HIGH SCHOOLS

With impressive wins in the first three rounds of the Southern Section Division I dual-meet wrestling finals, Temecula Valley entered the championship matches ready for top-seeded Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, the No. 1 team in the state.

But while second-seeded Temecula Valley may have been prepared and at home, the defending state champions were just too much to handle. Calvary Chapel won, 40-31, to defend its dual-meet title.

Calvary Chapel was without its 103-pounder, Mario Estrada, who is ill. Temecula Valley got the first points of the meet with a forfeit. But Anthony Rodriquez scored a technical fall, to put Calvary Chapel behind by one point.

Temecula Valley won the next two matches as Jeremy Mendoza won the 119-pound match by major decision and Tyler Moran took the 125-pound match with a 3-0 win over John Jackson.

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

After taking Temecula Valley’s Kenny Smith down two times for near pins, Esparza finally got the fall at 2 minutes 33 seconds. Frank Gill followed with a 1:40 pin of Maclain Atkinson at 135 pounds.

Temecula Valley won the next two matches, but the Eagles won the next four, including pins from Yuri Kalika (152 pounds), Joe Williams (160) and Conan Williams. Willie Parks, in a 171 pound match, won by technical fall over Zach Weir.

Santa Ana won the Division II title with a 32-27 victory over Chino Hills Ayala at Ayala. Corona Centennial defeated Los Alamitos, 43-15, at home for the Division III championship.