Heritage High School’s boys wrestling team defeated three teams in one day on Saturday to advance to the CIF-SS Division 6 dual meet championship round.
The Patriots defeated Ganesha, Lancaster, and Schurr high schools in the first three rounds of the duals, which were held at Lancaster High. That earned Heritage the right to face Redondo Union, which will play host to the Patriots in the championship meet Feb. 5 at 5 p.m.
Coach Oscar Nunez had high praise for his team, which has improved each of the last two seasons in dual meet competition.
“This program has been improving year after year, and I cannot express how proud I am of these boys,” Nunez said. “I knew this group was special and I was confident they would have a great season, but to surpass the last two appearances at CIF duals has been impressive to watch. Going from an at-large team … think of it as a wild card … and making it to the finals has been a great experience.”
Heritage started out with a 60-24 rout of Ganesha in the first round. The Patriots then upset host school Lancaster 50-29 in the quarterfinals before upsetting No. 2 seed Schurr 47-36 in the semifinals. Nunez said standout wrestlers included Joshua Velasquez (106 pounds), Gabriel Valladares (120) and Jacob Dalton (144), but the entire team was dominant throughout the day.
“If I had to choose an MVP, it would be first-year wrestler Dylan Mai (106), who had a determining win against Schurr in the semifinals,” Nunez said. “After shifting the lineup for the semifinals, he accepted the challenge and pinned his opponent in the first period. Had he not won, it would have been a different outcome.
“Regardless of the outcome, I am honored to coach a fine group of student-athletes.”
