Santiago Pinned Its Hopes on the Right Guy

All Coach Dan Petrone of Santiago could do was give his heavyweight some words of advice and wait to see what happened.

With the visiting Cavaliers trailing Rancho Alamitos by five points Thursday in a Garden Grove League dual meet, Edward Elsalda of Santiago knew he would need a pin for his team to win.

“He gets pretty fired up before his matches. So I just reminded him to keep the match in control,” Petrone said.

Elsalda, a senior, doesn’t really remember much of what his coach told him before his match. The situation at hand was a no-brainer: Pin the guy or lose the match.

“I really wasn’t that nervous because I knew I could take this guy,” Elsalda said.

Elsalda seemed to be following Petrone’s advice for the first 50 seconds of the match.

But then, in one flurry of action, Elsalda grabbed Rancho heavyweight James Bacon’s head and then his arms, flipped him onto his back and pinned him in 1 minute 15 seconds, giving Santiago a 38-37 victory.

Petrone said the win was not only important to the Cavaliers, who stayed in second place behind Los Amigos, but also exorcised some demons for Elsalda.

In December, against Buena Park at the Magnolia Duals, Elsalda was faced with the same scenario but was pinned by the Coyotes’ heavyweight. And on Tuesday, two days before the Rancho meet, he lost by one point to Los Amigos’ Brad Littlefield.

“Sure, I was thinking about that before I wrestled Thursday,” Elsalda said. “But I had to put it behind me. I had to focus on this match.”

Said Petrone: “We have a lot of confidence in Edward. That match against Littlefield was a heartbreaker, since he led most of the match. But he put it behind and did what was needed.”

INSTANT RIVALS

When Laguna Hills moved to the Sea View League last year, Cliff Jarmie knew his Hawks would form an immediate rivalry with Irvine.

Before coming to the Sea View, Laguna Hills won 12 consecutive championships in the Pacific Coast League.

Vaquero Coach John Phillips’ hold on the Sea View League was almost as firm, with nine titles in his 13 years at Irvine.

Jarmie said he welcomed the move because the Pacific Coast League was lacking in competition.

“John always runs a good program at Irvine, so it was great to move into this league where I knew we would be getting some great competition,” Jarmie said. “And there’s really nothing like a good rivalry. Like El Modena and Villa Park. This is what it’s all about.”

Last season, Laguna Hills hosted the Vaqueros and pulled out a 35-25 upset victory in front of a full gymnasium. The victory gave the Hawks the league dual-meet title, and later in the season they won their first Sea View League title.

“That first dual with Irvine was very exciting. We had a lot of support from the crowd, who really got into it,” Jarmie said. “Now we go [to Irvine], and I’m sure they’ll be more than ready.”

Said Phillips: “I think this year Laguna Hills will be favored. I just hope we can rise to the occasion.”

The Hawks, ranked fifth in the county, are led by Ryan Lindenblatt (189 pounds), Matt Simmons (145), David Coles (140), Kevin Kendall (160) and Everett Woolum (215).

“They’re a young group. But I’m really pleased with them so far. They matured a lot faster than I thought they would,” Jarmie said.

Irvine, ranked eighth, isn’t as strong as it was last year, but still has eight returning starters, including Doug Noble (215), Jason Stones (130), Scott Grant (135) and Matt Langer (119).

In preseason questionnaires, Jarmie called Irvine the favorite, while Phillips picked Laguna Hills as the team to beat.

“After you get past Calvary and Santa Ana in the top two spots [in the county rankings], it’s wide open,” Jarmie said. “I know this one will be a barn-burner.”

Said Phillips: “We’ll be there. So let the chips fall where they may.”

The dual meet starts at 7 p.m.

LOOKING AHEAD

Top-ranked Calvary Chapel will competing in the Morro Bay Invitational and sixth-ranked El Modena in the Canyon Springs tournament this weekend.

If you have an item or idea for the wrestling report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at: erik.hamilton@latimes.com

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WRESTLING TOP 10

Orange County Coaches’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) 1. Calvary Chapel (Olympic) 2. Santa Ana (Golden West) 3. El Dorado (Empire) 4. Villa Park (Century) 5. Laguna Hills (Sea View) 6. El Modena (Century) 7. Irvine (Sea View) 8. Loara (Empire) 9. San Clemente (South Coast) 10. Trabuco Hills (South Coast)

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Individual Rankings

103--1. Estrada (Calvary Chapel); 2. Guzman (Santa Ana); 3. Featherstone (Villa Park); 4. Tice (Fountain Valley); 5. Cullimore (San Clemente). 112--1. O. Galvan (Loara); 2. Aleksanayan (Calvary Chapel); 3. Anguto (Villa Park); 4. Ramos (Los Amigos); 5. Cuellar (Santa Ana). 119--1. J. Galvan (Loara); 2. Aguilar (Canyon); 3. Lin (Newport Harbor); 4. Chavez (Magnolia); 5. Caltempa (Buena Park). 125--1. Yadon (Villa Park); 2. Tinoco (El Modena); 3. Silava (Villa Park); 4. Jackson (Calvary Chapel); 5. Silva (Santa Ana). 130--1. Esparza (Calvary Chapel); 2. Rubio (Santa Ana); 3. Wimmer (Marina); 4. Meyer (Villa Park); 5. Perez (Dana Hills). 135--1. Gill (Calvary Chapel); 2. Cadawallader (Brethren Christian); 3. Coles (Laguna Hills); 4. A. Miles (Foothill); 5. Kassel (Esperanza). 140--1. Keene (Mission Viejo); 2. Barger (Villa Park); 3. Aguilar (Mater Dei); 4. Collins (El Dorado); 5. E. Miles (Foothill). 145--1. LaMay (Capistrano Valley); 2. Serna (Santa Ana); 3. Buenrostro (Santa Ana Valley); 4. Fennell (Villa Park); 5. C. Jackson (Calvary Chapel). 152--1. Avalos (Santa Ana); 2. Richmond (Kennedy); 3. Meza (Buena Park); 4. Diaz (Villa Park); 5. Brown (Laguna Hills). 160--1. J. Williams (Calvary Chapel); 2. Gamboa (University); 3. Hacker (Corona del Mar); 4. Contreras (El Modena); 5. Sullivan (Canyon). 171--1. Parks (Calvary Chapel); 2. Becerra (Santa Ana); 3. Blair (Dana Hills); 4. Gleason (El Modena); 5. Plunkett (Laguna Hills). 189--1. J. Williams (Calvary Chapel); 2. Howard (Santa Ana); 3. Carroll (Trabuco Hills); 4. Lindenblatt (Laguna Hills); 5. Oskins (Foothill). 215--1. Montano (El Dorado); 2. Thaler (Estancia); 3. Noble (Irvine); 4. Ulerich (Capistrano Valley); 5. Boulais (Calvary Chapel). HEAVYWEIGHT--1. Chanda (Trabuco Hills); 2. Arrevalos (Mater Dei); 3. Arvizo (Santa Ana); 4. Gutierrez (Anaheim); 5. Curtis (El Dorado).