Saints Lose Steam, Fall to Northview in Final

Covina Northview and Santa Ana took separate paths to the Southern Section Division II dual meet championship final Saturday. Once they met, it was obvious which team had the easier route.

The top-seeded Vikings took advantage of a weary, banged-up Santa Ana squad, pulling away in the middle weight divisions and winning, 40-21, at Northview.

The second-seeded Saints, who defeated Northview in last season’s final, came into the meet short-handed after Gilbert Melendez, ranked third in Orange County at 125 pounds, injured his elbow while warming up before the Golden West League finals Thursday.

His absence threw Santa Ana’s lineup into disarray and the Saints needed two come-from-behind victories just to reach the final.

“You wouldn’t believe what that does to a lineup,” Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said. “It doesn’t sound like a big deal, missing just one guy, but it throws everything out of whack.”

Glabb had to place Javier Luis Cuellar, normally a junior varsity wrestler, into the 119-pound division and move Frank Silva up a weight class. Cuellar lost a 16-4 major decision to Rick Guzman and Silva was pinned by Eric Camacho, giving the Vikings an early 15-3 lead.

Santa Ana got six points when Northview’s Christian Silvestre couldn’t wrestle at 130 pounds because of an elbow injury, cutting the lead to 15-9, but the Vikings then rolled through the heart of Santa Ana’s lineup.

In the 135-pound match, Michael Allum defeated Jaime Orendain, ranked fifth in the county, 9-3.

Juan Serna, ranked second in the county at 140 pounds, lost to Lorenzo Butanda, 9-5. Serna also lost to Dana Hills’ Matt Webber, 10-7, in the second round.

Oswaldo Avalos, No. 2 in the county at 145 pounds, moved up a weight class, but couldn’t get anything started against defending Division II champion Leonel Sanchez, who won, 9-0, giving Northview a 25-12 lead.

Santa Ana had an easy time with Montebello Schurr in the opening round, but had to rally to defeat Dana Hills, 32-31, in the second round. The Dolphins could have won with a pin from heavyweight Trevor Orr, ranked fourth in the county, but Santa Ana’s Ed Arvizo was able to stay off his back.

Santa Ana twice fell behind Laguna Hills in the semifinals, but Alex Becerra pinned Aynsley Silva in 44 seconds in the 215-pound match to give the Saints a four-point lead. Arvizo then edged Brandon Hubbs, 3-2, to give Santa Ana a 31-24 victory.

“The second and third rounds kind of beat us up,” Glabb said. “They were close matches and so coming into the final I figured we’d do the best we can with what we’ve got. Northview went out and wrestled and that’s what it’s all about when you have the home-court advantage.”

In Division III:

Loara falls in final--Second-seeded Corona Centennial defeated the Saxons, 34-27, to win the championship at Centennial.

Defending champion Loara had advanced to the final by upsetting top-seeded North Torrance.

In Division IV:

St. John Bosco wins--Bellflower St. John Bosco defeated Serra League rival La Puente Bishop Amat, 29-25, at St. John Bosco to win its second consecutive division title. Top-seeded St. John Bosco finished 24-0.