Guzman Fails to Make Weight

There weren’t many surprises on the wrestling mats Saturday during the Southern Section Masters meet at Fountain Valley High, with favored wrestlers taking titles in most weight classes, but there was one major upset before the matches began.

Hugo Guzman of Santa Ana, the top-ranked 103-pounder in the state, failed to make weight Saturday morning and was disqualified from the tournament, ending his senior season.

Guzman, the reigning Five Counties champion and two-time state qualifier, made weight Friday and won two preliminary matches, but when he showed up Saturday morning for his scheduled quarterfinal against Ishmael Armendariz of Downey, he weighed in a half pound over the limit.

“I’m devastated for him,” Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said. “He’s going to have to live with that for the rest of his life.”

Guzman left Fountain Valley and could not be reached Saturday. Glabb said he weighed in eight pounds over weight after his matches Friday but wasn’t worried about losing it. At 5:30 Saturday morning, Guzman arrived at Santa Ana still 2.7 pounds over.

He ran most of the eight miles from Santa Ana to Fountain Valley in a last-ditch effort to drop the extra weight.

Mario Estrada (119 pounds), David Jauregui (135), Yuri Kalika (171) and Joe Williams (189) all won titles for Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, which led the meet with four champions and six state qualifiers.

Estrada had one of the most thrilling final matches. Trailing, 4-2, with less than 10 seconds remaining against Mario Acosta of North Torrance, Estrada pulled a reversal and put Acosta on his back for a two-point near fall and a 6-4 victory.

“I don’t really freak out during my matches,” Estrada said. “In the beginning of that match, I set the tone so I really wasn’t worried.”

Another thrilling finish came in the 130-pound final between Carlos Alaniz of La Mirada and Morgan Atkinson of Temecula Valley. Alaniz trailed, 4-3, when he had an apparent two-point takedown with about 10 seconds left. At first, referees signaled for two points, but then waved it off. Alaniz then scored another takedown as time expired for a 5-4 victory.

Arturo Basulto of Arroyo Grande, the defending state heavyweight champion, rolled through his division despite a viral infection in his lung. He pinned his first four opponents in 1:14 or less before defeating Matt Fitu of Rialto Eisenhower, 4-1, in the final.

Other champions included Rosemead’s Sean Prentice (112) and Manuel Rivera (125) and Mater Dei’s Jason Hull (140) and Matt Bruining (215). Orange El Modena, which had 160-pound champion Daniel Contreras, and North Torrance both had four state qualifiers.

The top eight at each weight advance to state next weekend at University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Peter Yoon

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San Fernando won its third consecutive City Section wrestling title and qualified three wrestlers for the state championships. San Fernando finished with 194 points, followed by Bell (170.5), Chatsworth (150) and host Lake Balboa Birmingham (130).

The Tigers led Bell by 9 1/2 points going into the finals and tied Woodland Hills El Camino Real with a record 10th title by winning all three head-to-head matches against Bell.

Raphael Reynolds of San Fernando pinned Bell’s Luis Mesa in 1:41 at 135 pounds, then Ricky Aguirre clinched the Tigers’ victory by pinning Bell’s David Rodriguez in 3:34 at 140.

Chatsworth wrestlers won four titles. Each weight champion qualified for state.

-- Steve Galluzzo