El Modena Able to Pin Its Success on Alvarez and Wells : Wrestling: After getting a head start in the sport, juniors prove to be the backbone of Vanguards’ second-ranked team.

Juan Alvarez and David Wells were once wrestling tag-alongs. Neither could wait to get a piece of the action, so they used to drop by to watch the El Modena High wrestlers work out. Alvarez came on his own; Wells followed his older brother, Danny.

Alvarez was in sixth grade when he first caught the wrestling bug, battling his brothers in rough-and-tumble bouts in the family’s living room. And kitchen. And bedrooms. He knew next to nothing about the sport, but he loved it all the same.

Wells was about the same age when he first started watching his brother wrestle, keeping an eagle eye focused on a new move or technique.

At first, there was so much to learn and the awkward moments were numerous. But now they’re juniors at El Modena, and they have begun to master the sport, just as they hoped they always would.

Alvarez is Orange County’s second-ranked wrestler at 130 pounds and Wells is top-ranked at 140. They are the backbone of El Modena’s second-ranked team, and a big reason the Vanguards are 14-0 in dual meets this season.

Neither shows any sign of slowing down. After all, there’s so much more to be accomplished. To be satisfied now is to admit that wrestling is anything less than an all-consuming passion. And clearly it is just that for Alvarez and Wells.

Their eyes widen and their voices become more excited when conversation invariably turns to a dual meet against arch-rival Canyon, or Southern Section or State finals. Indeed, there are so many dreams and hopes to be met it seems the wrestlers will burst at the seems just thinking about them all.

“The thing is, you can never stop learning,” El Modena Coach Alan Clinton said. “You can always work on something and get better.”

Alvarez and Wells have taken Clinton’s words to heart.

Sure, they have had the advantage of hanging around the El Modena wrestling room before they were freshmen. But they seem to believe if they ease up for even a moment, they’ll likely fall short of their goals.

Neither wants that to happen.

“They’ve really dedicated their time to improving, to the extreme that you’d like to see all kids improve,” Clinton said.

The wrestlers have been nearly inseparable for most of their high school careers. Though there is a 10-pound difference, they are practice partners, battling day after day.

In order to be the best, you have to wrestle the best, they say.

“I guess it makes me better, but I don’t know what David gets out of it,” Alvarez said.

Most likely Wells gets a good workout, and besides, he’s not one to back away from a challenge.

“I like the intensity of wrestling,” he said. “The feeling of winning is pretty good. I gain a lot of self-confidence in wrestling and everything else.”

As time has passed, Alvarez and Wells have become targets for other up-and-coming wrestlers. It’s all new to them, but they figure it simply comes with the territory.

For example:

Last week, El Modena went into its Century League match against Canyon as the favorite. The last time that happened, Alvarez and Wells hadn’t reached first grade.

Suffice to say, it was a pressure-packed night.

“Right now, I just don’t want to do anything wrong,” Wells said the day before the Canyon match. “I don’t want to screw up what I’ve worked for all year.”

As it turned out, the Vanguards had nothing to worry about. The expected El Modena victory came easier than any of the Vanguards could have hoped. And Alvarez and Wells wrestled in typical, overpowering fashion as El Modena ended Canyon’s 12-year league dual meet winning streak with a 41-18 victory.

“Canyon has been a good goal for us to shoot for,” Wells said. “We always know Canyon is going to be out there. They’re always going to be tough.”

The next goal is stopping Santa Ana Valley Tuesday night and winning El Modena’s first Century League championship since 1978. And after that are the section and state finals.

So little time, so much work still to be done.

“That’s part of it,” Alvarez said. “If you’re going to wrestle, you’ve got to do it the hard way.”