Osuna takes wrestling title

Huntington Beach’s Bryan Osuna takes off for Topeka, Kansas today,

to compete at this weekend’s 2000 Kid’s National Wrestling Championships.

Osuna enters the competition fresh off a win at last weekend’s California

State Folkstyle Wrestling meet held at Clovis High in Fresno. In

addition, the 4.0 Honor student at Calvary Chapel Junior High also won

both folkstyle and freestyle titles at the Las Vegas Folkstyle and

Freestyle Tournament of Champions held earlier this month.

Osuna, who sports a 40-2 record on the season, easily dispatched Bobbie

Rivera of San Jose, 11-2, in his first match, to set up a meeting with

hometown favorite, Greg Clark of Clovis.

Osuna recorded an early two-point double leg takedown for a 2-0 first

period lead, a score that stood until the third period, where Clark

battled back to forge a 2-2 tie. It was broken a mere five second later,

however, when Osuna scored a one-point escape on a Gramby Roll.

That move was critical, as it propelled Osuna to an eventual 5-2 victory.

In the meet’s title match, Osuna met up with Reese Erickson of Oregon,

which was invited to participate in the California tournament in order to

qualify for the National tournament.

Osuna owned the match from start to finish, scoring a single leg take

down and a fireman’s carry for a 4-0 lead through two quarters. He later

scored on a series of near-falls, including an arm bar and chicken-wing,

to mount an insurmountable 12-0 third quarter lead, then settled for a

12-2 win to clinch the title.

The Kid’s National Wrestling Tournament is one of three big meets coming

up for Osuna. In April, he will participate in the World Champions

Wrestling Tournament in Reno, which will be followed by an appearance at

the AAU National Championships to be held in Tulsa, Okla.