Laguna Hills Wrestlers Move In, Whip Irvine

If the Laguna Hills wrestling team had any concern about moving to the Sea View League last fall, it was laid to rest Wednesday night.

In a stunning upset, the aggressive Hawks showed no fear of fourth-ranked Irvine, taking it to the defending league champion in almost every weight class to win, 35-25, in front of a full gymnasium at Laguna Hills.

The Hawks, ranked seventh in Orange County, took an early lead by winning the first three matches. Irvine looked flat and bewildered most of the night.

“We were all pumped up for this,” said Bryan Webber, a Laguna Hills senior ranked second in the county at 130 pounds. “This was my last dual meet at home, so it’s special.”

Webber defeated Jason Stones, 15-2.

While Laguna Hills won eight of the 14 matches, it was the absence of pins by Irvine’s big guns that proved the Vaqueros’ undoing.

“They wrestled our good guys well,” Irvine Coach John Phillips said. “They did a good job against us.”

The Hawks’ first fall was scored by Ian Harris (135 pounds), who pinned Irvine’s Clayton Smith in 48 seconds. Laguna Hills also got falls by Dustin Ashe Everest (152), who pinned Matt Petrillo in 3:46, and Aynsley Silva (215), who pinned Doug Noble in 3:06.

“There was no key match, but a bunch of key matches,” Hawk Coach Cliff Jarmie said. “Irvine’s a solid team, and I knew it would be close.”

Irvine had two pins, by Chris Clark (185) and heavyweight Josh Worthington.