HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING SOUTHERN SECTION MASTERS MEET : Burns Wins With Flair in Overtime

Agoura High wrestler Sean Burns stood outside the Fountain Valley gymnasium Saturday night after the Southern Section Masters meet.

In weary euphoria, Burns watched as a wrestler who had just lost walked past him dejectedly and flung his headpiece in anger against the building’s brick wall.

“I’m glad I don’t have to do that,” Burns said.

Burns hasn’t had to do that this season, having compiled a 45-0 record, the most recent victory a 4-2 overtime thriller Saturday in the 171-pound title match against Dan Lewis of Yucaipa.

Burns joined three other area wrestlers who qualified for next weekend’s state championship tournament.

James Castaneda of Alemany, Simi Valley’s Cisco Gerardo and Jerry Escoto of Channel Islands all finished in the top seven in their weight class to make the cut.

But none could match Burns’ title victory. And none could match his flair for the dramatic.

Burns, who took a 1-0 lead after two periods, fell behind, 2-1, late in the third and final period after a Lewis takedown.

But Burns, a senior, scored a one-point escape to tie the match, 2-2, with only seconds remaining. He then registered a takedown in the overtime period for the victory.

Yet for someone with a great sense of timing, Burns had a lousy sense of time.

“I thought we were still in the third period the whole time,” he said. “After the takedown (in overtime) someone said, ‘Good match,’ and I went, ‘Oooh.’ I thought I still had 30 seconds left.’

What he had was the championship of the Southern Section to go along with his Division I championship.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “I honestly never expected to do this well. I just went out there to have some fun. I ended up having a lot of fun.”

Alemany’s 103-pounder, Castaneda, was enjoying himself until the championship match, where he squared off against Ayala’s Eric DeLeon, his nemesis of sorts. Castaneda, a sophomore, survived two overtime matches to earn a spot in the final, but lost to DeLeon, 8-5.

He lost to DeLeon in last year’s Masters meet on a technical fall and said he was eager to meet DeLeon soon.

“I feel like I’m going to make the finals in (the state tournament next week),” Castaneda said.

“Hopefully, we’ll wrestle again, in the finals. I’ll beat him then.”

“If he says it, he’ll do it,” Alemany Coach Dennis Henderson said.

Simi Valley’s Gerardo finished third in the 125-pound class by winning his first two matches. Channel Islands’ Escoto also qualified for the state tournament in the 103-pound class.