Drouin Goes Distance at Masters Meet

The highlight match at the Southern Section Masters wrestling championship Saturday at Fountain Valley was a tense overtime thriller that had the sellout crowd standing and cheering throughout and left both wrestlers bloodied.

Too bad it was a semifinal.

Chris Drouin of Temecula Chaparral scored a takedown with about 10 seconds remaining in sudden death overtime to defeat Larry Medina of Covina Northview, 6-4, in a 135-pound semifinal that many felt should have been the final and could end up as the state championship final next week at Bakersfield.

Drouin, the state runner-up in the weight class last year and ranked No. 2 in the state this year, went on to win the weight class when he pinned Eric Lake of Santa Margarita in 1 minute 4 seconds, and Medina, ranked No. 3 in the state, took third with a 43-second pin of Santa Ana’s Jose Navarro, but the semifinal match was the talk of the meet.

“It was a brawl out there,” said Drouin, who was selected lower weights MVP. “We were bleeding from the nose, we were bleeding from the mouth. Every time me and him go at it, it’s the same way. That match should have been the final.”

Drouin and Medina, who first met as youth wrestlers and embraced several times after their match Saturday, ended up on the same side of the bracket because the Southern Section uses a formula to determine the brackets instead of seeding the wrestlers.

“It always happens like that,” Medina said. “A lot of No. 1 guys don’t make the finals because of the formula. I knew it was going to be a tough match and hopefully I’ll have a couple of more shots at him.”

Because Medina won his third-place match, he and Drouin will be on opposite sides of the state championship bracket, setting up a potential rematch in the state finals.

That would be fine with both wrestlers, who each has some unfinished business at state. Drouin made the final last year but lost, 5-0, to Joe Soto of Porterville. Medina pinned his first three opponents at state and appeared headed for the 130-pound final, but broke his ankle in his semifinal match and defaulted to sixth place.

“State is going to be on my mind 24/7,” Drouin said. “Whoever has the most heart is going to take it.”

Although Medina was disappointed, he was satisfied with his team’s performance. Northview’s Caleb Flores won the 119-pound title and Shad Manigault won at 140. The Vikings, ranked No. 3 in the state, had five wrestlers finish among the top eight and advance to the state meet.

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, which got weight-class victories from Justin Paulsen at 112 and Chad Hemerson at 160, was the only other team with multiple champions. The Eagles, ranked No. 9 in the state, also had five wrestlers qualify for the state championships.

Eighth-ranked Temecula Valley, led by Ted Bristol’s victory at 145 pounds, also had five wrestlers make it to state.

Drew Velasco of North Torrance was a surprise winner in the 103-pound weight class, defeating Thomas Williams of Covina South Hills, 5-4. Williams, a sophomore, is ranked No. 4 in the state.

George Munoz of West Covina at 152 pounds was the only weight class winner Saturday who did not win one of the six division titles last week. Munoz was second to Greg Ferrer of Colton at the Northern Division, but defeated Anthony Salcedo of Dos Pueblos, 5-1, in Saturday’s final.

Nate Willard of Atascadero, the 189-pound champion, was chosen upper weights MVP after pinning three opponents and winning two matches by major decision. Adam Wilson of Santa Maria Righetti also had an outstanding tournament with pins in his last three matches, including the 171-pound championship match.

-- Peter Yoon

After consecutive runner-up finishes at the City Section championships, the San Fernando wrestling team reclaimed the trophy it held from 2001-03 in dominating fashion, beating second-place Woodland Hills El Camino Real by 78 points and advancing five champions to next week’s state tournament.

“Our kids worked toward this all year,” said fourth-year Tiger Coach Fernando Gonzalez, who had seven wrestlers in the finals. “Anything less than this would have been very disappointing.”

Senior 275-pounder Santos Delgadillo and sophomore 152-pounder Mike Solis each became two-time champions for San Fernando. Teammates Rashaad Reynolds, Julio Lopez and Eddie Uribe each claimed their first City titles with victories at 130, 135 and 145 pounds, respectively.

Fourth-place Chatsworth crowned a pair of three-time City champions in seniors Edwin Martinez at 103 and Oscar Garcia at 112. El Camino Real was the only other team with multiple state qualifiers as two-time City champion Steve Munoz won at 119 and Adir Tal took first at 160.

-- Chuck Schilken