Newport’s Lim reaches quarters

Steve Virgen

It was a type of loss that could have withered the strongest spirit,

but not Kid Lim’s.

Lim, a Newport Harbor High senior wrestling in the 119-pound

division, lost in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Division

championships, but he hardly wavered in his confidence Friday at

Westminster.

“I still think I can get in the top six,” said Lim, who is seeded

seventh. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work and just being more

aggressive.”

Lim was the lone wrestler of seven Newport-Mesa District

competitors to advance to today’s rounds. Lim will be in the

third-round consolation. He will need two wins to have a chance to

finish fifth and move on to the Masters Meet.

Estancia’s Martin Diaz (125-pound division), Juny Panduro (130),

Gabriel Thaler (140), Anthony Hermann (160) and Alex Sotomayor (171)

and Costa Mesa’s Joe Amburgey (189) got their first taste of CIF

individual competition, but did not advance.

Lim competed in CIF last year, but did not advance to the Masters

Meet. But he’s a different wrestler this year and says he’s more

determined because this is his senior season.

Lim, who finished second in the Sea View League and now has a 23-8

record, had a bye in the first round. He easily defeated Saddleback’s

Frank Arebalo by major decision, 17-6. Then in the quarterfinals, Lim

took on Santa Ana junior Josh Pacheco, who defeated Lim in a

semifinal of the Estancia tournament last month.

In that Jan. 10 match, Lim built a 3-0 lead, but Pacheco came back

and won by pin in the second period. This time, Pacheco, the No. 2

seed and Golden West League champion, opened with a 4-0 lead. Lim

scored an escape just before the end of the first period.

Pacheco went up, 7-1, scoring an escape and a takedown early in

the second period, but Lim answered with an escape and gained some

momentum with a takedown of his own. However, Lim left himself open

for a moment when his hip went to the floor after his takedown.

Pacheco jumped on the opportunity and covered Lim for the pin with 48

seconds left in the second period.

“The intensity was good,” Newport Coach Dominic Bulone said.

“[Pacheco] just got ahead and got that 4-0 lead pretty quick. But

[Lim] battled back.”

Lim said he was trying to feel out Pacheco in the first round and

just fell behind.

“I changed my whole match in the second period,” Lim said. “I

heard my brother [and assistant coach Brad Lim] say I needed to turn

it up. And I did. I wanted to give him a match.”

While Lim moves on to the consolation third round, the Estancia

wrestlers and Amburgey will most likely concentrate on what it will

take to get back to the CIF competition.

Sotomayor nearly had the opportunity to advance, but he lost in

the second round of consolation, when he was pinned in overtime. He

won in the first round, but lost by technical fall in the second

round. Panduro, an Estancia sophomore, also recorded one win, 6-0, in

the consolation first round, but lost his next match and exited in

the double-elimination tournament.

Amburgey lost his only two matches of the day, as did Diaz, Thaler

and Hermann.

“Everyone of those guys had their first [CIF] experience and now

they have something to work for,” Estancia Coach Brian Burgess said.

“That’s the key. All in all, the guys were really happy to be there.

It takes stuff like this to know what they have to do next year.

Instead of just being happy to be there they might be ready to

place.”