Eagles Warm Up for the Next Round

It was an exercise in futility.

At least that’s how it seemed for Calvary Chapel’s chief rival Saturday at the Southern Section Division I wrestling duals at Temecula Valley High.

Temecula Valley posted impressive wins in the first three rounds of the meet, but the second-seeded Golden Bears couldn’t beat Calvary Chapel, as the top-ranked team in the state won, 40-31, to defend its Division I dual meet title.

“Hey, I expected to win,” Temecula Valley Coach Arnold Alpert said. “Our kids wrestled with a lot of heart tonight. But it’s tough when you have to wrestle against a team that can replace team members with kids from Michigan but we have to rely on what we have here. But hey, they’re a great team.”

During the day, Calvary Chapel (16-1), whose only dual-meet loss this season came against Bakersfield, beat Temescal Canyon, 57-15, Dos Pueblos, 58-18, and Magnolia, 58-18. And in their usual takedown-and-release style of wrestling, the defending state champion Eagles turned the duals into what seemed like a practice session rather than a formal competition.

“It’s a good way to tune up for division finals,” said Frank Gill, who won all of four of his matches in the 135-pound weight class. “It’s a good time to sharpen up on your wrestling and compete against some of the best teams in Division I. Besides, it’s not as intense as division finals. It’s more laid-back.”

Steve Esparza, who won his four matches at 130 pounds, agreed with his teammate.

“We have a job to do and we wrestle,” Esparza said. “But I like this meet. It’s just one more step on the way to division, Masters and state.”

With Calvary Chapel missing its 103-pounder Mario Estrada, who was ill, Temecula Valley got the first points of the final meet with a forfeit. But Anthony Rodriquez scored a technical fall to pull the Eagles to within one point.

Temecula Valley (13-2) won the next two matches as Jeremy Mendoza scored a major decision in the 119-pound match and Tyler Moran defeated John Jackson, 3-0, at 125 pounds.

But Calvary Chapel turned it around in the 130-pound match.

After taking down Temecula Valley’s Kenny Smith two times for near pins, Esparza finally got the fall at 2 minutes 33 seconds. Then in the 135-pound match, Frank Gill pinned Maclain Atkinson in 1:40.

The Golden Bears won the next two matches with a pin by Angelo Lago (140 pounds) of Donovan Johnson and a decision by Jesse Grismer over Chad Jackson at 145. But the Eagles won the next four matches, including pins from Yuri Kalika (152), Joe Williams (160) and Conan Williams (189). Willie Parks, at 171 pounds, won by technical fall over Zach Weir.

Temecula Valley won the last two matches. Aaron Comen (215) beat Justin Boulais, 4-1, and the Golden Bears got a forfeit in the heavyweight match.

“They’re always tough, so we expected some hard matches,” Calvary Chapel Coach John Azevedo said. “But it was a good meet. Now it’s on to division finals.”

In the semifinals, El Modena lost to Temecula Valley, 42-17.

Kevin Lukes of El Modena went undefeated in the heavyweight division, including a semifinal victory over Josh Elder of Temecula Valley. Mark Hales (152) also went undefeated for El Modena.