Spectator’s Fear Wrestler Was Hurt Prompted Attack

It looked like a staged World Wrestling Federation match, except this one was real--involving high school students and requiring a 911 call to the Los Angeles Police Department.

“It was bizarre,” Chaminade High School wrestling coach Mike Suppan said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

During a Frontier League championship wrestling match Saturday at Chaminade, a teenage boy bolted from the stands and punched Marcos Herrera of Alemany High School in the face, while Herrera had Evan Goldsen of Calabasas High School in a so-called guillotine hold.

“About 20 people ran onto the mat, trying to stop the fight,” Suppan said Sunday. “Two guys from our school took the kid off the mat.”

The teenager was taken into custody by police officers and driven to the West Valley station, where he was released to his parents. A police spokeswoman said the boy expressed remorse for his actions.

Suppan said the boy was a relative of Goldsen’s and came out of the stands in apparent concern for the wrestler, who was screaming in pain after Herrera put him in the guillotine hold.

According to a local wrestling expert, the guillotine hold is when the wrestler on top grabs his opponent’s head and a leg at the same time, pulling them into a bow position. Then he tries to flip him over and pin him.

Suppan said there is nothing illegal about the hold.

“People couldn’t believe it,” Alemany wrestler Michael Arguello said.

The 154-pound preliminary match was halted for 30 minutes, while Herrera held an ice bag to his face. When it resumed, Herrera won 17-2. Herrera was named the most valuable upper-weight wrestler in the tournament, which involved five high schools, with more than 400 people in attendance.