Daily Pilot Wrestling Dream Team: Max Wilner, Fountain Valley back up success
As four-time Sunset League champion Karson Ayres walked out the doors of Fountain Valley High in 2017, it seemed, if only for a moment, that the throne had been vacated.
A new face had to surface and lead the Barons.
Rumor had it that Max Wilner, then an incoming freshman, could be the heir.
It was hard to tell who expected more — the program or the wrestler — as Wilner came in with the set goal of wanting to be the first CIF State champion in the history of the Fountain Valley wrestling program.
“I set the bar, like, ‘It’s time to put this program on the map, and to put myself, for that matter, on the map,’” Wilner said.
Three years into the journey, the state championship has proven elusive, but Wilner, the repeat Daily Pilot Dream Team Wrestler of the Year, has accomplished just about everything else that he had hoped for to this point in his high school career.
Without question, Wilner, a junior, has set an example that others can follow as they join the Fountain Valley wrestling room. Individually, he has won three league championships and three CIF Southern Section titles — at 145 pounds as a freshman and at 160 pounds the last two years. Wilner has also advanced to the state championships in all three seasons, medaling twice.
Barons assistant coach Danny Woiwor notes that Wilner has inspired others to go after the same goals right away as they enter the Fountain Valley program.
In the 2018-19 season, Sean Solis won a league championship, a CIF title and advanced to state as a freshman. Zach Parker, another newcomer for the Barons that season, also made it to state.
Freshman TJ McDonnell (138) won a league championship, a CIF crown and qualified for state this season, while freshman Mikey Folch (120) completed the first two steps of that process.
The Barons had two additional first-time state qualifiers in junior Luis Ramirez (145) and senior Matthew Fee (220).
“You have kids like Mikey Folch and TJ McDonnell,” Woiwor said. “They come in as freshmen. They know what Max did as a freshman. They want to match that or do better because, again, that’s the standard that has been set.
“All of those kids want to be four-time state placers. None of them have accomplished that, but that’s the goal. We’re trying to set that standard, and now you see it.”
Dennis Piramo, a co-head coach of the Barons along with Brad Woodbury, has spoken in the past about team dual-meet league championships becoming the standard at Fountain Valley. The Barons have now won nine league dual-meet titles in a row.
The bar continues to get set higher for Fountain Valley, which did some extraordinary things as a team this season. Fountain Valley repeated as the overall champion of the CIF Southern Section Northern Division individual championships.
Sean Solis, Mikey Folch, TJ McDonnell, Luis Ramirez and Max Wilner win individual titles, leading the Barons over Simi Valley Royal 218.5-189 in the CIF Southern Section individual wrestling championships on Saturday at Marina High.
Prior to the individual postseason, Fountain Valley rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Long Beach Millikan 31-30 for the CIF Division 3 dual-meet title.
Wilner was equal parts competitor and motivator as the comeback commenced.
“I tried to use the adrenaline I have from the other kids wrestling good to put that into kids who are warming up for the next two or three matches for my teammates,” Wilner said. “I feel like that helped out a lot, too, like, ‘We’ve got this. We’re in our home gym, dude. You have nothing to worry about. Just wrestle how you wrestle.’”
A bout with the flu resulted in weight loss for Wilner, and he dropped down to 160 pounds for the postseason meets. He had won titles at 170 pounds in the Cossarek Classic and the Mann Classic, adding a pair of runner-up finishes in the Zinkin Classic and Fountain Valley’s own Five Counties Tournament.
Wilner went 36-7 overall, and he finished the season ranked third in the state by The California Wrestler. He took fifth place at state, earning a medal at the season-ending tournament for the second straight year.
The coronavirus may have forced people back into their homes, but Wilner is finding ways to stay active as he prepares for one last run at his goal of becoming Fountain Valley’s first state champion.
He said that one of the workouts that he has performed since gyms closed was to complete 1,500 push-ups from the time he got up to the time he went to bed.
“I don’t think there has been a day since after the state tournament where I haven’t thought about it, taking fifth,” Wilner said. “It pushes me during my workouts. When I’m close to breaking, it’s like, ‘I took fifth. I need to work harder. There’s still work that needs to be done.’”
COACH OF THE YEAR
John Morgan
Huntington Beach
The Huntington Beach alumnus helped resurrect the wrestling program at his alma mater, and Morgan enjoyed the fruits of his labor in his fifth season in charge. His team gained confidence through its performance at tournaments. The Oilers placed third as a team at the Costa Mesa Classic, fourth in the Juan Enriquez Memorial Tournament at Norwalk John Glenn and fifth at the Edison Beach Bash. Huntington Beach earned wins over Corona del Mar, 41-36, and Newport Harbor, 52-22, to win the Wave League, which gave the program its first league championship since 1992. The Oilers also sent two girls to the CIF State tournament in sophomore Alexandra Lopez (131) and senior Chloe Palacios (143).
