While his team was battling on the mats, Laguna Hills coach Cliff Jarmie was devising a plan to preserve a victory against visiting Trabuco Hills in a South Coast League dual Tuesday night.
With a 15-point lead after Dominic Larraga’s victory by fall at 182 pounds, Jarmie decided to forfeit the match at 195 and bumped Edgar Ayala up to wrestle at 220.
The move worked.
Ayala won his match, clinching the dual victory for the second-ranked Hawks, 40-22, over No. 4 Trabuco Hills.
“If I left Edgar at 195s, that would have been a good match,” Jarmie said. “Their kid (Chris Murray) is very good. … I scout a lot during the summertime. I know their team, I know everybody in our league. I thought we had a much better shot giving up six (points at 195) and coming back and getting three (at 220) and putting the match away.
“They would have had to pin once and major us at least to beat us. We had them beat on criteria if we tied. … It was the right thing to do.”
Ayala defeated Marco Garcia, 8-3 in the 220-pound match to give the Hawks a 34-22 lead. Trabuco Hills forfeited the heavyweight match.
The dual started at 106 pounds, and the Hawks won the first four matches for an 18-0 lead.
Starting with Bryan Parmenter’s victory by fall at 134, the Mustangs won four of the next five matches. The score was 22-16 after Lukas Howa’s major decision at 162.
At 172, Alex De La Cruz picked up a hard-earned 2-0 victory, and Dominic Larraga followed with a victory by fall at 182 to give the Hawks a 31-16 lead.
“I thought that was a really good, tough dual meet,” Jarmie said. “Trabuco Hills has tough kids and they’re well-coached. It was a knock-down, drag-out dual meet.
“I thought our kids wrestled real well. We’ve come a long way from where we were in early December. I just think we’re going to keep improving and improving.”
At 147, Jason Sarabia led, 14-5, and appeared on his way to a bonus-points victory for Trabuco Hills, but Laguna Hills’ James Oliveros was able to score a takedown and three-point near fall, and the match ended, 14-11.
The Hawks (3-0) conclude league duals next week against San Clemente.
