ORANGE – Servite’s Johnny Beltran had more byes than opponents on the first day of wrestling’s Mann Classic.
“I wanted more matches (Friday) so I could get some work in. Having one match upset me,” Beltran said.
Beltran had two byes and one match Friday.
He made up for the lost time Saturday, winning by fall in all three matches, on his way to picking up Upper Weight MVP honors and also helping Servite win the team title at Santiago Canyon College.
“Coach told me he wanted pins every match, to get bonus points for the team, so that’s what I did,” Beltran said.
The Friars led the tournament with 11 medalists and scored 239 points. Laguna Hills finished second and third in those categories.
Noah Blakely (126), Angel Cordova (138), JJ Reed (145) and Michael Vasquez (171) were all third at their weights for the Friars.
“He had a great performance all day,” Servite coach Alan Clinton said of Beltran. “We’re pleased with everyone’s performance. We had the lead last night (Friday), lost the lead (Saturday) and it took the consolation and the medal round to put us in that big lead, which was huge, because we didn’t have a great semifinal round.
“The kids learned what it is like to have to step up in different positions. And that’s part of what you want to do in the early stages (of the season) because when it comes time for CIF and Masters, you don’t know what kind of predicament you’re going to be in and how you’re going to do it. So I was pleased with everybody.”
Calvary Chapel led all county schools with individual champions Christian Claudio (120), Gil Gutierrez (132) and Luke Troy (138).
Other county champions include: Minh Nguyen of Westminster (113), James Oliveros of Laguna Hills (145), Andrew Morgan of Fountain Valley (160), Phillip O’Shea of Capistrano Valley (195) and Jose Ballesteros of Laguna Hills (285).
Nathan Fier (Santa Margarita, 106), Joey Dorado (Calvary Chapel, 120), Phillip Zamora (Laguna Hills, 132), Riley Fasciano (Sunny Hills, 138), Trevor Perez (Mater Dei, 152), Aaron Negrette (Calvary Chapel, 170), Dominic Larraga (Laguna Hills, 182), Emu Anaim (Woodbridge, 195), Bryant Vasquez (Fountain Valley, 220) and Jeff Holsinger (Santa Margarita, 285) were all finalists, but finished second at their respective weights.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
