HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING PREVIEW:It’s a new day for Estancia wrestling

Now Estancia High Coach Brian Burgess can concentrate on wrestling.

With seven starters dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons or for quitting last year, Burgess has wrestlers sticking around this year.

“It effected us because six of them were seniors and after a month they were gone,” Burgess said. “But now I don’t have to deal with what they brought, me having to constantly deal with teachers, administrators, and making sure their grades were in line.

“I now have good kids, kids that keep their noses clean.”

Burgess has no more forfeits. There are wrestlers to choose from for all 14 weight classes. Burgess is still nailing down the starting lineup — something he didn’t have last year — as wrestlers are vying for spots.

It’s mostly an inexperienced group, with just two qualifying for the CIF Southern Section individual tournament last year. Those two, junior David Lopez and senior Efrain Alvarez, might be the smallest and biggest, with Lopez a 103-pounder and Alvarez a 189-pounder, but they are the glue keeping Estancia united.

“Efrain and Pedro are the leaders, and it helps that they are good wrestlers, but also good kids,” Burgess said. “They are always there putting in the work and it rubs off on the other guys.”

The workmanlike approach is something Gabe Thaler has adopted. Gabe Thaler quit last year, but he didn’t abandon the team because he couldn’t handle Burgess’ demands. Burgess said Thaler, one of the few seniors this year, couldn’t adjust to attending Orange Coast College Middle College High and its workload and wrestling at the same time for the Eagles.

“I can understand why, because he had a tough schedule,” said Burgess, referring to the school, which is in partnership with OCC and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and provides juniors and seniors with challenging academic courses in small classroom settings.

“He’s able to do it now, and he’s around working hard in the wrestling room and classroom.”

Thaler’s progression has him competing with Alvarez for the 189-pound job.

Burgess said there’s no clear-cut favorite as of now, and the two will get opportunities to wrestle come Friday, when the 27th Annual New Year Classic begins at Estancia. More than 30 teams will participate, from area schools Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar and Costa Mesa to elite teams like Calvary Chapel, Esperanza and Edison.

The two-day tournament is a chance for four Estancia sophomores to see how they measure up to some of Southern California’s top wrestlers. Damian Leon (125 pounds), Bryan Torres (140), David Phan (171) and Luis Quintana (152) have already shown Burgess their dedication.