Rueckert Goes to Overtime to Win Title

All Chris Rueckert of Royal High had to do was hold on.

The senior did just that, riding out North Torrance’s Jesse Juarez for 30 seconds in the second overtime to claim the 171-pound title at the Southern Section Division III wrestling finals on Saturday at North Torrance High.

Rueckert (40-1), who entered the tournament on Friday as the top seed, trailed, 1-0, in the third period.

But with 30 seconds left, Rueckert was awarded a point when Juarez (45-4) was penalized for an illegal hold, forcing a two-minute, sudden-death period.

After both wrestlers failed to score in the first overtime, Rueckert won a coin flip and chose to take the top position in the second overtime period. He needed to keep Juarez from escaping to win the championship.

“I would try to shoot and he would just counter,” Rueckert said. “I figured [in the second overtime] that I wouldn’t be able to escape from him so I chose to be on top.”

It was the fewest points scored in a match during Rueckert’s career. He won a 3-2 decision over East Bakersfield’s Britt Mooney in the final of the Morro Bay tournament a month ago.

Mooney had handed Rueckert his only loss of the season a week before.

The top five finishers on Saturday advanced to the Masters Meet on Friday at Fountain Valley High.

Moorpark’s Joe Sanchez was the only other wrestler from the region to reach a final. He finished second at 152 pounds.

Despite missing nearly two years with knee injuries, 189-pounder Ron McKee of Thousand Oaks finished fifth.

“He probably wrestled more matches yesterday and today than he had all season,” Thousand Oaks co-Coach Larry Mortensen said. “Losing all that experience for two years, I was shocked with how well he did today.”

McKee, who improved to 8-4, was not seeded but advanced to today’s semifinals without losing.

Simi Valley’s Pablo Garcia also qualified, placing fourth at 119 pounds. Will Velasquez, a 152-pounder from Thousand Oaks, was fifth.

Division I--Joaquim Real (140 pounds) and Bobby Taylor (171) each finished second to lead Ventura to a 10th-place finish at Santa Ana College.

Real lost, 13-4, to Arroyo’s Phillip Espinosa and Taylor was pinned by Santa Ana Calvary Chapel’s Mark Sheridan.

David Lopez (145) and Justin Rivera (160) recorded fifth-place finishes for Ventura.