Calvary Chapel, Unbeatable at State, Is Uninvited in County

Calvary Chapel, which had three champions while winning its seventh state wrestling title last week, was not invited to participate in the Orange County Wrestling Assn. all-star meet today at Orange High.

Steve Marshall, president of the organization, said the Eagles were not invited because the governing board had assumed they were not interested in participating.

“No one from Calvary Chapel showed up to our first meeting at the beginning of the season. They didn’t participate in any events we sponsored this year. And last year, at the all-star meet, they pretty much made a mockery of the event. The kids take this seriously, but it was a joke to [the Calvary Chapel wrestlers],” Marshall said.

In an e-mail sent to The Times on Thursday, Calvary Chapel Principal Dave Rolph wrote: “I’m sure the coaches will say that our guys have failed to participate in the past, but this just isn’t true. We have had some of our wrestlers who were invited and were forced to decline because of other commitments, but we have had wrestlers compete each year.”

The annual invitational meet, which is not affiliated with the Southern Section, features graduating seniors from the county. The Eagles have seven seniors in their starting lineup, including three state champions, Anthony Rodriquez (112 pounds), Steve Esparza (130) and Conan Williams (189).

Marshall said the only reason Calvary Chapel was not invited was what the board saw as a lack of interest.

“Last year they attended the meetings, and they were invited,” Marshall said. “But there have been cases when other schools did not participate and were not invited to events sponsored by the association.”

Scott Glabb, who coaches Santa Ana, has two wrestlers competing in the event, Osvaldo Avalos at 152 pounds and Wyatt Howard at 189.

“I heard that Calvary Chapel wasn’t going to be invited and I don’t think it’s right,” Glabb said. “But I was never called by a board member to ask me my opinion.”