SOUTHERN SECTION WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Canyon Rebounds From Loss With Team Victory in 4-A Meet

In a space of a week, Canyon wrestling Coach Gary Bowden’s emotions have been up and down.

Bowden and his athletes were left disappointed and shocked when the Commaches’ streak of 87 consecutive dual meets was snapped by Fontana in the Southern Section dual meet championship regional Wednesday.

But it was redemption time for Bowden and his wrestlers at the Division 4-A championships Saturday. Canyon won its fifth title in nine years, defeating Huntington Beach, 140 1/2 to 114.

Indio, which defeated the Comanches last season to win the meet, placed third with 109 1/2 points and Fontana was fourth with 108 1/2 points in the meet at El Monte High School.

“I’m kind of grateful to Fontana for the wake-up call it gave my kids,” said Bowden, whose streak dated back to December 1986. “It is really hard to get my kids hungry, and breaking up our streak was a wake-up call for those kids.”

Canyon’s Truc Tran and Matt Padgett both won titles for Canyon in the championship finals Saturday night. The two were among 12 Orange County wrestlers who made the championship finals in their weight classes.

Padgett, a junior who increased his record to 43-0, struggled throughout the meet; Bowden said he has been suffering from a knee injury the past three weeks. In the semifinals, Padgett was down, 9-4, before he pinned Huntington Beach’s Tito Ortiz. In the final, Padgett also ran into trouble, falling behind, 5-4, against Marina’s Robert Bowen in the second period. Padgett then scored on an escape and takedown and never trailed again in an 11-6 victory.

“It took me a while to get my head into the match,” said Padgett, who has 37 pins and placed sixth in the state meet last season. “I just kept thinking, ‘Don’t lose your head and keep working for it.” ’

Huntington Beach had three champions: Eric Escobedo at 171, Eric William at 189 and Mike Bolster at heavyweight.