Garcia Tries to Belt Out Title in Master’s Meet

Ralph Garcia of Camarillo High is a first-degree black belt. Those skills have translated well to wrestling.

The 189-pound junior is good on his feet, making for an easy transition to a sport in which he had no experience before high school.

Garcia, one of the best wrestlers in the Southern Section, attempts to move up to the next tier during the Southern Section Masters meet at 4 p.m. at Fountain Valley High.

“In karate you have to be pretty disciplined,” Camarillo coach Ron Wilson said. “That has probably helped him a lot. He’s very disciplined.”

Garcia (39-5), the Southern Section Division IV champion at 189 pounds, is making his second consecutive trip to the Masters, which qualifies the top eight in each weight class for the State Championships next week in Stockton.

Thirteen other area wrestlers compete in the tournament, which concludes on Saturday.

A turning point in Garcia’s season occurred in December when he advanced to the final of the Moon Valley tournament in Arizona. He faced Quint Swanberg of Horizon High for the title.

Swanberg, 1998 National Junior Greco-Roman champion and a three-time state Division V-A champion in Arizona, cut through the rest of the field but had to work against Garcia before winning, 8-4.

“After seeing [Swanberg] destroy a lot of opponents and me making a fairly decent match out of it . . . I was thinking, I can do this,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s victory over Francisco Gamboa of University in the Division IV final last week was also impressive. Gamboa was sixth in the State Championships last season.

Chris Rueckert of Royal (171 pounds), Scott Speakman (140) of Rio Mesa and Joe Sanchez (152) of Moorpark are also strong contenders to advance.

Rueckert (40-1) beat Jesse Juarez of North Torrance in double overtime to claim the Division III 171-pound title last week.

Speakman rallied in the quarterfinals and semifinals before pinning Jonathan Garza of St. John Bosco in the Division IV, 140-pound final.

Sanchez placed second in Division IV.

The 171-pound class could be the toughest. Conan Williams of Santa Ana Calvary Chapel and Rueckert are among the favorites to win but Bobby Taylor of Ventura, a sophomore, has been wrestling well in the final weeks.

If Taylor wins his first match, he faces Rueckert who has a first-round bye. Williams, a State qualifier last season, pinned Taylor in the final period of the Division I final last week.

Ron McKee (189) and William Velasquez (152) of Thousand Oaks and Justin Rivera (160) of Ventura were surprising qualifiers for the Masters.

Rivera (16-9) started the season on the junior varsity but later won a challenge match to earn a spot on the varsity.

Velasquez (34-6) was 7-16 last season.

McKee (8-4) missed most the last two seasons because of knee injuries and has been competing for only five weeks.

* A look at the City Section matchups. Page 15

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Masters Qualifiers

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Wrestler School Wt. Yr. Rec. Pablo Garcia Camarillo 189 Jr. 39-5 Scott Speakman Rio Mesa 140 Sr. 47-5 Jesse Mortensen Lancaster 125 Sr. 40-7 Caleb Bautista Rio Mesa 119 Jr. 44-11 Hank Robles Camarillo 103 Jr. 39-8 Joaquim Real Ventura 140 Soph. 27-8 Bobby Taylor Ventura 171 Soph. 24-8 David Lopez Ventura 145 Sr. 27-9 Justin Rivera Ventura 160 Jr. 16-9 Joe Sanchez Moorpark 152 Sr. 34-1 Chris Rueckert Royal 171 Sr. 40-1 Ron McKee Thousand Oaks 189 Sr. 8-4 Pablo Garcia Simi Valley 119 Sr. 28-7 Will Velasquez Thousand Oaks 152 Jr. 34-6

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