Eagles Clamp Down on Another Title

If the loss of its top wrestler was a blow to Calvary Chapel, it wasn’t apparent Saturday as the Eagles breezed to the Southern Section Division I dual meet title at Villa Park.

The top-seeded Eagles easily advanced through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and then defeated Brawley Union, 50-15, in the final.

Calvary Chapel was wrestling without senior Tony Aparicio, ranked No. 1 in the county at 140 pounds. He was dismissed from school on Wednesday for disciplinary reasons.

Eagle Coach John Azevedo said he was happy his team wasn’t affected by the loss of Aparicio.

“I was probably the most upset of any of them,” Azevedo said. “But the guys kept focused, and will keep focused for [Southern Section individuals] next week.”

Unseeded Brawley Union advanced to the final after rallying for a 39-30 victory over defending champion Temecula Valley, the second-seeded team.

Brawley edged Villa Park in the quarterfinals, 36-34.

But Calvary Chapel quickly brought the Wildcats back to reality, winning 11 of the 14 matches.

The Eagles beat Redlands, 59-23, in the quarterfinals and pounded Ventura, 63-12, in the semifinals.

Adam Bones (145 pounds), Joe Williams (160), Andy Tufnell (171) and Conan Williams (189) had pins for the Eagles against Brawley.

Despite the lopsided victory, there were some competitive matches. Anthony Archuleta, a sophomore, rallied with two reversals to defeat Brawley’s David Villagran, 8-5. Villagran was the Division I champion last year. And in a 125-pound match, freshman Ryan Byng scored a takedown in overtime to beat Bobby Myers, 7-5.

Brawley’s only points came from Jose Reyes, who pinned Mario Estrada at 112 pounds; Danny Garcia, who beat Donovan Johnson, 5-4; and heavyweight Jose Gutierrez, who pinned Derek Williams.

It was Calvary Chapel’s ninth Southern Section dual meet title.

“We won duals eight times in a row before we were interrupted [by Temecula Valley] last year. But we’re back on track,” Azevedo said.

Fourth-seeded El Modena lost to Ventura in the quarterfinals, 39-32.