Dane Valdez

School: Calvary Chapel

Sport: Wrestling

Weight division: 119 pounds

Class: Junior

Although they aren’t identical twins, Dane and Shane Valdez are hard to tell apart. One thing that separated them, however, was there respective finishes at the State meet last season: Shane finished second in his division; Dane finished eighth in his. That pecking order was a motivational factor for Dane this season, Calvary Chapel Coach John Azevedo said. “He was pretty single-minded the whole year because of the fact that his brother did well last year,” Azevedo said. “Dane really wanted it this year. He stayed single-minded, and it paid off for him.” Indeed, Dane won the 119-pound title at the State meet Saturday in Stockton, defeating Todd Wong of Sacramento Johnson, 12-7, in the final. He completed a perfect season--44-0--that included individual titles at the Southern Section Division III and Masters meets and helped Calvary Chapel (enrollment 500) to a State championship. “He pretty much dominated every match,” Azevedo said. “He was really never behind and was in control the whole tournament.” For the record, Shane finished second at 112 pounds.

Other top performers:

Tom Louie and Kirk Matthews, who combined on a no-hitter in Irvine’s 7-1 victory over Magnolia in the first round of the Loara tournament. Louie, a senior, pitched the first four innings and Matthews, a senior, the final three.

Kamran Sufi, who had 11 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals in Mater Dei’s 63-41 victory over Huntington Beach in the Southern Section Division I-A title game.

Joe Snyder, who went eight for 11, including a home run, two triples and three doubles, and drove in 14 runs in three games for Marina.

Zac Tapia, a San Clemente wrestler who won the State title at 135 pounds by defeating Craig Welk of Vista, 5-2.