Orange County Grappling has medal hopefuls at Veterans World Championships

Ocean View High wrestling coach Petros Petrosyan might be from Armenia, but he feels at home competing in Greece.

The two countries share similar ties, and the connection extends to the mat. In the year 281 A.D., Petrosyan pointed out, the Armenian King Tiridates III became an Olympic champion in wrestling at the 265th Olympiad in Greece.

“It’s in my blood,” Petrosyan said.

He heads to Loutraki, Greece, this weekend to compete in the United World Wrestling Veteran World Championships. Petrosyan will be representing Orange County Grappling, which is based out of Ocean View High.

Brian Jones, who lives in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, also will be competing for Orange County Grappling.

Both Petrosyan and Jones are 60, and will compete in the 56 to 60 age group. Petrosyan competes at 88 kilograms, while Jones is up at heavyweight.

Jones is the defending world champion for his age group in Greco-Roman wrestling, while Petrosyan won gold last year in freestyle. But this year, they’re both competing in both styles, with freestyle wrestling on Tuesday and Greco-Roman wrestling on Friday.

They’re among 25 United States wrestlers competing in both.

“Always I do only one style, freestyle,” said Petrosyan, a Los Alamitos resident and 10-time Armenian national champion. “This year, because I won the U.S. Open in freestyle and Greco, now I want to do both.”

Petros Petrosyan is the wrestling coach at Ocean View High School.

(File Photo)

Petrosyan has been busy. He says he has about 15 wrestlers out for his second year in charge of the Ocean View wrestling team, which has its season start next month. Sometimes he takes his kids to beach wrestling tournaments too, he said.

Jones found Orange County Grapplers during the coronavirus pandemic, after his former club in Santa Monica stopped doing adult wrestling. He doesn’t mind the trip south to train.

“You’ve got to go where you can get a good workout,” he said. “The adult practices are getting pretty big. A year ago we had maybe five people. Now we might get 15 or more. That’s kind of cool.”

Both wrestlers are feeling prepared and healthy for what Jones said will be their final year in the United World Wrestling Veteran World Championships; they’re aging out.

“There’s a new organization for world championships after 60,” he said. “Next year it’s going to be in Las Vegas. I don’t know the name.

“As far as I know, it’s called the Old Guys World Championship League,” Jones added with laugh.

Petrosyan knows he’s also getting up there in age, but he said he doesn’t feel like he’s 60.

“I still feel young,” he said. “I’m in shape and I’m feeling good. I’m not feeling I am 60. I’m feeling I am 45.”