrestle,” Roberts said. “And I’m sure he could have won, but there’s just no use in risking it.”

Another first-time loser was Canyon’s Bryon Schultz, and unfortunately for Schultz, he couldn’t blame it on a pain in the neck. Schultz, wrestling at 122 pounds, lost to Nogales’ Jeff Maes in the final, 5-3. It wasn’t a big surprise because Maes, like Schultz, came into the Masters with a 40-0 record. Maes is 45-0, Schultz 44-1.

“To tell you the truth, I think it might be a good thing for Bryon to lose,” said Gary Bowden, Canyon coach. “It’s pretty dangerous to go to the state meet undefeated. Bad things tend to happen.”

Valencia’s Fred Jenkins knows all about that. Last year, wrestling in the 178-pound class in which he still competes, he won the 3-A title and Masters championship, only to be eliminated in the early rounds of the state meet.

And so it was with unusual passion that Jenkins tore through the 178-pound division. He pinned Edison’s Keith Drohan in the first round and beat Arroyo Grande’s Robert Hogue, 11-3, in the second. He won his semifinal match against Canyon’s promising sophomore Zack Cooper, 10-3.

In the final, he faced El Dorado’s Andy Leon. It was third meeting of what’s becoming a heated rivalry. Jenkins is ranked first in the state at 178, Leon second. Jenkins bulled his way to an 8-3 victory.

“I remember what happened last year,” Jenkins said. “I’ve decided that every match is going to be my most important match. Anyways, Leon and I really have a rivalry going. It really means something when we go against each other.”

In all, 25 Orange County wrestlers qualified for the state meet, including Canyon’s Brett Schultz, who won at 129-pounds, Woodbridge’s Heath Sims, who won at 135-pounds, and Capistrano Valley’s Rex Vollmer, who won the heavyweight division.