A Not-Too-Heavy Champion : Wrestling: Valhalla wins another 2-A title

They say talk is cheap, but for John McKay, it paid off.

A 165-pounder last season, McKay knew going into the wrestling season that his best chance to gain a spot in the Valhalla lineup would be at heavyweight.

So, even before the season began McKay and Valhalla Coach Glen Takahashi would talk.

“We talked about how to wrestle heavyweight,” Takahashi said. “He has made some mistakes during the year, but the outcome has been positive.”

Valhalla, which has won the last seven of eight 2-A section titles, claimed its third in a row Saturday at Helix High.

And McKay claimed his first section title by defeating San Marcos’ Tim Ryan, who is ranked seventh in the state, 3-0.

McKay is one of 11 Norsemen to advance to next week’s Masters Tournament, the state qualifier. The only two weights at which Valhalla will not be represented are 112 and 189.

Valhalla, which racked up 242 points, had five champions of the seven wrestlers who advanced to the final round.

Runner-up Monte Vista, which had 190 points, will send 10 to Masters. The Monarchs advanced five to the finals and crowned three champions.

Over the summer, McKay began preparing for the move to a higher weight class by lifting weights. Although he is bigger than last year, he’s smaller than many of his opponents. McKay usually weighs in around 200 while the maxium weight in that class is 275.

And in the case of Ryan (30-2), it was size, instead of his state ranking, that was somwhat intimidating.

“Most of the guys I wrestle are bigger, so it’s tough to score a lot of points against them,” McKay said. “Most of my matches this year have been 1-0, 5-0 or I’ve won by pinning.”

McKay (39-2) was not the only Norseman to win impressively.

Patrick Mack (38-3) pinned Django Riley in 5:48 at 119 pounds. Brothers Jeremy and Jason Hendrick becamed two-time section champions. Jeremy defeated Monte Vista’s Adam Silvas by technical fall in 5:31 (17-2) at 145 pounds, and Jason defeated David Joe Harris of Carlsbad, 16-4.

Valhalla’s other champion was 171-pound Russ Magoffin, who won by technical fall over Mount Miguel’s Pete Piraino. Magoffin led 17-1 when the clock was stopped with 25 seconds remaining in the match.