PREP WRESTLING ROUNDUP : Shawnee Routs Savanna in First Stage of Mission

Like any smart tourists from the Midwest, the Shawnee (Okla.) High School wrestling team spent a warm Thursday afternoon in Southern California at the beach.

Thursday night, the Wolves got busy, overwhelming highly regarded Savanna, 54-10.

Shawnee, sixth-ranked in Oklahoma, recorded five pins and two technical falls to improve its record to 8-2. Savanna, second-ranked in Orange County and the defending Southern Section 3-A champion, had only two victories, including a forfeit in the heavyweight division. The Rebels are 7-1.

For both teams, it was a tuneup for the Five Counties Invitational, which begins at 3 today at Fountain Valley High.

Judging by Thursday’s meet, Shawnee figures to be a pre-match favorite along with Poway of San Diego.

This isn’t the Wolves’ first trip to Orange County. In 1988, Coach Mike Henry brought Shawnee to his old stomping grounds and the team won the Five Counties meet by a staggering 100 points.

Henry wrestled at Buena Park and later served as an assistant coach at Cypress College in 1975-76 and was the head coach at Los Alamitos in 1977 before moving to Oklahoma.

Thursday’s victory improved his five-year record at Shawnee to 68-11. The Wolves won 4-A state titles in 1986, 1988 and 1989.

“I’ll tell you what, we’re a lot better wrestlers than we are surfers,” Henry said, laughing about the Wolves’ day at the beach.

Shawnee won the first five weight classes, building a 22-0 lead thanks, in part, to Troy Little’s 16-1 technical fall over Alberto Lara at 119 pounds and Jason Merrell’s pin of Shawn Pena at 130.

Savanna’s Brad Belanger, a CIF State qualifier last season, broke the shutout with a 9-1 decision over Brad Stuteville at 135 pounds.

Belanger, who improved to 12-0, missed the first month of the season with torn back muscles, but is progressing nicely, according to Savanna Coach Tom Caspari.

“He’s just real solid, real basic,” Caspari said. “Usually, you’re not going to score on him. He’s not going to give up a reversal, and he’s not going to go on his back.”

After Belanger’s victory, it was all Shawnee. Savanna’s only other victory went to heavyweight Willie Green, who won by forfeit.

Robert Peddy (at 140), Brandon Wills (152), Darren Humphrey (160) and Vernon Craig (189) had the other pins for Shawnee, and Jarrett Smith added an 18-3 technical fall over Brian Millspaugh at 171.

In the South Coast League:

San Clemente 41, Capistrano Valley 22--In the 130-pound class, San Clemente’s Zac Tapia, ranked No. 1 in the county, pinned Ben Yang in 3:37 for his 24th consecutive victory, 23 of which have been by pin or major decision.

In the 125-pound class, Capistrano Valley’s Asher Aldelman took a 4-3 lead over the Tritons’ Richard Yearry with a quick escape in the third period, but with 15 seconds remaining in the match, he was penalized a point for an illegal move. Yearry then scored two points with a takedown to win the match. San Clemente is 20-9.