Juaregui Falls in Final; Moreno Able to Repeat

The most-anticipated match of the state wrestling tournament did not disappoint a record crowd of 7,591 as David Juaregui of Santa Ana Calvary Chapel and Troy Tirapelle of Clovis battled to an epic finish in the 140-pound final Saturday night at Centennial Garden.

Juaregui eventually lost, 13-12, when he allowed Tirapelle to escape with five seconds left then couldn’t get the takedown for the victory. Juaregui fell behind, 9-0, in the second period before closing the deficit to 10-4 entering the third. After tying the score, 12-12, with 30 seconds left, Juaregui was unable to turn Tirapelle and let him escape.

The crowd booed as Tirapelle, who lost his No. 1-ranking in state after a 6-4 loss to Juaregui at the Five Counties Invitational, raised his arms in victory.

Tirapelle was on the run as Juaregui fought back into the match by continually taking down Tirapelle and then releasing him. Tirapelle, who twice used injury timeouts to try to thwart the comeback, eventually was penalized for stalling.

“I think Dave should have received four [penalty] points,” Calvary Chapel Coach Josh Holiday said. “But Dave shouldn’t have gotten behind 9-0.”

Junior Brian Moreno of Santa Ana Foothill won his second consecutive state title with a 6-4 victory over Cory Borges of Hughson at 112 pounds. Last year he won the 103-pound title.

“The second time is so much sweeter because there’s more pressure,” Moreno said. “People put a target on your back. But, I had faith that I could win.”

Calvin Devault of Temecula Valley beat Brian Merritt of Yucca Valley, 7-6, in overtime for the 160-pound title in a rematch of their Masters Meet final, which was won by Merritt, 6-4, in overtime.

Devault trailed, 6-4, with 56 seconds on Saturday but got a reverse to tie the score. In overtime, Devault chose to be down to start overtime and gained an escape for the victory.

“I put all my energy on the line so I wouldn’t regret anything,” Devault said. “I hoped the match wouldn’t be that close, but Brian has gotten really good.”

Calvary Chapel’s Justin Paulson (103), Riverside Norte Vista’s Kyle Lopez (125), Calvary Chapel’s Patrick Aleksanyan (135) and Santa Barbara San Marcos’ Alex Mack (275) finished second after winning semifinal matches in the morning.

Covina Northview had two third-place finishers in Caleb Flores (103) and Sam McGeorge (152).

It was Flores’ second consecutive top-eight finish, having placed sixth as Northview’s only qualifier last season.

Chino Hills Ayala concluded its best postseason in school history with three medalists. Juniors Arman Kucukkoseoglu (189) and Dominic Del Duca (140) each finished fourth and Nick Ketesleger (275) finished seventh for the Bulldogs, who had previously boasted only one state-qualifier -- Ernest DeLeon, who finished third in 1995.

Bakersfield had all four finalists win to run away with the title, outscoring Clovis, 170.5 to 93.5. Poway was third at 82.5 and Calvary Chapel was fourth with 79.

Other top-eight finishers from the Southland were Juan Archuleta of Hesperia Sultana (fifth) and Dave Naverrete of Temecula Valley (seventh) at 103; Bryan Osuna of Calvary Chapel (sixth) and Kyle Bank of Dana Point Dana Hills (eighth) at 119; Teddy Astorga of Perris (fourth) at 125; Jesus Silvar of Corona Santiago (fourth) and Jimmy Kirkemo of Riverside King (sixth) and Kipp Bowman of Temecula Valley (seventh) at 135; David Acosta of North Torrance (fourth) at 145; Mike O’Hara of Redlands East Valley (fifth) at 152; Bobby Green of Fontana Miller (fifth) at 160 and Kody Nielsen of Ventura (eighth) at 215.