Marina's Anthony won't be satisfied with CIF title

HUNTINGTON BEACH - When Victoria Anthony started her varsity wrestling career she said her goal was to reach the CIF state tournament.

She has one more chance, starting Friday.

Anthony, who is a senior 103-pound wrestler for Marina High, will be competing in her second CIF-SS Masters Meet when the two-day state qualifying tournament gets under way at Temecula Valley High.

First-round matches begin at 10 a.m.

She will face Adolpho Riquelme of Centennial of Corona in the first round.

“I feel a lot more prepared, this year,” she said. “This year, I'm a lot leaner and stronger than I was in the past and I'm stronger mentally.”

The top nine wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the CIF State tournament March 6-7 in Bakersfield.

As a sophomore, Anthony had her first opportunity to qualify for the state tournament, but she went 1-2 and was eliminated.

She failed to get out of CIF last year as a junior, setting the stage for her senior year.

“I didn't know what I was doing my sophomore year,” she said. “I was just throwing people and getting away with it.

“Last year, I was wrestling not to get beat and that didn't work at all. My main strategy now is to pressure forward at all times. When I'm on my heels or trying to protect my lead, it doesn't work out.”

Her aggressive approach has led her to new levels of success this season.

To see how fast she has developed in the sport, Friday she will hit the mats as a CIF champion. She is believed to be the first female wrestler to win a CIF title.

“Sometime during the season, I just hit a point, I think it was at Five Counties, where I started wrestling better,” she said.

The Five Counties Invitational was in January. Since then, she avenged a loss to Anthony Leonard in the Sunset League finals to record her third consecutive title.

Saturday, she went 5-0 at the CIF-SS Inland Divisional and picked up Lower Weight MVP honors.

She said that performance was one of her best all year.

“She's hungry because she missed out (on Masters last year),” Marina coach Dennis Piramo said. “Overall, she wrestled tough. I could tell in her eyes (at CIF) that she wasn't going to be broken.”

Now, she has an opportunity to become the first female to qualify for the state tournament.

It is a challenge that she's looking forward to.

“I can't wait, I've been thinking about it every day.” she said. “I feel good right now.”

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com