Burns (45-0) Only a Step Away

It started in the interest of domestic tranquillity.

“(My father and I) wrestled around in the living room,” said Sean Burns, an Agoura High wrestler.

“We finally decided we needed to go someplace else because we might break stuff and get my mom all riled up.”

That was about eight years ago. Burns’ father, Jerry, took his son to a gym, where the boy could wrestle without fear of inflicting damage to furniture, ornaments and other trappings.

Today, Burns inflicts the damage to his opponents.

Competing at 171 pounds Saturday, Burns became the first Agoura wrestler to win a Southern Section Masters meet title, beating Dan Lewis of Yucaipa, 4-2, in overtime for his 45th success without a loss this season.

“I always look at that (record) and I can’t believe I’m doing that well,” said Burns, who will meet Travis Mills of Clovis West in the first round of the 32-wrestler, double-elimination state finals Friday and Saturday at University of the Pacific in Stockton.

A three-time Marmonte League champion, Burns began the season ranked third in the Southern Section in his weight class. He won the section Division I championship a week before the Masters.

Burns began wrestling as a fourth-grader in Bakersfield at the gentle prodding of his father, a former Michigan high school champion.

“He kind of kicked the idea into my head,” the younger Burns said.

Burns stopped wrestling for a few years. But after his family moved to Broken Arrow, Okla., the urge returned. Wrestling in Oklahoma is not like it is in California.

“Kids learn (to wrestle) when they are 3 years old (in Oklahoma),” said Burns, who is 89-13 in his three seasons at Agoura. “We had as many people at our seventh- and eighth-grade dual meets as at our varsity duals here.”

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are wrestling powers. Oklahoma State has won 29 national championships, including titles in 1989 and 1990.

Burns, who moved to Agoura in the middle of his freshman year, has for the past three summers participated in wrestling camps at Cal State Long Beach that were run by the Oklahoma State staff.

Burns said it was his dream to wrestle at Oklahoma State up until November, when the school was hit with NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations and was forced to reduce its number of scholarships.

Agoura Coach Steve Smith said he hasn’t received many queries about Burns from recruiters but that’s because there are so few wrestling scholarships available.

“It’s pretty competitive,” Smith said. “To get any interest from a major college you have to be a state champion or runner-up.”

That’s the goal this weekend. “I’m going to go up there with no one’s expectations but my own,” Burns said.

He also will go to the meet healthy, a rarity for Burns. His previous campaigns at Agoura have been marred by a broken ankle, dislocated foot, torn knee ligament and dislocated shoulder.

“He wasn’t (at the state meet) last year, mainly because of his injuries,” Smith said. “So I think that puts him in a good position. Guys will possibly overlook him. . . . But he is the champion of the Southern Section, so people are going to have to take notice.”