Things will be interesting in the newly formed Century Conference, which is made up of the seven teams that had been in the Century League plus Yorba Linda.
In the Crestview League, El Dorado, El Modena, Villa Park and Yorba Linda are grouped together for duals. The North Hills League is comprised of Brea Olinda, Foothill, Esperanza and Canyon.
The eight teams will come together for league finals to determine the qualifiers for the CIF-SS Individual Championships.
It has the makings of a “super league.”
“I don’t think anybody can qualify 14 wrestlers for CIF,” Villa Park coach Scott Lawson said. “This has always been one of the toughest leagues, top to bottom, and you add another powerhouse (Yorba Linda) … that makes the league that much tougher.”
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WRESTLING PREVIEW 2014-15
Wrestling preview: O.C. Top 10
Wrestling preview: Top wrestlers to watch
Wrestling preview: O.C. individual rankings (12-1-14)
Wrestling preview: Top girls wrestlers to watch
Wrestling preview: Important dates
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Yorba Linda moves over from the Empire League. The Mustangs have won consecutive CIF-SS dual championships.
Lawson believes indivIdual matchups in the league duals will be critical.
“I don’t think you’re going to see scores like 36-30 or 33-28 in duals,” he said. “I’m not sure who would be considered the front runner.”
The competition will be just as fierce in the North Hills.
“I know Foothill thinks it has a good team, Esperanza and Brea Olinda are excited and Canyon has some studs in the middle of their lineup,” Lawson said. “All eight schools can wrestle.
“You’re going to have some kids not place in league that could place in CIF. All you can do is go out there and compete and see what you can improve on for the next week.”
The same holds true in the Coast Valley Conference. The South Coast League has three of the county’s top 10 teams (Laguna Hills, San Clemente and Trabuco Hills), along with Dana Hills and Mission Viejo.
“This is a very competitive league,” Laguna Hills coach Cliff Jarmie said.
The Sea View League has Aliso Niguel, Capistrano Valley, El Toro and Tesoro.
SERVITE RELOADS
Servite returns 12 from last year’s lineup and enters the season ranked No. 1 in the county.
The Friars start their season this weekend in the Cossareck Classic at Westminster.
Servite’s returnees include state qualifiers Noah Blakely and J.J. Reed along with sophomore Liam Cronin, who earned All-America honors in Junior Greco-Roman at Fargo during the summer.
Also returning are Matt Rodriguez, Kevin Vidal and Gordon Livermore.
“It is pretty good solid group all the way through,” Coach Alan Clinton said.
NOTES
Ray Camacho is the new coach at Edison. … This year there will be three one-day qualifiers (Central, Northern and Southern) for the CIF-SS Championships. Those are set for Feb. 7. The following week, the CIF-S Championships will be a two-day tournament, Feb. 13-14, at Roosevelt High of Eastvale. … The girls state meet is Feb. 27-28 at the Visalia Convention Center.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
