SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION II WRESTLING : Irvine’s Pena Makes Move to Masters

Irvine got the performance of a lifetime from unseeded sophomore Andrew Pena as the Vaqueros finished second at the Southern Section Division II wrestling individuals Saturday at Fontana Miller High School.

Pena charged through the fourth- and fifth-seeded wrestlers with a pin and technical fall in the first two rounds.

He then pulled a huge upset in the semifinals, defeating top-seeded Robert Roque of Colton, 10-8. Roque suffered from asthma throughout the match.

Pena faced his fourth consecutive seeded opponent in the finals, but he pinned No. 3 David Delgado of Montebello in 3 minutes 39 seconds to win the title at 121 pounds.

“We were just hoping to get him into the Masters,” Irvine Coach John Phillips said. “We never dreamed of him pinning the guy in the finals.”

Pena joined 127-pound teammate Justin Meier as champion.

The Vaqueros will also send second-place finisher Jeremy Brown (132), fifth-place finisher Chris Testerman (137) and alternate Peter Hamilton (114) to the Masters next Saturday at Fountain Valley High School.

Loara finished sixth in the two-day tournament and also had two champions in Anthony Pham at 105 pounds and Richard Meza at 147 pounds.

Pham had the most exciting bout of the match when he overcame two injuries to post a 6-5 victory over Kalani Robolledo of Miller in the finals.

Pham got the winning point on an escape with eight seconds left in the final period.

“I got nailed in the stomach by a knee and I lost my breath,” Pham said. “Then I got stuck in the eye and that bothered me a little bit.”

The only Orange County champion was El Dorado’s Ismail Abdullah, who won a 1-0 decision over Nick Walton of Temecula Valley.

Temecula Valley won the team title over the Vaqueros by 25 1/2 points.

With the top five finishers advancing to the Masters, and the sixth-place wrestler as the alternate, Orange County qualified 21 wrestlers and five alternates.