FOUNTAIN VALLEY – The road to a successful tournament has been followed several times this year by the Servite wrestling team.
It was no different this weekend at the Five Counties Invitational at Fountain Valley High.
The Friars finished with seven medalists, one finalist and posted a second-place finish in the 60-plus team tournament, their best finish ever at the tournament.
“It takes a whole team effort,” Servite coach Alan Clinton said. “The competition I thought was very intense this year. … You can’t be up that high with one or two kids. It takes a whole team effort. Each round … the bonus points that you pick and stuff like that.
“For us, it was having all 14, at some point in time, put points on the board and as it (the tournament) goes on you have to keep having kids advancing.”
For the second consecutive year, Buchanan of Clovis captured the team title. Buchanan finished with 311 points and had 11 medalists.
Liam Cronin (106 pounds) was the lone finalist for the Friars. He lost to Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco) in the final by major decision.
Noah Blakley (126) and Michael Vasquez (182) were third at their weights. JJ Reed was fourth at 145. Gordon Livermore (171), Parker Saltzman (195) and VJ Leuta (heavyweight) were all fifth, helping the Friars finish as the highest Southern Section team.
Servite had 27 victories in the consolation round. The Friars began Saturday with seven wrestlers in the championship quarterfinals.
“We were battling all the way,” Clinton said. “No one wants to be sitting up in the bleachers, doing stats or (being) the water boy. They all stepped up and did what they had to do.
“Everybody has their part and when it is their turn to win down below (in the consolation), they have to win down below.”
Fountain Valley also saw an improvement in its finish from last year.
The host Barons, with two finalists (Blake Vasquez, 160 and Andrew Morgan, 170) finished in fifth place. Both Vasquez and Morgan lost in the finals. It was the Barons’ best performance in years. It was the first time that the Barons had two finalists.
“We wrestled great,” Fountain Valley coach Brady Woodbury said. “We haven’t been in the top six in a long time. I’m proud of the kids. They wrestled tough. Now, we’re looking forward to CIF and trying to win a CIF title.”
Sonora’s Russell Rohlfing (126) was another county finalist. Rohlfing, who is ranked fourth in the state, dropped a 4-2 decision to Durbin Lloren of Buchanan.
Calvary Chapel had three medalists, Christian Claudio (126), Johnny Knowles (132) and Jacob Collins (160), and finished in seventh place.
St. John Bosco finished fourth. The Braves had three individual champions, Olivas (106), Anthony (170) and Zahid (182) Valencia. They were selected Lower, Middle and Upper Weight MVP, respectively.
Yorba Linda (Andrew Gomez, Abe Ochoa), Sonora (Rohlfing, Josh Kawaguchi), Trabuco Hills (Josh Wharton, Lukas Howa and Marina (Ryker Coppa, Cameron Gorman) had two medalists apiece.
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Here are the county medalists at this year’s Five Counties Invitational.
106 – 2. Liam Cronin (Servite)
113 – 8. Jacob Gunter (Esperanza)
120 – 5. Karson Ayres (Fountain Valley)
126 – 2. Russell Rohlfing (Sonora) 3. Noah Blakley (Servite); 4. Christian Claudio (Calvary Chapel)
132 – 3. Josh Kawaguchi (Sonora); 7. Johnny Knowles (Calvary Chapel)
138 – 3. Andrew Gomez (Yorba Linda); 7. Jeremy Huang (El Modena); 8. Chien Phan (Westminster)
145 – 4. J.J. Reed (Servite)
152 – 3. Josh Wharton (Trabuco Hills)
160 – 2. Blake Vasquez (Fountain Valley); 4. Lukas Howa (Trabuco Hills); 5. Jacob Collins (Calvary Chapel)
171 – 2. Andrew Morgan (Fountain Valley); 5. Gordon Livermore (Servite); 6. Cameron Gorman (Marina); 8. Jed. Smith (Mater Dei)
182 – 3. Michael Vasquez (Servite); 7. Stone Escobedo (Fountain Valley)
195 – 3. Ryker Coppa (Marina); 5. Parker Saltzman (Servite)
220 – 6. Alex Blanco (Santa Ana)
Hwt – 3. Abe Ochoa (Yorba Linda); 5. V.J. Leuta (Servite)
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
