ALISO VIEJO – The Aliso Niguel wrestling team is one step closer to officially being referred to as league champion.
The Wolverines picked up a pair of late victories by fall in their Sea View League dual against visiting Capistrano Valley on Thursday night to close out a 42-30 victory and is now close to reaching one of their goals of becoming Sea View League champion.
“I’m proud of the whole team,” Aliso Niguel’s Kaulia Flores said. “They went out and did their jobs and did exactly what we’ve been training for. We’ve been working for this all year.”
Aliso Niguel is 2-0, with one final dual remaining.
The dual started at 106 pounds and Flores won by forfeit.
The Wolverines rallied from an 18-6 deficit to tie the score at 18-18 with Justin Gonzales’ 8-7 victory at 152 pounds. The Wolverines retook the lead for good, 24-18, with Jordan Skolnick’s victory by fall at 4:58 of the 160-pound match.
“I knew that they (Capistrano Valley) were going to move around some guys (in the lineup) and they wrestled tough,” Aliso Niguel coach Greg Colwell said. “We got a couple of good turns at 152 and 160 that really turned that match around for us.”
Because of some injuries, Capistrano Valley was forced to get creative with its lineup, looking for the right matchups. The Cougars gave up a forfeit at 170 that increased Aliso Niguel’s lead to 30-18.
At 182 pounds, the Cougars picked up six points thanks to a victory by fall from Richard Arriaga.
After that, Aliso Niguel put the match away with pins from Omar Montes at 195 pounds and John Hateley at 220.
“This is a big win for the boys,” Colwell said. “We have a couple of seniors and it was a big deal for them. They all wanted to make sure they got the banner up on the wall … First goal was to definitely win league.
“We have room for improvement. There were some guys that performed well. My 126 (Steven Lundrigan) wrestling (Brandon) Hernandez, one of the best kids in the county and only giving up a couple points to him and staying strong the whole match, that was a big match.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
