ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR WRESTLING : This Match Is a ‘Fun Thing’ for 30 Seniors

Three practice sessions didn’t put them in peak postseason form, but for the 30 seniors who gathered for the Orange County All-Star Wrestling match Friday night at University High, it didn’t matter.

This night, to honor their high school wrestling accomplishments, was more about fun.

“It’s good for the kids, it’s a compliment for the seniors, it’s just a fun thing,” said Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb, who coached the winning Red team.

Led by State champion Darryl Christian of Canyon and a strong supporting cast, the Red team took a 28-22 decision over the Blue team, coached by Steve Stewart of University.

Had it not been for Stewart’s generosity, the Red team would have struggled to prevail.

Red team member Eric Escobedo of Huntington Beach (171 pounds) was a no-show and Woodbridge’s Jesse Liu (189) was out with an injured shoulder. Rather than forfeiting two matches, Stewart allowed the Blue team’s Scott Rojo (189) to switch teams and drop a weight class--to 171--to wrestle Capistrano Valley’s Terry Tuzzolino.

Mission Viejo’s Rojo, the South Coast League and Division I Southern Section champion took a 4-1 lead in the second period and held on to win, 4-3.

“It’s nice to finish the season with a win,” said Rojo, who was just as ecstatic to end the season with a victory against Tuzzolino. “I was pretty nervous. It’s intimidating to go against a guy who’s second in the state.”

Rojo had practiced with Tuzzolino, the Division I section and Masters champion and runner-up in the State meet, this week and thought they were evenly matched.

“It was fun. There were a lot of good wrestlers here. It was an honor to be here,” Rojo said.

Behind Magnolia’s Dan Jurado (103) and Santa Ana’s Roger Santiago (112), the Red team took a 6-0 lead. The Blue team countered with victories by Savanna’s Randy Bowers (119), Orange’s Jason Bress (125), Buena Park’s Vince Virgen (130), El Dorado’s Tommy Noel (130) and Calvary Chapel’s Mauricio Mora (135)--who defeated State champion Juan Alvarez of El Modena--for a 16-6 lead.

El Modena’s David Wells (140) defeated State runner-up Alfred Frausto of Edison for the Red team, and Christian (140), Chris Jaime of El Modena (145), San Clemente’s John Witting (152) and Newport Harbor’s Chris Edwards (160) won for the 22-16 Red team lead.

Victories by Rojo and Marc Albert of Los Alamitos (171) secured the Red team victory, although Buena Park’s Wali Sibrie had the only pin of the match to pull the Blue team to the 28-22 final.