Paloma boys wrestling team finishes second in CIF duals

Photo courtesy of Luis Robles

The Paloma Valley High School boys wrestling team swept the first three rounds of the CIF-SS Division 2 dual meet finals and finished with the runner-up plaque on Saturday.

Wrestling four opponents in the day-long event at Victor Valley High School, the Wildcats defeated Charter Oak, 57-21, and Alta Loma, 42-31, before beating the No. 1 seed and defending champion, Victor Valley, 36-33, in the semifinals.

In the championship round, the Wildcats lost to Palm Desert, 40-36.

"It really was a team effort all the way around," coach Luis Robles said. "Many subs wrestled in the first round and some even in the second round, so we had some kids go 1-0. The highlight of the day was the win in the sems, beating Victor Valley. We had three freshmen (Dylan Brandenburg, Elijah Benavidez and Puni Pau) get big wins, and the whole team battled tough the entire dual."

Roman Carrillo went 4-0 on the day and Cameron Owen was 3-0.

Several Wildcat wrestlers will compete Feb. 14-15 in the CIF-SS Eastern Division individual championships at Carter High School in Rialto. The top five finishers in each weight class advance to the CIF Masters Meet Feb. 21-22 at Sonora High in La Habra. The CIF State wrestling meet will take place Feb. 27-29 in Bakersfield.