Estancia’s Jacob Potts, Costa Mesa’s Hunter Windshitl win Orange Coast League wrestling titles
The area waited for quite some time for its first champion to emerge in the Orange Coast League wrestling finals on Friday at Santa Ana High.
When the upper-weight divisions came, local footprints were all over the finals.
Estancia’s Jacob Potts became a two-time league champion, earning a first-period pin of Saddleback’s Alexander Gonzalez in the 195-pound championship match.
After advancing to the CIF Southern Section Coastal Division semifinals last season at 195 pounds before a fractured wrist ended his season, Potts has his sights set on a potential CIF State run.
“The first place, to me, it doesn’t really mean anything,” Potts said. “It’s showing my other teammates, my family right there, that it doesn’t matter what you get. It’s you keep trying your hardest, no matter what.
“This is nothing. This is just a qualifier to the qualifier to the qualifier, so it’s all the way to state.”
Costa Mesa’s Hunter Windshitl sung quite a different tune in winning his first league title. The sophomore heavyweight pinned Calvary Chapel’s Nathan Scott in just 35 seconds.
“I was not expecting that,” Windshitl said. “I was surprised. I had wrestled him once before, and I lost, but I was able to change up my style and win.
“It’s exciting. A couple of matches, I wasn’t sure of, but luckily, I just pushed through, and I was able to mentally win.”
The Mustangs had lost three finals leading up to Windshitl’s championship bout. Dane Curran (106), Cameron Glabb (120) and Cristopher Rosales-Ramirez (138) were runner-ups.
Rosales-Ramirez’s final was a heartbreaker, as he led 4-0 in the final period before being caught in a cradle by Santa Ana’s Joseph Cervantes.
Estancia’s Margarito Olivera also suffered a tough loss in the 220-pound final. He was called for a point penalty with 30 seconds left for grabbing the singlet of Santa Ana’s Marcelo Juarez. He ended up dropping a 2-1 decision.
Mustangs freshman Cassandra Raya had two pins en route to winning the girls’ 143-pound title.
One visiting wrestler felt very much at home in the Santa Ana gym. Glabb, a sophomore for Costa Mesa, grew up around the Saints.
Glabb’s father, Scott, coached at Santa Ana from 1990 to 2018, winning 26 consecutive league titles, before moving over to Costa Mesa as an assistant coach.
In a semifinal match, Glabb squared off with Estancia’s Trevor Wagstaff for the first time and came away with a second-period pin.
“I was supposed to wrestle him at a dual [meet], and he didn’t wrestle that dual, so I was coming in here blind, not knowing what I was going to do,” Glabb said. “He looks pretty strong. He likes his throws, so I was worried about that. He almost got a throw in the first [period], but I knew what was up, so I stayed calm and collected, and that helped me win.”
The pressure was never there to wrestle. Glabb picked up singing first, something that he has done since the fourth grade. He was always told that if he did decide to wrestle, he had to do it for himself.
In middle school, that was a decision that Glabb made, although it has not been easy to balance his extracurricular activities. He has also been practicing for a leading role in the school play, “Guys and Dolls.” Glabb added that opening night will be March 19 at 7.
Estancia’s Zach Maxwell was one of six varsity wrestlers that the Eagles brought to the meet, and he showed that they had come to compete.
In a 126-pound semifinal match, Maxwell earned a takedown in overtime after Santa Ana’s Daniel Rosales had crawled off the mat at the end of the third period. He earned a 5-3 decision.
“It was amazing,” Maxwell said. “My strength is definitely neutral. My takedowns, I’ve been working on them all year. I’m used to getting in those positions all the time. Overtime, that’s what me and my [teammates] practice every day.
“Who wants it more? Who’s hungrier? We fight for the win in overtime. We get hungry. We don’t get tired.”
Calvary Chapel’s Adam Stanley, a Costa Mesa transfer, beat Maxwell 7-2 in the final.
Orange Coast League finals
At Santa Ana High
Championship matches
106 – Caleb Park (Calvary Chapel) pins Dane Curran (Costa Mesa), 0:35.
113 – Tiger Ortiz (Calvary Chapel) tech. fall Damian Lopez (Santa Ana), 18-2.
120 – Joaquin Arroyo (Calvary Chapel) pins Cameron Glabb (Costa Mesa), 1:50.
126 – Adam Stanley (Calvary Chapel) dec. Zach Maxwell (Estancia), 7-2.
132 – Diego Villegas (Santa Ana) pins Orlando Garcia (Calvary Chapel), 1:59.
138 – Joseph Cervantes (Santa Ana) pins Cristopher Rosales-Ramirez (Costa Mesa), 4:56.
145 – Luke Gayer (Calvary Chapel) tech. fall Andres Carrillo (Santa Ana), 16-0.
152 – Evan Gilbert (Calvary Chapel) pins Erick Gallardo (Santa Ana), 0:49.
160 – Andrew Sparks (Calvary Chapel) pins Jesse Morales (Santa Ana), 0:42.
170 – Luis Castillo (Calvary Chapel) dec. Israel Sanchez (Santa Ana), 10-3.
182 – Jared Lippinghoff (Calvary Chapel) dec. James Ruiz (Saddleback), 8-1.
195 – Jacob Potts (Estancia) pins Alexander Gonzalez (Saddleback), 0:56.
220 – Marcelo Juarez (Santa Ana) dec. Margarito Olivera (Estancia), 2-1.
285 – Hunter Windshitl (Costa Mesa) pins Nathan Scott (Calvary Chapel), 0:35.
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