Kings of the mat

Mike Sciacca

The Sunset League Individual Wrestling Finals meet figured to come

down to a battle between Edison and Esperanza highs, two teams

heavily favored to win the crown.

The showdown lived up to its prognosis and the final, played out

before an enthusiastic crowd at the Marina gymnasium, provided Edison

an opportunity to avenge an earlier defeat.

Edison not only won the team championship with 200.5 points but in

the process turned back the challenge from an Esperanza squad that

had defeated the Chargers during the dual meet season.

Esperanza finished second with 194.5 points.

Wrestlers from both schools went head-to-head in several matches

and a key to Edison’s win was the fact that the Chargers scored 13

advancement points.

Edison’s strong performance included 11 of its 14 wrestlers

reaching a division final.

Saturday’s triumph was the first wrestling championship for the

school in 15 years.

“These kids just did an outstanding job,” Edison coach Dan Rawlins

said. “They really stepped it up. This was a huge win for us.”

Los Alamitos finished third, Marina was fourth, Huntington Beach

was fifth and Fountain Valley came in sixth.

Edison qualified 12 wrestlers for the CIF Southern Section-Toyota

Individual Wrestling Divisional Championships, which will be held

Feb. 20-21 at Edison.

“It will be nice to wrestle at home, before the home crowd,

although wrestling is such an individual sport that it’s just a

matter of what you do on the mat, no matter where you wrestle,”

Edison’s Mike McNeely said.

McNeely is one of four seniors on Edison’s squad, and one of three

team captains along with Matt Fabre and Jeff Mendoza. He is the

top-ranked wrestler in Orange County.

Wrestling in the 152 weight class, McNeely defeated two opponents

to win the division title.

Seeded first in the division at the finals meet, McNeely said the

two wins improved his overall record this year to 36-5.

“I probably came into this a little more confident than I thought

I’d be, but it turned out to be good,” McNeely said. “I had a real

tough first match against a talented Huntington Beach guy, who’s just

a sophomore. In the final, it felt good to win by pin.”

Fabre, meanwhile, won the title at 135, and Mendoza finished

second at 140.

Both came back for their senior year after injuries sidelined them

last year.

Brandon Drucker captured Edison’s first division title of the day

at 125 pounds.

Other Chargers claiming division crowns included Jimmy Hynes at

145 and Jake Pinkham, a sophomore, won at 171.

It was Pinkham’s victory that secure the title for Edison.

In addition to Mendoza, other Chargers claiming second-place

division finishes were freshman Garrett Drucker, brother of Brandon,

at 112, Dylan Jensen at 130, Stephan Holmquist at 191, senior Rob

Edman at 215 and sophomore Romni Fuga in the heavyweight (275) class.

Both Fuga and Holmquist picked up key advancement points for the

Chargers.

Rawlins, who began at Edison nine years ago, is a walk-on coach.

He is assisted by his son, Jason, a former league champion at

Edison who finished third in CIF during his senior year.

“We knew we were going to be good this year,” Rawlins said. “We

have some real strong kids on this team and they have worked hard.

“At the outset of the season, we were underestimated. But, these

kids have shown what they’re all about by winning league.”

On Saturday, Edison and Esperanza will wrestle at the CIF Southern

Section-Toyota Dual-Meet Wrestling Championships. The Division II

meet will be held at La Sierra High in Riverside.