FOUNTAIN VALLEY – Four Orange County wrestlers reached the championship match at the prestigious Five Counties tournament Saturday at Fountain Valley High.
Three walked away with a coveted golden belt.
The county’s first-place finishers were Trey Munoz of Trabuco Hills at 152 pounds, Capistrano Valley’s Gerardo Hernandez (182) and Santa Ana’s Joey Daniel (220).
-
![Joey Daniel, center, of Santa Ana High School collects his championship belt after winning the 220 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Joey Daniel, center, of Santa Ana High School collects his championship belt after winning the 220 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Gerardo Hernandez, left, of Capistrano Valley High stays on top of Robert Maiden of Stockdale of Bakersfield during his 182 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Gerardo Hernandez, left, of Capistrano Valley High stays on top of Robert Maiden of Stockdale of Bakersfield during his 182 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Josh Medina, left, of Servite gets control of Antonio Saldate of Las Vegas High School in the 126 pound class final of the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Josh Medina, left, of Servite gets control of Antonio Saldate of Las Vegas High School in the 126 pound class final of the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Gerardo Hernandez of Capistrano Valley wins his 182 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Gerardo Hernandez of Capistrano Valley wins his 182 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Santa Ana’s Joey Daniel, right, gets the upper hand in his 220 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Santa Ana’s Joey Daniel, right, gets the upper hand in his 220 pound final at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
-
![Servite’s Josh Medina gets into trouble in his 126 pound final against Antonio Saldate of Las Vegas High School at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Servite’s Josh Medina gets into trouble in his 126 pound final against Antonio Saldate of Las Vegas High School at the Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley on Saturday, January 13, 2018. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Expand
Wrestling powerhouse Selma finished first with 283 points and was by far the dominant team in the two-day, 68-team tournament, with seven of the team’s wrestlers finishing among the top eight.
Rancho Bernardo took second (184.5) and Northview of Covina finished third (160.5).
Servite finished in fourth place with 129.5 points, tops among county teams.
Servite’s Josh Medina finished second and was among four Friars who took home medals.
“We had a great day yesterday and brought back 11 (on Saturday),” Servite coach Alan Clinton said. “Fourth place at Five Counties is pretty darn good. We’re not going to be satisfied, but it puts the bar level to where we know we’ve got to get to.”
Munoz’s championship match against Selma’s Jace Luchau was the most exciting match of the finals.
The match went to overtime with the score at 1-1 and that is how it stayed through the first one-minute overtime period. Both wrestlers scored a point on escapes in the two 30-second periods that followed.
In the fourth overtime, Munoz rode Luchau for the entire 30 seconds, making him the winner.
The Saints’ Daniel, who is ranked No. 2 in the state, won 6-5 over Erich Osteen of Chaminade of Simi Valley in the 220-pound final.
Daniel took a 6-3 lead into the third period but got called for stalling and then gave up an escape to make it a one-point match.
Over the final 30 seconds, Daniel thwarted several take down attempts and hung on to win.
“When he scrambled towards the end I rolled my ankle, so I had to tough it out,” said Daniel, who placed seventh in last season’s Five Counties at 195 pounds.
Daniel rebounded from last week’s second-place finish in the Doc Buchanan, where he lost in the final against Buchanan’s Trevor Irvin. The loss was his first of the season.
“I want that state title and this is going to help me,” he said.
Hernandez defeated Robert Maiden of Stockton 10-3 to win the 182-pound championship.
Medina’s championship bout against Antonio Saldate of Las Vegas High was arguably the wildest match of the finals.
Medina led 7-5 after a frenzied first period in which both wrestlers came close to pinning their opponent.
Saldate, a two-time Nevada state champion and three-time state finalist, put Medina on his back in the second and pinned the sophomore with 50 seconds left in the period.
“They were going at it,” Clinton said. “It was like two cats’ tails tied together and they’re going at it and we got caught.”
Fountain Valley, the tournament hosts, had two third-place medalists and finished tied for 12th with Clovis West.
The Barons’ Dylan Zotea defeated Benjamin Martinez of Chula Vista of Eastlake 8-3 in the 126-pound consolation final and Max Wilner defeated Lemoore’s Joe Romero Lemoore 7-3 to finish third at 145 pounds.
FIVE COUNTIES RESULTS
At Fountain Valley High
Team results: 1. Selma 283, 2. Rancho Bernardo 184.5, 3. Northview 160.5, 4. Servite 129.5, 5. Bonney Lake, Wash. 121.
Individual results
106 – 1. Figueroa ll (Sel), 2. Lillie (BL), 3.Castillo (Central), 4.Pinto (NV), 5.Alvarez (VV)
113 – 1. Lujan, (Sel), 2. Yanez (NV), 3. Joint (Lem), 4. Ruiz (Cam), 5. Mata (SA)
120 – 1. Kaylor (BL), 2. Flores (NV), 3. Viveros (Kings), 4. Cenkush (ORT), 5. Capetillo (WEST)
126 – 1. Saldate (LV), 2. Medina (Ser), 3. Zotea (FV), 4. Martinez (Eastlake), 5. Magana (Ser)
132 – 1. Areyano (Sel) 2.Chavez (Cen), 3. Cortez (NV), 4. Le (RB), 5. Stone (Foot)
138 – 1. Arbas (RB), 2. Cruz (Ort), 3. Antuna (Cent LV), 4. Lakmann (Foot), 5. Jongeneel (Roos)
145 – 1. Mendoza (Sel), 2. Badgett (RB), 3. Wilner (FV), 4. Romero (Lem), 5. McCoy (Mar)
152 – 1. Munoz (TH), 2. Luchau (Sel), 3. Smith (BUHS), 4. Madrigal (Serv), 5. Smith (MD)
160 – 1. Goldfeder (The Buc), 2. Diaz (Sel), 3. Hill (TH), 4. Magallanes (LQ), 5. Coffey (BL)
170 – 1. Rodriguez (Sel), 2. Viramontes (Hes), 3. Cantoriano (CW), 4. Jovero (RB), 5.Bozovich (Tok)
182 – 1. Hernandez (CV), Maiden (Stock), 3. Murphy (RB), 4. Roper (Cent LV), 5. Gilcrist (ORT)
195 – 1. Reyes (CW), 2. Sicairos (Hes), 3. Carpenter (Palo Verde), 4. Barela (NV), 5. Voong (Ar)
220 –1. Daniel (SA), 2. Osteen (Cham), 3. Jimenez (LVHS), 4. Martinez (BUHS), 5. Washington (Cen)
285 – 1. Garcia (Hes), 2. Valdez (Arr ),3. Gonzalez (Lake), 4. Moran (Sel), 5. Perez (Son)