Moorpark Wrestling--a Perfect 10

The battle of the bulge--that is, the struggle to make weight--soon will be history for the wrestlers of Moorpark College.

All of Moorpark’s wrestlers.

Come Sunday, they will gladly trade headlocks for hamburgers--or some other form of reward high in fat content.

Moorpark will enter 10 wrestlers, one in each weight division, in the state finals Friday and Saturday at West Valley College in Saratoga.

For the Raiders, a perennial power and state champion in 1990 and 1991, such success is unprecedented. Never has Moorpark qualified more than nine wrestlers for the state meet.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Moorpark Coach Paul Keysaw said. “We knew going in that our guys were as good as they are. This is huge for us.”

So, too, these days are the appetites of many of Keysaw’s wrestlers--suppressed throughout the season by the dietary constraints inherent to the sport.

Among the favorites for state titles are Juan Roman (126 pounds), Gabe Roman (158) and Ati Conner (167)--each ranked first in the state at their weight divisions after winning Southern Regional titles two weeks ago at Cypress College.

“That was our main goal at regionals, to qualify everybody,” said Gabe Roman, no relation to Juan. “We all went out and got pizza the next day. I did a lot of eating over Thanksgiving. Right now, I’m about six pounds over. But that’s not a problem for me.”

Gabe Roman (26-2) placed third at the state finals last season. Conner (29-0) placed second. Both are hungry to finish on top this season. And just plain hungry.

“Hamburgers are the thing I miss most,” Conner said. “And ice cream. But I can’t work out with a hamburger in me. Right after the tournament, I’m thinking of getting together with some friends and having a party.”

Other wrestlers entered include Ernie Nunez (118), Frank Ramirez (134), Jessie Campos (142), Scott Erickson (150), Chuck Sandlin (177), Dan Ramirez (190), Jason King (heavyweight).

Campos (20-9) and Sandlin (23-4) are ranked second in the state.

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It’s tournament time for several of the region’s junior college men’s basketball teams.

Moorpark, Canyons and Antelope Valley open today in the Antelope Valley tournament. Moorpark plays Mt. San Jacinto at 3. Canyons plays Mira Costa at 5 and Antelope Valley plays Trade Tech at 7. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 7. A free clinic, slam dunk contest and three-point shooting contest will take place Saturday at noon.

“We think we have a pretty good team,” Moorpark Coach Remy McCarthy said. “If we do, it’ll show this weekend. If we don’t, it’ll show this weekend.”

Valley plays San Diego Mesa at 4. Glendale plays Cypress at 6. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 5.

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Moorpark guard Cameron Henderson, from El Camino Real High, has made 25 of 32 shots and was an all-tournament selection at Cerro Coso and Merced. Henderson is averaging 11.6 points through five games.

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Cal State Northridge point guard Edniesha Curry, a freshman from Palmdale High, scored 40 points in two games to earn all-tournament honors at the Prairie Lights Classic at Iowa last weekend.

Curry scored 28 points in a 67-56 loss to 20th-ranked Iowa and added 12 in a 79-66 loss to Kansas.

“We wanted to play Iowa, they are similar to our style and our girls [played before] a first-class crowd in a quality facility,” Coach Michael Abraham said. “We don’t have the ambience of a big-time program on our campus.”

Curry’s performance against Iowa was the second-highest scoring total for a Northridge player since the school joined Division I in 1991.

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Despite averaging only 4,187 spectators in five home games, the Northridge football team finished No. 2 among the nine Big Sky teams in total average attendance at 10,733. Montana was top-ranked, averaging 15,760.

Northridge last season finished ranked No. 7 in total average attendance at 7,475.

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Cal State Northridge ranks No. 7 in the Big Sky Conference supremacy race after the completion of the fall seasons.

The Matadors have 33 points and outrank only Idaho State (26) and Portland State (22). Northern Arizona leads with 59 points.

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Here to handicap the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball race . . . let’s bring on Brad Holland.

His San Diego team has defeated Big Sky favorite Northern Arizona, 73-68, and upstart contender Northridge, 71-69, in the past two weeks.

After beating the Matadors on Tuesday night, Holland said Northridge should contend for the conference title.

“[Northridge] is much more quick, more athletic, more defense-oriented and plays a different style than Northern Arizona,” Holland said. “I think Northridge will have a very big year in the Big Sky. I was duly impressed.”

Staff writers Vince Kowalick, Fernando Dominguez and Steve Henson contributed to this notes column.