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Damian Calhoun. Sports Newsroom Assistant.

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 24, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

HUNTINGTON BEACH – The Orange County Wrestling All-Star Classic offers both wrestlers in each match a chance to either protect his ranking or an opportunity throw a wrench into things.

Irvine’s Zak Evans chose the latter.

Evans entered ranked third in the county at 138 pounds. He faced top-ranked Andrew Gomez of Yorba Linda and defeated him, 8-4, Monday night at Marina High.

The two met earlier this season in a tournament in Las Vegas with Evans winning that match as well, but as of Monday he was behind Gomez in the county and Southern Section polls.

“The last match, I was in my head because I knew he was a tough wrestler,” Evans said of Gomez. “The first time I wrestled him, I was kind of nervous.

“This time, I knew I could beat him. I tried to attack more this time. I was too hesitant last time.”

After jumping out to a 3-1 lead, Evans gave up a reversal to tie the match, but he took the lead for good on an escape. He added two late takedowns, eventually ending with an 8-4 victory.

“I worked on my mental game so I came in here calm and relaxed like I’ve been trying to do,” he said.

The updated county rankings will be released next week.

The annual All-Star Classic is intended to have the top two wrestlers in the county face off in a match that counts toward a wrestler’s 40-match season limit. In all, there were three matches with Nos. 1 and 2 wrestling each other.

The match started at 106 pounds and alternated between heavy and lightweights, ending with the 152-pound match.

There were 12 Servite wrestlers competing in the event. Troy Madrigal was a late fill-in at 145 pounds. He had to wrestle teammate JJ Reed. The Friars finished with an 8-4 record.

There were a couple of other upsets. At 113, Brea Olinda’s Ryan Gutierrez, who is ranked second in the county, defeated top-ranked Jacob Gunter of Esperanza, 9-0. At 160, second-ranked Blake Vasquez of Fountain Valley defeated top-ranked Lukas Howa of Trabuco Hills, 6-3, at 120 with second-ranked Saul Bravo of Santa Ana defeating top-ranked A.J. Silva of Servite, 4-2 and 220 pounds, Servite’s Kyle Paterson defeated second-ranked Mario Galvez (Foothill), 5-2.

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106 – Cronin (Servite) pin Curiel (Buena Park), 3:48

Hwt – Leuta (Servite) pin Daemerich (Marina), 1:16

113 – Gutierrez (Brea Olinda) maj. dec. Gunter (Esperanza), 9-0

220 – Paterson (Servite) dec. Galvez (Foothill), 5-3

120 – Bravo (Santa Ana) dec. Silva (Servite), 4-2

195 – Saltzman (Servite) dec. Wilson (Edison), 4-2 OT

126 – Blakley (Servite) dec. Ayres (Fountain Valley), 12-3

182 – Vasquez (Servite) def. Gorman (Marina), 3-2

132 – Bernal (Servite) dec. Roehl (Yorba Linda), 6-0

170 – Morgan (Fountain Valley) dec. Livermore (Servite), 6-1

138 – Evans (Irvine) dec. Gomez (Yorba Linda), 8-4

160 – Vasquez (Fountain Valley) dec. Howa (Trabuco Hills), 6-3

145 – Reed (Servite) maj. dec. Madrigal (Servite), 13-1

152 – Wharton (Trabuco Hills) maj. dec. Cordova (Servite), 16-6

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com