Valhalla Let Down But Wins : Wrestling: Poway’s absence diminishes impact of meet, which draws only six teams.

MIRA MESA —  The parking lot in front of Mira Mesa High was almost vacant.

Not unusual for a Saturday afternoon, except on this particular one when Mira Mesa was playing host to the San Diego Section Dual Meet Wrestling Championships, a tournament that many coaches hoped would pack the gym as the county’s best teams squared off.

The Valhalla-Poway matchup never materialized because the Titans pulled out to better prepare for next week’s trip to a national tournament in Oklahoma.

So the San Diego tournament, expected to draw 12 teams, featured only six.

“A lot of teams thought it would end up Valhalla-Poway in the finals so they thought, ‘Why come?’ ” Mira Mesa Coach Jon Talbott said. “Then Poway pulled out.”

Although Valhalla towered above its opponents like Manute Bol over Spud Webb, it was still a disappointing tournament for the Norseman because of Poway’s absence. The only time the two county powers ever meet is at tournaments.

The Norsemen defeated Escondido, 59-10, in the finals after overpowering Crawford, 67-3, in the second round. Both Valhalla and Escondido had first-round byes. The Cougars had defeated Patrick Henry, 37-26, to advance.

Patrick Henry defeated Crawford, 44-27, for third place.

“It was disappointing,” said Jason Hendrick, Valhalla’s 160-pounder. “(Poway is) our toughest opponent, and they’ve always beaten us. They’ve already peaked and we’re just starting to peak so it would have been a great meet. It just wasn’t very challenging.”

Hendrick was one of seven Norsemen to pin their opponents. He pinned Mike Ronalds in 4:09 to begin a string of falls at the following three weights. Russ Magoffin pinned John Hausotter in 1:30 at 171 pounds; 189-pound Tom North pinned Jason Hans in 5:25; and heavyweight John McKay made fast work of Jayson Hebets with a pin in 28 seconds.

Valhalla’s 119-pound Patrick Mack came back from a five-point deficit to pin Frank Duenas in 1:58. Duenas scored on a takedown and a near-fall to take a 5-0 lead in the first period. But Mack escaped and, after a quick takedown, pinned Duenas.

Valhalla’s other two pins came from 135-pound Darren Salcido, who pinned Mike Wilson in 1:30, and Jeremy Hendrick, who pinned Mike Swanson in 2:52 at 145 pounds.