All four local schools square off in Menifee Duals meet

Andy Sanchez of Heritage gets the upper hand on his opponent from Liberty. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Paloma Valley High coach Luis Robles paused to look back at another successful day of wrestling in Menifee.

“My hope is that people see Menifee as a wrestling town in the near future,” said Robles after an event that may help Menifee earn that distinction in high school wrestling circles.

As expected, CIF power Paloma Valley dominated the competition on Monday, but the three other Menifee high schools made good showings at the first annual Menifee Duals event at Heritage High School. Heritage, Santa Rosa Academy and Liberty joined Paloma Valley in the event, which kept three mats busy all afternoon.

The boys team results:

Liberty defeated Heritage, 42-39
Santa Rosa defeated Liberty, 40-36
Paloma Valley defeated Santa Rosa, 45-30
Heritage defeated Santa Rosa, 54-30
Paloma Valley defeated Liberty, 84-0
(Paloma Valley defeated Heritage in a JV meet)

So on the boys side, each school scored at least one team victory and every wrestler got valuable experience against opponents they won’t see during the league season. And overall, the event gave local wrestling fans a chance to see all the teams in action under one roof.

“All four of us are in different leagues,” said Heritage coach Oscar Nunez. “This will be one of the unique times where we get to showcase our experience against theirs.”

Robles, the driving force behind the four-way meet, was encouraged by the success of the event.

“I thought it was great for the community,” Robles said. “All four of these Menifee teams are in different leagues now, and all will either win or compete for league titles . Participation numbers on the boys side was high, with all four teams featuring full lineups with backups.

“The three other schools had competitive duals with each other. We rotated backups in for some of the early duals, and it made for interesting matchups. It’s the first year Menifee has four schools, and all have thriving wrestling teams, so that was very cool to see.”

Paloma Valley proved once again why it has one of the elite programs in CIF. The Wildcats showed their success in victories over Santa Rosa Academy and Heritage, then saved the best for last against a Liberty program that is just getting started.

Paloma Valley won every match by a pin – mostly in the first period -- in the 84-0 victory. Winners included Darius Corcuera (106), Uriel Cruz (113), Syruss Flores (120), Justin Brown (126), Roberto Vasquez (132), Christian Mier (136), Jose Jimenez (145), Elijah Benavidez (152), Aiden Platte (160), Javon Major (170), Daniel Diaz (182), Ben Sohrab (195), Simon Flores (220), and Chris Flores (285).

Heritage’s win over Santa Rosa Academy featured pins by William Leyva (106), Roman Ochoa (113), Victor Saenz (120), Jacob Dalton (126), Makaio Carling (145), Luis Garibay (160), Raymond Martinez (195), and Roman Deatherage (220).

“There’s always room for improvement, but I like that the feedback that was given to them, they applied for the next match,” Nunez said about the Patriots. “I don’t have anyone with more than two years of experience. It’s a junior team. Maybe in the near future we will be a little more competitive.”

Santa Rosa, which is already 2-0 in league competition, fared well in its win over Liberty. Those winning by pin were Joshua Park (120), Braiden Dospital (126), Samuel Whitley (132), Dryden Strauser (138), Caleb Delgado (152), and Ryan Galvan (170).

Liberty’s victory came in its first meet against Heritage. Those with pins were Hansel Verdan (106), Jordan Moore (113), Evan Fernandes (120), Dominic Crossman (160), Luis Flores (182), Caiden Vercruysse (195), and John Phillips (285).

Paloma Valley dominated the girls matches, defeating Liberty (60-0), Heritage (54-24), and Santa Rosa Academy (54-24). Top competitors scoring pins for Paloma Valley included Makayla Correa, Karissa Turnwall, Jiana Rivera, and Jamie Barron.

Ryan Galvan of Santa Rosa Academy has the upper position on his opponent. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Justin Brown of Paloma Valley gets in position to pin his opponent from Liberty. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Paloma Valley's Syruss Flores throws his Liberty opponent to the mat. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Xavier Cordero of Heritage lifts his opponent during their match. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 A Paloma Valley wrestler gets the upper hand on her opponent in a girls match. (Photo by Rick Rowell)