Royal’s Rueckert Posts Reversal at Morro Bay

Chris Rueckert of Royal High had good reason to be exhausted after last weekend’s Morro Bay tournament.

Rueckert advanced through one of the toughest 171-pound fields in the state and defeated Britt Mooney of Bakersfield East, 3-1, in the final, avenging a loss earlier in the season.

Rueckert, a senior who is 30-1 with 15 pins, shot low and spun behind for the winning takedown with five seconds left.

“I was tired and I didn’t want it to go into overtime,” Rueckert said. “I was happy to win and relieved that it was over.”

Mooney was undefeated and had beaten Rueckert, 18-8, three weeks ago in the North Torrance tournament.

But Rueckert and Royal Coach Paul Mole analyzed video of the match and made adjustments for the rematch. This time, Rueckert relied more on speed and kept his distance from Mooney.

“He just wasn’t ready [last time],” Mole said. “He tied up too much and got thrown around.”

In the semifinals, Rueckert decisioned top-seeded Chris Whitehead of Clovis.

Rueckert is competing at a higher level this season. Last year he was 36-4 but lost his first two matches at the State meet in Stockton. He lost by a point in the first bout and lost in overtime in the second.

“This year I’m not cutting as much weight as I did last year,” Rueckert said. “That takes a lot out of you. This year I don’t have to cut at all, so I feel stronger.”

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Spirits aren’t tempered easily at Alemany these days.

Coach Lou Carmona and his wrestlers walked into their practice tent on Monday and found rain had caused flooding. However, it didn’t stop the workout.

The Indians defeated Chaminade last week and clinched their second consecutive Frontier League title.

“These kids just want to wrestle no matter what,” Carmona said. “They’ll wrestle in dirt and they’ll wrestle in 50-degree weather. They just don’t care.”

Alemany hasn’t had a gym since the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

“We’re just trying to turn a bad situation into something positive,” Carmona said. “It’s a good group. The other day we couldn’t start because the basketball team was practicing, so we went on a run and it was a beautiful day.”

Freshman Ariel Gradvohl (130 pounds), sophomore David Nomoto (125) and junior Julius Berberabe (112) have given Alemany surprising strength in the lower weights.

Gradvohl, a state freestyle age-group champion in 1997, has not lost to a league opponent. Nomoto and Berberabe also are unbeaten in league matches.

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If Simi Valley, Agoura and Thousand Oaks each win tonight, there will be a three-way tie for the Marmonte League title.

The tie will need to be broken because each league is guaranteed only one berth in the Southern Section team playoffs, which start next week. Eight at-large bids are available.

A coin flip will most likely be used to break the tie.

But each team needs to win its final league dual meet. Westlake hosts Agoura, Simi Valley hosts Royal and Newbury Park hosts Thousand Oaks.

Simi Valley has been hampered by injuries, including the loss of Tyson Hadduck (189), who has a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“We’re the only team that could drop,” Simi Valley Coach Guy Greene said. “Royal is the only team that will try to compete and it will mean everything to Royal to win.”

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A victory tonight will give Agoura its first-ever Marmonte title.

The Chargers won back to back Frontier League titles before joining the Marmonte in 1991. Coach Dennis Ritterbush said the program has never finished higher than fourth.

But this season seniors Kyle Skinner (140), Lorne Berfield (130), Brendan Mica (160) and Matt Javid (135) made a pact to shoot for the league title.

“It’s all been the work of the kids,” Ritterbush said. “They put in the time and effort and pushed themselves. Those seniors came to me before the season and said, ‘We think we’ve got a pretty good team.’ ”

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The Top 10

Rankings of region wrestling teams

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RK LW School (League) 1 2 Highland (Golden) 2 3 El Camino Real (City) 3 1 Ventura (Pacific View North) 4 4 Camarillo (Pacific View South) 5 6 Rio Mesa (Pacific View South) 6 5 Quartz Hill (Golden) 7 8 San Fernando (City) 8 10 Agoura (Marmonte) 9 7 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 10 9 Simi Valley (Marmonte)

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