Wildcats wrestling team scores big win over Servite
Daniel Diaz lifts Servite opponent Tyler McCown on the way to an overtime win Tuesday night. (Photo by Rick Rowell) By Doug Spoon, Editor ...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
Coach Luis Robles has lots of goals for the Paloma Valley High boys wrestling team: Big victories, big crowds, and the first boys team CIF championship in school history.
He’ll have to wait a while to see about that third one, but getting the first two again Tuesday night made the third goal seem more possible than ever.
With a boisterous home crowd cheering them on, the Wildcats scored a 63-16 victory over a highly ranked Servite team. Nine Paloma Valley wrestlers won by fall – seven of them coming in the first period. A team that beat Vista Murrieta 75-3 last week is looking more and more like the best team Robles has ever had – and that’s saying a lot.
“Up to this point, it’s the best team I’ve ever coached,” Robles said. “We still have to perform at the end of the season.
“We’re in a tough CIF division in duals and individuals, but I do think we can compete for a CIF title. A lot of things have to fall our way. We’ve got to stay healthy. But we want to bring that first boys CIF championship to the school.”
One of the highlights of the evening was not a win by fall, but a dramatic 6-4 overtime decision won by Daniel Diaz at 182 pounds. Diaz lifted opponent Tyler McCown several times in the first period but had to settle for a 2-0 lead heading into the second period, which was fairly even. The match headed to overtime tied at 4-4, but Diaz scored on a reversal early in the period for a 6-4 win, to cheers from the crowd.
“182 was a great match” Robles said,. “Battling adversity early, not knowing how the duel would go, going to overtime and him coming out with that win … anytime you win an overtime match, that’s impressive. Daniel Diaz scored a big win for us.”
Winning by fall for the Wildcats were Darius Corcuera (108); Syruss Flores (122); Justin Brown (128); Jake Barnes (134); Cristian Mier (140); Elijah Benavidez (154); Javon Major (172); Ben Sohrab (197); and Simon Flores (222).
Robles said going into the meet that he was confident about a team victory, but seven pins in the first period was really something impressive.
“It’s our style,” he said. “We do a lot of different techniques, but our style when we’re working in the room is to get pins whenever we can. As long as I’ve been at Paloma, and I think it dates back before I got here, Paloma has always been known for getting pins. But now instead of having four or five guys who can pin, it’s 14 guys who can pin.”
In trying to explain the wrestling program’s dominance over the years, Robles spoke about the many youth martial arts gyms that develop talent that ends up being successful at Paloma Valley.
“It’s a layered approach,” Robles said. “The first part is we just care about our kids, so there’s a community approach to it. You saw that today; there were a lot of people here.
“One thing I’m blessed with is there’s a big jiu-jitsu community here, so a lot of our kids come from that. Every local jiu-jitsu gym has been sending me kids. Those gyms create a community in themselves so when those kids come to me, that community is easy to build off of.”
Jake Barnes prepares to pin Servite's Calen Reyna for a win at 134 pounds. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Elijah Benavidez is in position to pin Servite's Lucas Reza at 154 pounds. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
At 172 pounds, Javon Major scored the Wildcats' first pin of the night. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
At 222 pounds, Simon Flores works to get his opponent in position to be pinned. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Syruss Flores battles Servite's Nick Caico before pinning him in the first period. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
