THE TIMES 1994 WINTER ALL-COUNTY TEAMS : Calvary Chapel Owes Success to Valdez Brothers

They form the cornerstone of Calvary Chapel wrestling.

“They came in and got the ball rolling at Calvary,” Coach John Azevedo said of senior twins Shane and Dane Valdez. “They’ve helped raise the interest level to what it is now.”

Which is considerable. When wrestling was still a glint in the Eagles’ eye, the Valdez brothers joined forces with Azevedo to help create a wrestling powerhouse.

In their tenure at the small school, Calvary Chapel has won back-to-back State championships, something no other Orange County school has done. For their contributions, the Valdez brothers are The Times Orange County’s 1994 wrestlers of the year.

Their credentials include two State team titles, two individual State crowns, four Southern Section championships, three individual Masters’ triumphs and more recently, national recognition and ranking. The four-year letter winners together posted a 369-30 record--Shane was 201-8, Dane was 168-22.

They have won dozens of tournament titles together, but their individual triumphs at Masters’ this year marked the first time they won a “major” tournament together. Dane won his second consecutive meet title.

As the top-seeded wrestlers in their classes, they looked forward to becoming the first brother duo to win State titles since Merced High’s Adam and Dan Cuestas did it in 1977. But Dane was denied.

In Shane’s third trip to the final, he won the 119-pound class in a 5-4 decision. Dane, the defending champion at 119 and the heavy favorite at 125 pounds, was upset in the semifinals and finished third.

Calvary Chapel dominated the State meet to the point that the Eagles had the championship wrapped up before the final round began. They scored a State-record 121.5 points. Runner-up Moreno Valley Canyon Springs had 81.5 points.

Although the Valdez brothers are close friends--Azevedo said you don’t have to ask if one is accompanying the other on a ski trip, for example--they are anything but joined at the hip, especially when it comes to their wrestling styles. Shane is shifty; Dane uses stare-down tactics.

“Shane moves more, Dane likes to stalk his opponents,” said Azevedo, who was named the national high school wrestling coach of the year by U.S. Wrestling.