Anaheim’s Dye Rises to Occasion at 175

The Five Counties Wrestling Invitational can be a humbling experience. Then again, it can be as sweet as Grandma’s fudge.

It can squash an ego like a bug. Or, as in Tim Dye’s case, pump you so full of adrenaline that Godzilla seems beatable.

Dye, a 175-pound senior from Anaheim High, got his fix Saturday after battling his way through two days of wrestling into the championship final of the 64-school meet at Fountain Valley High School.

Dye, Brethren Christian’s Michael Simpson (107 pounds) and Calvary Chapel’s Pat Cadwallader (144) and Josh Saul (219) were the only Orange County wrestlers to make a final.

This was Dye’s first time at Five Counties as a competitor. And it was everything he expected it would be. On Friday, he won two matches to advance to the quarterfinals. On Saturday, he won his quarterfinal match and then pinned Tyler Winslow of Temecula Valley to advance to the championship final.

In the final, Dye faced Vacaville’s Shane Clark, ranked third in the state.

Dye, an explosive, sometimes reckless wrestler, immediately took it to Clark, putting him in a headlock and getting a near fall to take the lead. Dye didn’t let up, soundly defeating Clark, 13-8.

“I thought I would place, but to win . . . it never crossed my mind,” said Dye, who was named the meet’s most valuable wrestler in the upper weights. “This gives me the confidence for my upcoming matches and I’m looking forward to meeting the No. 1 guy in the state.”

For the other county finalists, it was win some, lose some.

Brethren Christian’s Cadwallader, who finished third in the state last year and is top-ranked in the state this season, was 34-0 before the match. His opponent, Ralph Lopez of Fresno Clovis West, was the defending state champion at 135 pounds.

It was a technically perfect match, with neither getting the upper hand. An early escape by Lopez gave him a 1-0 lead and that was the final score.

Simpson, a sophomore from Brethren Christian, was helpless against Randy Katz of Mission San Jose. Katz kept Simpson (33-2) frustrated most of the match, winning, 3-2. A point was deducted from Brethren Christian’s team score because of Simpson’s behavior after losing the match.

Saul of Calvary Chapel took advantage of a rematch opportunity. Last year at Five Counties Travis Wojcik of Fallbrook beat him in the final.

This time, after falling behind early, Saul defeated Wojcik, 15-7.

In other championship matches:

J.J. Roberts of El Cajon Valhalla defeated Mando Mendez of Clovis Buchanan, 10-3, at 116. At 123, Sergio Breceda of Buchanan beat Poway’s Aaron Gharst, 7-2. Aaron’s brother, Andrew, lost 6-5 to Tom Barwis of Ponderosa at 129 pounds. Defending state champion Justin Flores of Temecula Valley held off Dustin Clocherty of Ventura to win, 11-8, at 134. Poway picked up some more points on Brody Barrios’ 3-2 victory over Doug Harwood of Elsinore at 139 pounds and Gary Cole’s 9-7 win over Rayan Kane of Temecula Valley at 149 pounds.

At 164 pounds, Telly Sanders of Buchanan beat Noel Perez of Madera, 2-1, in overtime. David Schenk (193) of Anderson also won in overtime as he got an escape to beat Ventura’s Cristobal Gonzalez, 3-2. And in the heavyweight match, Nick Kindred of Turlock defeated Rosemead’s Hector Torres, 2-1.

Poway won the team title, scoring 211 1/2 points. Temecula Valley was second with 178 and defending champion Calvary Chapel was third with 153 1/2.