DANA POINT – The hard work is starting to pay dividends for the Laguna Hills wrestling team.
The Hawks, ranked second in the county, returned to South Coast League dual action Tuesday night with a 44-15 road victory over fourth-ranked Dana Hills.
This past weekend, the Hawks finished first with 10 medalists and five champions at the Nogales Super Champs Tournament.
“We’re getting better,” Laguna Hills coach Cliff Jarmie said. “We’re improving. That’s been the struggle all year, getting everybody on the mat at the same time and getting everybody to perform at the same time.
“We’re getting there little by little.”
The dual started at 106 pounds and the Hawks (2-0 in league) received two forfeits for a quick 12-0 lead. The Hawks won the next six matches for a commanding 37-0 lead.
Titus Azad (126) and Matt De La Riva (145) picked up victories by fall and Phillip Zamora (140) won by major decision.
“The intensity in the (training) room has picked up and we’re working on our goals,” Zamora said. “We’re staying focused and realizing what we need to get done and make sure we meet our goals at the end of the year.”
Zamora added that the team has used an early-season loss to top-ranked Servite as motivation to work hard and improve.
“We needed to pick ourselves back up,” Zamora said. “All champions have downfalls, but it is how you pick yourself back up and keep moving on.”
Eli Drummond won the first match for the Dolphins (1-1 in league) with a 7-2 victory at 160 pounds.
The Dolphins ended the dual by winning four of the final six matches.
“Those are matches we need to improve on,” Jarmie said. “We need to finish some things during the match that we should have finished then it wouldn’t have come down to that.”
The Hawks are in position to win the South Coast League title, but they still have to face two formidable opponents, No. 3 Trabuco Hills and No. 8 San Clemente. Four of the South Coast League’s teams – Laguna Hills, Dana Hills, Trabuco Hills and San Clemente – have been ranked in the county top 10 all year.
“Trabuco (Hills) is very good, San Clemente is very good,” Jarmie said. “It’s all a matter of matchups. You can’t look at scores and say they were even. … You can’t do that because matchups are everything. We have to keep improving and get better every week.
“In the Southern Section, I think this is probably the toughest league. You have to go to the Clovis area to get a league that’s this tough.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
