Huntington Beach wrestling opens Wave League with win over Corona del Mar

Huntington Beach's William Krcelic celebrates after pinning Corona del Mar's Wayne Muse in the 138-pound match of a Wave League opener on Wednesday in Huntington Beach.

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Dec. 18, 2019 9:44 PM PT

The Wave League wrestling crown is expected to come down to a three-team race this season.

In a crucial league opener, Huntington Beach High asserted itself as the early challenger to defending champion Newport Harbor.

Huntington Beach registered four pins as a team in defeating Corona del Mar 41-36 at home on Wednesday night.

“All week, I just [emphasized] that this was one match at a time and one dual meet at the time,” Oilers coach John Morgan said. “We can’t get overwhelmed with what happened in the past. We’re a new team of Oilers, and we’ve just got to focus on how hard we’ve been working.

“Any time they get a little bit of doubt in their head, just focus on the hard work.”

The Oilers took control of the match in the middle weights. William Krcelic (138 pounds) erased a pin by Luke Villaluz (132) with a victory by fall of his own. Evan Bain doubled down with another pin for Huntington Beach, which took a 33-24 lead with four matches to go.

Krcelic delivered a dominant performance against Wayne Muse. He polished off his victory 12 seconds into the third period, having already built up a 9-0 advantage before the final whistle.

“I’m pretty happy about everything,” Krcelic said. “I wasn’t really sure if I was going to get the pin, to be honest, but at the end, I got it. I’m just really happy that I contributed to the team.”

Huntinton Beach's Ty Royster celebrates after beating Corona del Mar's Chase Bergstrom in the 120-pound match of a Wave League opener on Wednesday in Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach nearly jumped out to a substantial early lead. Tyson Finch opened with a third-period pin against Ryan Rector at 195 pounds.

In the 220-pound match, CdM’s Chase Zanck nearly squandered a 6-1 lead in the third period. Nicholas Lawrence got him to his backside, but Zanck recovered and won by fall with 30 seconds left in the bout.

“I was expecting him to get the pin,” Sea Kings coach Mark Alex said. “He made a mistake, got on his back. Then he righted it and got his pin. Zanck always has a way of digging deeper and finding another level to keep pushing hard.

“He did it wrestling for us before, and he never gives up. There is always another gas tank in there somewhere for Zanck to fire up and get his pin.”

Eric Rector (113), Deegan Montalbano (152), Danny Reichner (182) and Emilio Franco (285) also pinned for the Sea Kings (10-5-1, 0-1 in league)

Senior Kolby Lane, a 170-pounder who transferred in from Ocean View for his sophomore season, clinched the match for Huntington Beach, earning an 11-1 major decision in the penultimate bout of the evening.

Ty Royster (120) also had a pin for the Oilers. Blake De Courcy (160) added a major decision and Haden Hernandez (106) won by decision.

Huntington Beach also benefited from a forfeit at 126 pounds, as CdM was without Yosi Haim-Sarvey (fever). The Oilers have a full lineup this season, which is a new phenomenon for some of the program’s veterans.

“When I came in here as a freshman, we had a lot of holes,” Finch, a senior, said. “I don’t think we won a single dual meet my freshman year. Now, we have so many new freshmen. We have such a good varsity team. We have such a good frosh lineup. I’m really excited about the future for our team.”

With the match out of reach, Reichner ended the night with a second-period pin at 182 pounds for the Sea Kings. Alex appreciated Reichner’s fight, even though the match had been clinched.

“We told Danny, ‘You know what, finish it strong so that we go home with a smile on our face,’” Alex said. “The last memory is a victory.”