Mater Dei wrestling coach Luis Renteria doesn’t have to look long to find a sizable challenge in the Trinity League.
With Servite and St. John Bosco gearing up for more battles at league finals, CIF duals, individuals, CIF-SS Masters and maybe even the state tournament, Renteria and the Monarchs haven’t shied away from learning from the competition.
“We’re always looking forward to compete against the best,” he said.
The next opportunity will be at the Trinity League finals on Feb. 13 at Servite. Last year, the Monarchs qualified eight (three individual champions, two second-place finishers and three third-place).
That total is again a goal.
“We’ll see,” Renteria said. “The kids have to perform. We have a lot of sophomores, but they’ve been placing at tournaments this year.”
Trevor Perez is the top-ranked wrestler in the county at 152 pounds. Jed Smith is third at 170. The junior, according to Renteria, has made big strides this year.
Perez, Smith and Johnny McLaughlin are defending Trinity League champions.
“He’s more mature about wrestling and he believes that he’s good and that he belongs,” Renteria said of Smith. “He’s made a big jump.”
The Monarchs finished 2-2 in duals, defeating Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran. Their two losses were to Servite and St. John Bosco.
“We have to make them believers that they can compete,” Renteria said. “The mental game is the hardest part.
“We train to beat the best and to compete at a higher level.”
LEAGUE FINALS UNDERWAY
The first steps toward the CIF State tournament begin this weekend with a few league finals across the county.
The Orange Coast League finals were Friday. The Coast Valley Conference (South Coast and Sea View Leagues) are Saturday at Aliso Niguel High and the Orange League will be at Magnolia High.
The remaining league finals must be completed by Feb. 16. There are some midweek (Century League on Wednesday and Sunset League on Thursday). The latest will be the Golden West, Academy and Freeway Leagues, all of which are scheduled for Feb. 14.
All individual entries must be submitted to CIF by Feb. 16.
NOTES
The final CIF-SS dual meet poll will be released Thursday, with the CIF-SS Dual Meet championships set for Saturday. One thing to remember, regarding CIF duals, only the league champion is guaranteed entry to the tournament. The remainder of the bracket will be made up of at-large teams. … The only county leagues that are not slated for the Coastal Division at Marina High for duals are the Academy and Orange Leagues. Those teams will compete in the Northern Division at Dos Pueblos High.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
