Wrestling: CdM earns first league victory

IRVINE — In the midst of their toughest stretches, athletes often have to find new ways of motivating themselves.

Even with the team well out of earshot of the Pacific Coast League title, Corona del Mar High’s wrestling team found a series of new causes to rally around.

The Pacific Coast League Finals will be held on Jan. 28, and until then, the Sea Kings’ mission is to seek improvement until the year reaches its climax in the postseason.

As of late, those improvements have become more apparent for Corona del Mar, which staved off the title of the league’s cellar dweller with a 45-27 win over host Northwood on Wednesday night.

Sometimes, the small victories make a season. Earning their first league win was a feat that both the wrestlers and the coaching staff indicated meant much more to them than one might expect.

After the Sea Kings dropped close matches to Beckman and Woodbridge, the team that lost the match against Northwood would likely finish last in league.

“We knew that this was our chance to come out with a victory and not finish last in league,” Sea Kings Coach Mark Alex said. “I pumped up our guys. We have two guys that won their first match of the year. They were pumped up and ready to do their best.”

Alex added that it was the most excited that he had seen his team for a competition all year, and that much was apparent for those in attendance.

Those on the Corona del Mar bench broke out into chants as their teammates went to battle on the mat.

“I’m very pleased,” Alex beamed. “The guys wrestled better than they have all year.”

“They were supportive, and that’s what we’re trying to develop is the team spirit because we have a young team.”

Nowhere was the display of willpower more evident than in the 138-pound match. CdM’s Tim Hurlbut just continued to chip away after surrendering three takedowns to Guilles Cortez in the first period.

He closed the gap from 6-3 to 7-5 in the second period, and he tied the score on a reversal in the third to force overtime.

Hurlbut said he was intent on redeeming himself from his Newport Harbor bout, when he lost in an extra period.

Once the overtime began Wednesday night, Hurlbut let Cortez make the first move. That takes guts, since the first point of the overtime period wins.

“A lot of pressure,” Hurlbut said of his thoughts before the tie-breaking procedure. “I didn’t know if I wanted to take the shot or not, but I’m glad he did so that I could wrap around.”

After the match, Hurlbut revealed what factored into his decision to play the game of cat and mouse, trying to outwait his opponent.

“I kind of read his conditioning,” he said of Cortez. “I knew that he wasn’t very well conditioned, so I knew that I had that over him. I thought that I would wear him out, tire him out, and then take advantage of that.”

The successfully executed plan put CdM up, 27-17. That was a two-match lead with five weight classes to go [CdM started with an 18-12 lead on forfeits].

Northwood’s Remy Rouyer pinned Robin Li (145s), and Ryan Rouyer won by major decision over Peter Hollingshead (152s) in the next two matches. Those results knotted the match, 27-27, with three matches remaining.

One-by-one, Min Hwan Lee (160s), Jewlian Avila (170s), and In Hwan Lee (182s) pinned their opponents to secure the victory for Corona del Mar. The last two were decided in under a minute.

In Hwan Lee, who has been competing above his weight all year, recorded his first win of the season.

What also impressed Alex was that the team’s hard work in practice started to pay off. His wrestlers began to utilize new moves that they had been learning recently.

“One of the most exciting things is that I saw three of our guys use new technique that we’ve worked on in the last two weeks,” he said. “As a coach, you want to see them develop.”

“That’s awesome when you see them practice something over and over in the room, and then they actually use it in a match.”

Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 45, Northwood 27

Individual Results

106 – None.

113 – Julio Vera (Nor) wins by forfeit.

120 – Kevin Xiong (Nor) wins by forfeit.

126 – Dimo Solenko (CdM) pins Anthony Saldana (Nor), 3:06.

132 – Isaac Saldana (Nor) tech. falls Adrian Niazkhani (CdM), 17-2.

138 – Tim Hurlbut (CdM) dec. Guilles Cortez (Nor), 8-7 F/OT.

145 – Remy Rouyer (Nor) pins Robin Li (CdM), 1:41.

152 – Ryan Rouyer (Nor) maj. Peter Hollingshead (CdM), 15-4.

160 – Min Hwan Lee (CdM) pins Thomas Vredenburgh (Nor), 3:23.

170 – Jewlian Avila (CdM) pins Matthew Squires (Nor), 0:55.

182 – In Hwan Lee (CdM) pins Joshua Velazquez (Nor), 0:43.

195 – Zavier McGuire (CdM) wins by forfeit.

220 – Evan Ramirez (CdM) wins by forfeit.

285 – Jacob Petersen (CdM) wins by forfeit.