Calvary Chapel’s Morgan McIntosh certainly left his imprint on Orange County wrestling and at the CIF State Tournament.
The current Penn State senior, left Calvary Chapel as one of 21 wrestlers in the state history to win three state titles and one of 37 to end his career as a four-time state medalist.
That’s a lot to accomplish, but when coach Jacob Harman mentions McIntosh in reference to a current member of this year’s Calvary Chapel team, you have to stop and take notice.
Hello freshman Luciano Arroyo.
“He’s been with us for five, six years,” Harman said of Arroyo following the El Dorado Invitational. “He’s been dreaming about being a ChurchBoy, it is what he likes to do.”
Arroyo, a freshman, is ranked 25th in the state at 113 pounds. So far this season he was first at the El Dorado Invitational and Edison Beach Bash and second last week at the Mann Classic.
He came through the Team Thunder kids program and is adjusting nicely at the high school level.
“He’s one of the most coachable kids, I’ve ever coached,” Harman said. “I thought Morgan McIntosh was a once in a lifetime wrestler as coach, but I might have another kid like that on that level.
“He’s already an age-group state champion, he’s already placed at some of the biggest national tournaments and I love it because he’s respectable and great to coach.”
NEW FACES GAINING EXPERIENCE
There are some new faces in the Servite lineup, but there hasn’t been a fall off in the production.
Servite has won the Cossarek Classic and Mann Classic and finished third at the Clovis West Shootout, despite entering the season with at least seven freshmen or sophomore in the lineup.
“Just because they’re freshman, doesn’t mean they’re freshman wrestlers,” senior Liam Cronin said. “They’re varsity caliber and we prepare them by working hard in and out of the wrestling room, leading them the right way and taking them under our wing.”
Keep an eye on freshmen Marcos Polanco and Teddy Okada.
NOTES
The schedule is relatively light over the Christmas Break. Servite is headed to the Sierra Nevada Classic, Dec. 29-30. …The Tournament of Champions will again be at Cerritos College, Dec. 29-30. The Shark Tank Invitational at Santiago of Corona takes place over the same two days. …The Upland’s Black Watch Invitational is Dec. 28-29. The next day, Dec. 30, there will be a one-day girls Black Watch Invitational. …Julie Moreno (Tustin, 126), Tatiana Lopez (Segerstrom, 137) and Amara Devericks (San Clemente, 189) finished first at the South Hills Winter Classic. That tournament concluded Tuesday
