New Coach’s Impact With Oxnard Is No Snow Job

There’s newfound enthusiasm in the Oxnard High wrestling room.

The Yellowjackets, behind first-year Coach Tom McGuirk, gained respect by defeating Dos Pueblos, 42-29, in a Pacific View South League dual meet last week.

According to McGuirk, the victory was Oxnard’s first over Dos Pueblos in at least 15 years.

“It could have been longer, but it was definitely a big win for our program,” McGuirk said.

Oxnard (3-1, 1-0 in league meets) is off to a fast start for McGuirk, who a year ago was shoveling snow in his driveway and struggling to keep the wrestling program going at North Tahoe High.

“It was tough to get a full team when the kids could leave school at noon to go skiing,” McGuirk said. “That’s hard to compete with, but they did put out some really good skiers.”

McGuirk, a 1985 graduate of Newbury Park High, coached at North Tahoe for six years and moved to Malibu this year with his wife Tiffany, who wanted to pursue a business opportunity in Southern California.

At Oxnard, he inherited some talent and a steady assistant coach in Rocky Vallez. Julius Yi (160 pounds) placed first and Javier Castillo (119) was second at the Newbury Park tournament on Dec. 4.

McGuirk has recruited wrestlers from his English class to fill out the roster after early workouts produced a light turnout. The Yellowjackets now have full lineups for the varsity and junior varsity teams.

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Some key league matchups will be contested this week.

Alemany travels to Fillmore today for a dual meet that will most likely decide the Frontier League title.

Simi Valley, ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times, hosts defending Marmonte League champion Thousand Oaks on Thursday. The Pacific View North League title could be settled on Thursday, when No. 5 Camarillo visits No. 7 Rio Mesa.

Thousand Oaks finished no worse than second in the Marmonte in the 1990s, but the Lancers have struggled in the upper weights this season. At the Camarillo dual meet tournament on Dec. 10, the Lancers won only two of 27 bouts in the 189-, 215-pound and heavyweight divisions.

Simi Valley is anchored by Tyson Hadduck (189) and Dan Kunkes (heavyweight).

Camarillo won the Camarillo individual tournament title for the first time on Dec. 29 and was second earlier in the month to No. 3 El Camino Real at the Camarillo dual meet tournament.

Heavyweight Mike Kohr of Camarillo is healthy after requiring 20 stitches on the corner of his mouth after his first bout of the season.

Rio Mesa’s Scott Speakman (140) finished second at the Orange Glen tournament last week, losing in overtime to Ian Smith of Imperial in the final.

Alemany, led by Marcos Herrera (160), and Fillmore, led by Benny Ibarra (140), are fielding their strongest teams in recent years.

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There were several strong performances by wrestlers from the region in the North Torrance tournament last week.

El Camino Real’s Jamar Cargo upset top-seeded Hadduck, recording three takedowns for a 6-3 decision. Cargo reached the semifinals before a shoulder injury forced him to default his final three matches. He placed sixth.

Edward Lemus (119) of El Camino Real and Monroe’s Arthur Bryan (215) each finished second.

Hadduck, who has been nursing a knee injury since the Irvine tournament on Dec. 11, climbed through the losers’ bracket and placed fourth.

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No. 2-ranked Highland will host a 10-way dual tournament on Friday and Saturday that includes several teams from the region, including No. 3 El Camino Real.

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The Top 10

Rankings of region wrestling teams

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 Ventura (Pacific View North) 2 2 Highland (Golden) 3 3 El Camino Real (City) 4 4 Simi Valley (Marmonte) 5 5 Camarillo (Pacific View South) 6 6 Quartz Hill (Golden) 7 7 Rio Mesa (Pacific View South) 8 8 Lancaster (Golden) 9 9 Agoura (Marmonte) 10 10 San Fernando (City)

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