Some of County’s Best to Pass on Dual Meet Wrestling Championships

It’s billed as the Southern Section Dual Meet wrestling championships, but some of the best teams won’t be there.

Sea View League champion Irvine and South Coast League champion Capistrano Valley have decided to pass up the competition, which begins today, to prepare for the section individual competition, which takes place Friday and Saturday.

El Toro and Mater Dei will represent their leagues at the dual meet playoffs.

“It’s hard when the league winners don’t come,” said El Modena Coach Alan Clinton, whose Century League championship team will participate in the dual meet playoffs. “Especially when some of the schools that aren’t showing up are the ones who squawked most about getting (the Southern Section) to put on the dual meet championships.”

Said Irvine Coach John Phillips: “It’s hard to perform at peak level and then come back a couple of days later and wrestle at that same level.”

Irvine has participated in two dual-meet championships, including 1993 when the Vaqueros lost to Calvary Chapel, now the state’s top-ranked team.

“(That year), my guys seemed flat when they wrestled at Southern Section a few days later,” Phillips said. “It’s too much to ask of them. I’m thinking of what’s best for them.”

Phillips agreed the dual meet championship is a good thing for the sport, but said a different format is needed.

Clinton, a member of the Orange County Wrestling Coaches Assn. and the Southern Section representative, said he understands why a school might forgo the competition. But he still gets a little peeved about a school not showing up for the duals.

“I realize that there are kinks in the format,” Clinton said. “(But the Southern Section) is really concerned about attendance and whether the competition can make money. It’s important that we get 100% attendance.”