Finch’s Victory Helps Loara Escape With Championship

Nick Finch won a narrow decision at 145 pounds and Raul De la Rosa and Fernando Magana had consecutive pins at 152 and 160 to lead top-ranked Loara to a 40-22 victory over No. 2 Norwalk Glenn in the Southern Section Division III dual meet championships Saturday at Loara.

Finch had an escape in the first period for a 1-0 lead and held on, despite a bloody nose, to give the Saxons a 25-10 lead. De la Rosa and Magana made it 37-10.

“[Nick’s match] was definitely a turning point,” Loara Coach Larry Hadley said. “We just told him to go out there and not get pinned.”

Said Finch: “It was the best feeling in the world. I was just trying to do it for the team and just hold on because I knew we needed it. I didn’t want to stop the match so I just wiped the blood away because I had too much adrenaline going.”

Orlando Galvan (112 pounds) won by pin in 1:35 to put Loara up by three, and the Saxons never trailed after that.

Glenn’s David Ruiz defeated Lehasa Moloi, 16-9, to bring the Eagles within two, 12-10, but Loara pulled away with five straight victories, including three pins.

Loara, the three-time Empire League champion, defeated Corona Centennial, 43-24, to advance to the final.

Glenn beat Esperanza, 31-30, in the other semifinal. With Esperanza trailing, 31-25, Glenn heavyweight Jorge Guerrero was disqualified for stalling.

The Aztecs, however, were penalized one team point after their coach, Steve Marshall, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after running onto the mat to celebrate right after the disqualification.

“It took guts to make the right call,” Marshall said. “I’m not happy it happened, but he made the right call . . . We just got excited.”

Glenn would have advanced to the final even if the match ended in a tie because the Eagles had more victories than Esperanza.