Speakman on Wall, Off to State

At Rio Mesa High in Oxnard, tradition goes that anyone who qualifies for the state tournament in Stockton is honored with a plaque on the wall in the school’s wrestling room.

So senior Scott Speakman entered the Southern Section Masters Meet on Saturday at Fountain Valley High with a simple goal in mind.

He wanted a place on the wall.

Speakman’s 10-4 victory over Lorenzo Butanda of Covina Northview in the quarterfinals of the 140-pound divisionmade it mission accomplished.

While he lost two of his final three matches and had to settle for fourth place, Speakman wasn’t about to complain.

After all, he had achieved his primary goal.

“I already got what I wanted and everything else is just an extra bonus,” Speakman said.

Speakman (50-7) became the first Rio Mesa wrestler to advance to the state championships since 1996.

He also was one of only two wrestlers from the region to make it to state.

Chris Rueckert of Royal wasn’t nearly as excited as Speakman after finishing in fifth place at 171 pounds to reach the state meet.

Rueckert, a senior, started the day with a 41-1 record.

But his hopes of a division title started to fade when he suffered a serious gash above his right eye after butting heads with Fernando Magana of Loara in the quarterfinals.

Rueckert reached the state championships with a 5-1 decision over Magana but appeared to be laboring in his next two matches.

Rueckert lost a 3-1 decision to Chris Lopez of Northview in a semifinal and a 6-0 decision to Jesse Juarez of North Torrance in a consolation match.

“I kind of favored it after it happened and I didn’t want it to start bleeding again,” Rueckert said.

That was exactly what happened after Rueckert dropped down to his final match for fifth place.

The match was delayed for about two minutes in the second period after blood started to ooze from the bandage on Rueckert’s forehead.

After the match resumed, Rueckert took a 2-1 lead before Danny Pierro of El Dorado defaulted in the third period.

After finishing fourth in the Masters Meet last season, Rueckert had been hoping for a division title this time.

But Coach Paul Mole of Royal still thinks Rueckert has a good chance at the state championships as long as the cut above his eye heels during the week.

“When he looks back, I think he’ll be happy because he’s making another state appearance,” Mole said.

Two wrestlers fell one victory short of advancing to state.

Ralph Garcia of Camarillo lost an 8-7 decision to Jon Boyer of Yucca Valley at 189 pounds and Jesse Mortensen of Lancaster dropped a 7-5 decision to Gilbert Melendez of Santa Ana at 125 pounds in consolation rounds.