THE PREPS : State Wrestling Tournament : Phillips, 8 Others From County in Semifinals

It was a bit curious to see the satisfied, bordering on ecstatic, expression slapped across the face of Capistrano Valley High School’s Mike Phillips after he won his quarterfinal match in the state wrestling tournament Friday at the University of the Pacific.

Curious because only minutes earlier, Phillips, the defending state champion at 145 pounds, had been flat on his back and unconscious. A head butt from Ukiah’s Dennis Knapp with 1:34 left in the third period had put him there.

At that point, the match was tied, 12-12. Phillips did rise, and with a chipped tooth, a cut lip and blood splattered over his face, went on to win, 16-13.

“If it’s easy, it’s not worth it,” Phillips said, proudly displaying a bloody mouthpiece. “This is the time to suck it up.”

Nine Orange County wrestlers did just that during Friday’s preliminary rounds, winning all three matches to qualify for today’s semifinal round and a possible shot at a state title.

Included among them were three Capistrano Valley wrestlers--Phillips, Mike Maciborski (105 pounds) and Rex Vollmer (heavyweight)--which gave the school 34.5 points and placed it second in the team standings behind Antioch High’s 40 points.

Phillips will go against Mission Viejo’s Sean Westover in one 145-pound semifinal.

Also qualifying were Valencia’s Sam Lopez (112) and El Dorado’s Andy Leon (175), who won two of his three matches by pins. Canyon’s Brett Schultz qualified for the semifinals by defeating Buena Park’s Javier Frausto in the quarterfinals, 8-3.

San Clemente’s Brett Fry and Woodbridge’s Heath Sims, Masters champion, each made it to the 132-pound semifinals. They are in separate brackets and may meet each other for a state title.

Conspicuous by their absence in the semifinals were the likes of Canyon’s Bryon Schultz (119) and Valencia’s Fred Jenkins (175), each expected to do well here.

Schultz, who lost his first match of the season in last week’s Masters final, was leading Overfelt’s Javier Gonzales, 9-8, with 10 seconds to go in his quarterfinal match. With five seconds left, Gonzales rolled Schultz on his back to earn two points and win, 10-9.

Jenkins, ranked No. 1 in the state at his weight, won his first-round match over Del Mar’s Kirk Walukiewicz, 13-6. But during his second-round match against Jason Ford of Casa Robles, Jenkins got his left foot trapped underneath Ford and injured it as he rolled Ford over.

“I heard something pop,” Jenkins said. “I knew it was bad right away.”

Still, Jenkins won the match, 14-9. He iced the ankle afterward and said he thought with a little rest he will be fine for the quarterfinals.

But in his quarterfinal match against Serra’s Richard Lazott, Jenkins, noted for his takedowns, had trouble shooting in because he couldn’t push off the ankle at full strength.

Jenkins, 3-A and Masters champion, lost the match, 8-7.