He Has Look of Winner on Mat

The key to every wrestling match, Joe Williams says, is in his opponents’ eyes.

The eyes, he says, tell him what kind of match he is about to have. Each time he meets his opponent for the prematch handshake, Williams makes sure to check them.

Sometimes he sees fear, sometimes determination and grit. Many times, he sees a victory.

“A lot of times I have guys beat before we even step on the mat,” Williams said. “You can see it in his eyes. I try not to let it get to my head. I try to wrestle everyone the same and just do my stuff.”

That stuff proved pretty effective this season.

Williams, a senior at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, wrestled in the 189-pound weight class but really was in a class by himself. He was undefeated in 50 matches and tied a school record with 33 pins.

He won titles at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions and Five Counties Invitational then went on to win his second consecutive state championship. Williams is The Times’ wrestler of the year for the second consecutive year.

“What I did on the mat was a product of my hard work,” Williams said. “I can always look back at this season and know all the work was worth it.”

Most of the work was mental. After winning the 171-pound state title last season, Williams established himself as one the top wrestlers at any weight in California. In his weight class, it wasn’t even close.

Williams was taken down only twice all season -- once in the finals at Reno and again in the Five Counties final. Nobody came close to defeating him.

“He’s as good a high school wrestler as I’ve ever seen,” Calvary Chapel Coach Josh Holiday said. “He knows what he’s doing out there, and he’s easy to coach. You tell him to do something and he has the ability to go out and do it.”

As an overwhelming favorite to win every match, avoiding overconfidence became Williams’ biggest challenge.

With no creditable challengers, Williams sought motivation in his religious convictions and in the history books. The school pin record was one goal. Another was surpassing the pin total of his older brother, Conan, who had 30 as a senior at Calvary Chapel during the 2000-01 season.

“Basically, I just try to represent the Lord to the best of my abilities,” Williams said. “I didn’t have any other reason to wrestle.

“Sometimes I’d have guys tell me it was a pleasure to go against me. Or I’d see guys smiling after a match because they didn’t get pinned. It’s like they weren’t there to win, they were there to not get pinned.

“It can be hard to stay focused when you’ve got a match won before you step on the mat.”

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WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

*--* 189 Joe Williams Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Sr FIRST TEAM 103 Brian Moreno Foothill So Won six tournaments, including state championship, Masters and Southern Individual. Finished 58-4 112 Sean Prentice Rosemead Sr Unheralded at start of the season, Prentice burst on scene with victories at Five Counties and Masters 119 Mario Estrada Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Sr Three-time state qualifier finished fourth in state after winning Masters and Inland Division championships 125 Manuel Rivera Rosemead Sr Two-time Masters champion finished third in state. Was Times’ all-star selection at 112 pounds last year 130 Patrick Aleksayan Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Jr Third-place finisher at state was also third at Masters and fifth at Five Counties 135 David Jauregui Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Jr Will be force next year after taking fourth in state and winning Masters and Inland Division championships 140 Jason Hull Mater Dei Sr Overlooked in deep weight class last season, Hull won Masters and Coastal Division titles this season 145 Mike O’Hara Redlands East Valley Jr Was Masters champion and placed seventh at state despite ankle injury incurred during quarterfinals 152 George Couts El Rancho Sr Masters champion was eighth at state, won Inland Division and placed fifth at Five Counties 160 Daniel Contreras El Modena Sr Solid all season, Contreras placed third at Five Counties, then won the Eastern Division and Masters titles 171 Yuri Kalika Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Sr Got first-place medal at state this year after finishing fourth in state as sophomore and third last year 215 Matt Brunning Mater Dei Sr Breakthrough season included Masters and Coastal Division titles and first appearance at state HWT Arturo Basulto Arroyo Grande Sr Fell one victory short of defending state title, but still won Masters and was second at Five Counties Coach of the year -- Don Garriott, North Torrance Guided team through topsy-turvy season but came out with Southern Section titles in both the dual-meet and individual tournaments. They were the first wrestling section titles in school history SECOND TEAM 103 Hugo Guzman Santa Ana Sr 112 John Rojas Canyon Springs Sr 119 Mario Acosta North Torrance Sr 125 Danny Brito Santa Ana Sr 130 Morgan Atkinson Temecula Valley Sr 135 Daniel Alajandro Sultana Sr 140 Steve Minters La Habra Sr 145 Evan Garza Esperanza Sr 152 Bobby Green Miller Jr 160 Tim Le Los Alamitos Sr 171 Devon Lee La Palma Kennedy Sr 189 Aaron Miller Mission Viejo Sr 215 Anthony Fernandez Ayala Sr HWT Danny Espinosa Los Alamitos Jr

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