Calvary Chapel Wrestlers to Compete at Morro Bay

Coming off the greatest performance in its short history, the top-ranked Calvary Chapel wrestling team will compete in the Morro Bay tournament Friday and Saturday at Morro Bay High.

The Eagles, in their fourth season of competition and winners of the Southern Section Division 1-A title last year, will face many of the same teams they saw at last weekend’s Five Counties Invitational at Fountain Valley.

With four individual champions leading the way, the Eagles finished third at Fountain Valley behind Clovis, the three-time defending State champion, and Shingle Springs Ponderosa. Poway, second in the State meet last season, was fourth.

Shane Valdez, who won at 113 pounds, Dane Valdez (120-pound champion), Joe Coughran (131 pounds) and Mauricio Mora (136 pounds) lead Calvary Chapel.

Second-ranked El Modena, led by Five Counties finalist David Wells, also will compete.

Katella’s Mike Love will join a field that includes the 17-year-old son of Kenyan distance-running legend Kip Keino in the Foot Locker National Championship mile at the Sunkist Invitational track and field meet Feb. 20 at the Sports Arena.

Love, who has run 4 minutes 14.72 seconds for 1,600 meters (a bit shorter than a mile), was The Times Orange County cross-country runner of the year after leading Katella to a third-place finish at the State meet.

Bob Keino, who attends Ridgewood (N.J.) High, was fourth at the Kinney Cross-Country Championships last month in San Diego. His father won gold medals in the 1968 and ’72 Olympics.

Ryan Wilkerson of Merced and Ryan Wilson of Agoura, the nation’s top returning milers, will also compete.