PREP ROUNDUP : Poway Wins Wrestling Tournament, Savanna Places Fourth

All that was missing from the introductions of the finalists Saturday night at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament were fireworks and laser beams.

Inside the darkened Fountain Valley High School gymnasium, a bright spotlight lit the wrestlers as they paraded through a smoke-filled doorway to be greeted by a cheering packed house.

When the smoke cleared and wrestling was finished, San Diego Poway High School won the team title of the tournament many California coaches recognize as the most competitive invitational besides the CIF Championships.

Poway took the team title with 146 points; Savanna High School was the county’s top finisher, placing fourth overall with 130.5 points.

Savanna’s Tony Okada won the 141-pound division by pinning Canyon’s Jason Mitchell at the 2:19 mark in the final, and was named the most valuable wrestler of tournament’s lower weight classes.

Mitchell, who was 27-0 heading into the finals, had beaten Okada (35-1) at the El Dorado tournament in December.

“I moved up a weight class so I could get another shot at him,” Okada said. “He beat me by one point, but this time I was really up for him.”

“I was surprised we got three wrestlers into the finals,” Savanna Coach Tom Capari said, “It was a good showing for us, and we topped Canyon, too, which was a goal for us.”

Canyon finished seventh with 111 team points, but did not have an individual champion, as Matt Padgett lost a 9-7 decision to Jason Hendrick of San Diego Valhalla.

For Savanna, Jim Pezina won the 136-pound division with a 4-3 decision over Chad Scalzo of Madera. Savanna’s other finalist, Brad Belanger, lost a 4-0 decision to Ben Ervin of Madera in the 131-pound class.