Okada to Wrestle for Cypress This Season

Tony Okada, a two-time State high school wrestling champion who competed in the Barcelona Olympics for the U.S. judo team, will wrestle at Cypress College this season, he said Monday.

Okada has attended classes at Cypress since August, but has spent about three weeks mulling over competing for the school.

“I didn’t want to (wrestle) halfway,” Okada said. “I just needed some time to relax. When Coach (Mike) Flook assured me that he would work around my judo competition, I decided to wrestle.”

Okada will most likely compete at 142 pounds for Cypress, but could miss about three weeks of the season because of commitments to judo. Cypress begins competing Saturday at the San Bernardino Valley Duals, but Okada isn’t sure if he will participate.

“We are just fortunate to have an athlete of Tony’s ability on our team,” Flook said. “We do, however, have a strong team and a number of outstanding wrestlers who can fill in.”

Okada won his first State title at 132 pounds as a junior at Savanna in 1990. He won again his senior year at 135 pounds.

Okada took last year off from wrestling to concentrate on judo. He competed in Barcelona in the 60-kilo class but lost in the first round.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve wrestled,” Okada said. “I’m still not all the way there, but it’s coming.”

Southland showdown: Saddleback (3-0) travels to El Camino (2-0) for a Mission Conference football game at 7 p.m. Saturday in one of the best early-season matchups in Southern California.

Saddleback has won 11 games in a row over the past two seasons. The Gauchos are coming off a 44-14 victory over Cerritos and are ranked No. 1 by Hank Ives of the J.C. Grid-Wire.

El Camino is coming off an impressive game as well. The Warriors, who beat Fullerton, 40-9, are ranked sixth in the nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire.

Saddleback also sits atop the Southland Poll. Palomar (2-0) is ranked second, El Camino is third, Pasadena (3-0) fourth and Bakersfield (2-0) fifth. Moorpark (2-0) is ranked sixth, San Bernardino Valley (2-0-1) seventh, Santa Barbara (2-0) eighth, Mt. San Antonio (2-1) ninth and Cerritos (2-1) 10th.

Orange Coast (2-1) plays host to Palomar at 1:30 p.m. Rancho Santiago (1-1) is at Mt. San Antonio, Fullerton (0-2) is at Pasadena, and Golden West (0-2) plays host to Southwestern at Orange Coast--all 7 p.m. games.

Thobe to the Tribe: J.J. Thobe, a standout right-handed pitcher at Rancho Santiago the past two seasons, recently agreed to terms with the Cleveland Indians. Thobe had signed a letter of intent to play at Pepperdine last spring and intended to play for the Waves when the Indians’ offer came up short of his expectations.

He was 9-4 with an 2.31 earned-run average as a starter last spring and made the All-State team. He set Rancho Santiago’s single-season and career mark for saves with 11 in 1991. He was limited to relieving because he was coming off arm surgery.

Thobe, from Edison High School, played in the Alaskan Summer League this past summer and when he returned in August, the Indians made another offer.

He is currently taking classes at Pepperdine and will report to the Indians for spring training.

Community College Notes

Alonzo Jamison, the former Rancho Santiago College and University of Kansas basketball standout, has been featured on his first trading card. Jamison, who was signed by the Lakers to a rookie free-agent contract, is card No. 39 in the set of NBA draft picks issued by Classic. Jamison, who is 6 feet 5, averaged 10 points as a starter last season for the Jayhawks. . . . The Orange Empire Conference men’s soccer season starts today with Golden West at Cypress, Rancho Santiago at Irvine Valley, and Riverside at Fullerton--all 3 p.m. matches. Orange Coast, the defending State champion, plays a nonconference match at home against Santa Monica, also at 3 p.m.