Reconfigured Divisions Raise Stakes at Masters Meet

With the Southern Section dual meet championships decided, the focus shifts to the individual championships, which will have a new look when they are contested this weekend at six sites throughout Southern California.

The divisions have been renamed, reconfigured and a new division has been added this year in an effort to get better quality wrestlers into the Masters Meet. Divisions I-V are gone, replaced by the Northern, Central, Southern, Eastern, Inland and Coastal divisions. Though geographically named, teams are not placed in divisions based on geography. Instead, the teams are seeded into the divisions by the number of Masters qualifiers each had last year. The six teams with the most qualifiers are in different divisions.

In the past, Division I was comprised of mostly top teams, and therefore top individuals, whereas Division V would have a weaker field. However, each division sent six wrestlers to the Masters Meet and the quality of the meet would sometimes suffer. “What we’ve done is created six equal divisions,” Southern Section Assistant Commissioner Rob Wigod said. “We restructured the divisions to make them as fair as they can be.”

Since there are now six divisions, only the top five individuals in each division will advance to the Masters, but most coaches applaud the change.

“If you had all the Division I schools in the same division, there would be some good individuals sitting home,” Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said. “The Division I duals were tough enough. If we had to do that again with the individuals, it would be that much more frustrating.”

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The new look: Even with realignment, some divisions appear tougher than others. Here’s a look at the favorites from each division: Northern--Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, North Torrance. Central-- Rosemead, Corona Centennial, Alhambra, El Modena, Villa Park. Southern--Temecula Valley, Paso Robles. Eastern--Northview, Santa Ana, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria Righetti. Inland--Chino Hills Ayala, Santa Fe, Thousand Oaks, Placentia El Dorado. Coastal--Laguna Hills, Los Alamitos, Ventura.

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Dual injuries: The Southern Section Division II dual meet championships had the most exciting finish of all the divisions. Rosemead rallied from a 16-point deficit by winning the final five weight classes for a 35-32 victory over Paso Robles. But the victory may have been costly for Rosemead.

Raul Espinoza, who placed eighth in the 171-pound weight class at the Five Counties tournament last month, sprained his neck. Paramedics took Espinoza to the hospital, where he stayed overnight for observation. Mitchell Monteiro of Paso Robles also required treatment from paramedics after injuring his shoulder during his 189-pound match. Mitchell is the brother of Mike Monteiro, a state qualifier last year.

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In the City: San Fernando is the favorite for the City Section dual meet championship, which will be contested Thursday at Woodland Hills El Camino High. The Tigers are awaiting word on the eligibility of 145-pounder Ramon Perry, a state qualifier last year who was suspended from school for fighting and placed in continuation school earlier this year. San Fernando Coach Mike Castillo said he may have Perry back for the playoffs.

“He’s supposed to be back in school Monday,” Castillo said. “If he is, he’ll be on a tight leash.”

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In case you missed it: Southern Section dual meet championship match results from Saturday night were as follows: Division I--Temecula Valley 40, Santa Ana 16; Division II--Rosemead 35, Paso Robles 32; Division III--Moreno Valley Canyon Springs 37, Santa Maria Righetti 25; Division IV--Alhambra 54, Ventura 7; Division V--Alta Loma 39, City of Industry Workman 21; Division VI--Littlerock 34, Palmdale Highland 28.

Peter Yoon