FIRST TEAM
Angela Dela Cruz
106 | Edison | Sr.
Wrestling continues to grow in popularity among girls. Dela Cruz put the sport on the map for girls at Edison. She went 32-6 in her senior season, advancing to the quarterfinals of the main draw at the CIF State championships. Her state run ended in the blood round, which is one match shy of earning a medal. Chargers coach Pete Escandon said that Dela Cruz is the school’s first girl to qualify for state. Dela Cruz earned titles at the South Hills Winter Classic, the Brea Lady Mat Cat Tournament, the Mayfair Lady Monsoons Tournament and the Sunset Conference finals.
Sean Solis
113 | Fountain Valley | So.
Solis has no greater critic than himself. He shoots for the top spot on the podium, and he has gotten there often enough in his first two seasons with the Barons. The lower-weight standout won his second CIF Southern Section individual title in as many seasons. The No. 2 seed marched through the bracket with three pins, a major decision and ending it with a technical-fall victory by a score of 15-0 over Sunset Conference champion Conor Uyekawa of Los Alamitos in the championship match. The two-time CIF State qualifier also opened the season by winning a title in the Cossarek Classic. Solis, who earned his second Dream Team first-team nod, finished with a record of 30-11.
TJ McDonnell
138 | Fountain Valley | Fr.
For the past four seasons, Fountain Valley has had at least one first-time CIF State qualifier. In each of the past three seasons, the Barons have been able to send at least one wrestler to the state tournament in their freshman season. McDonnell accomplished the feat this year with a dazzling postseason. He cut weight from 152 pounds at Fountain Valley’s host Five Counties Tournament to 138 pounds. From there, he won the weight class at the Sunset Conference finals and the CIF Southern Section Northern Division finals. McDonnell placed fifth at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet, and he went 3-2 at the state tournament. Ending the year ranked No. 12 at 138 pounds, McDonnell went 27-9 this season.
Luis Ramirez
145 | Fountain Valley | Jr.
One of the most underrated and under-appreciated pieces of the puzzle for Fountain Valley, Ramirez wrestled at three different weight classes (138, 145 and 152) for the Barons this season. He wound up ranked No. 15 in the state for 145-pound wrestlers, qualifying for the CIF State tournament for the first time in his career. Ramirez won his second consecutive league championship at 145 pounds in the Sunset Conference finals. As the top seed in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division finals, Ramirez had two pins and two victories by decision in earning his first section individual title. The junior concluded his season at 31-9 overall.
Jacob Potts
195 | Estancia | Jr.
Potts was on the brink of making a deep postseason run in the 2018-19 season, narrowly missing out on advancing to the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet. The Eagles junior came back with a vengeance this season, winning regular-season titles in the Costa Mesa Classic, the Mater Dei Scott Davis Invitational and the Esperanza Classic. The two-time Orange Coast League champion took third place in the CIF Southern Section Coastal Division finals, and he placed eighth at Masters to advance to CIF State. Potts went 28-5 with 18 pins this season. He became the first state-qualifier for Estancia since Nathan Thaler at 215 pounds in 2001.
Emilio Franco
220 | Corona del Mar | Jr.
It was a big year for Franco, both individually, as well as from a team perspective. The Sea Kings won the Newport-Mesa District Championships and the Battle of the Bay to take back the Golden Singlet from rival Newport Harbor. The team schedule was capped with a CIF Southern Section dual meet championship in Division 6, a surprising development as CdM entered the tournament as an at-large selection. Individually, Franco won titles at the Costa Mesa Classic, the San Clemente Rotary Invitational, and the Sunset Conference finals. The two-time Dream Team first-team performer finished third in the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet, the highest placing of any local wrestler at the CIF State-qualifying tournament. Franco, who went 59-10 overall with 44 pins, became the first CdM boys’ wrestler to move on to the state tournament since Adam Elias in 1979.
Matthew Fee
220 | Fountain Valley | Sr.
Expectations were high for Fee after he upset four seeded wrestlers to win the 220-pound title at the CIF Southern Section Northern Division finals last season. Fee was overshadowed by a Sunset Conference foe in Franco throughout the season, but in many ways, Fee’s senior campaign mirrored that of his junior year. He flipped a switch again in the postseason, taking fourth in the CIF finals and fifth at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet to advance to CIF State for the first time. The repeat Dream Team selection went 26-13 overall.SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year, Weight
Kaelani Shufeldt, Marina, So., 101
Mikey Folch, Fountain Valley, Fr., 120
Mike McCoy, Marina, Sr., 126
Alexandra Lopez, Huntington Beach, So., 131
Zach Parker, Fountain Valley, So., 132
Chloe Palacios, Huntington Beach, Sr., 143
Matt Veyette, Huntington Beach, Sr., 182
Breanne Raya, Costa Mesa, Jr., 189
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