Harbor’s George wins championship and award

NORWALK — For the second straight week, Josh George was wanting to don the white singlet.

That’s what Newport Harbor High wrestlers get to wear once they reach a title match in a tournament. It’s a reward that also serves as a motivational tool thought up by Coach Dominic Bulone.

The coach might want to have the white singlet ready when CIF competition comes later in the season. The senior won the 140-pound division championship Saturday in the Eagle Invitational at John Glenn High and remained perfect with a 19-0 record this season.

What’s more, George was named Most Valuable Wrestler of the middle weights (130-160).

In the title match, George, who won the Andrew Pena Tournament last week, overcame a 4-1 deficit and defeated Dylan Garriott of North Torrance, 14-12. Garriott scored four takedowns on George, but he continually responded with an effective Granby, a rolling-type move that’s used when a wrestler is at the bottom position or shortly after a takedown.

“He does it well enough to get a reversal, or sometimes to get them on their back,” Bulone said. “It’s not often you get taken down four times and still win.”

George built up a 10-8 lead after two periods and never relinquished his two-point edge throughout the third. He was up, 13-10, late in the third, when both wrestlers went out off the mat. George ran back to the center, while Garriott adjusted his gear, as if to buy time to save energy, Bulone said.

Garriott was whistled for stalling and George was awarded a point.

“He’s in incredibly good shape and such a hard worker,” Bulone said of George. “I don’t think that there’s too many people who can keep up with Josh’s intensity. Josh was clearly in better shape than the other wrestler.”

George went 5-0 in the Eagle Invitational, blowing past the first two rounds with two pins. In the first round, he pinned Tustin’s Joel Gonzalez in 1 minute, 21 seconds. He pinned Peninsula’s Matt Serrano in 3:44 to advance to the quarterfinals. That’s where George continued to show his dominance.

He scored a 19-2 technical fall win over Daniel Ahn of North Torrance. In the semifinals, George pinned Nick Montanez of Torrance in three minutes.

Ahn wrestled for North Torrance’s B team, because Garriott is the Saxons’ best wrestler in the weight class. Bulone expects George to see him again in the postseason and hopes George can win again.

“He was aggressive from the beginning,” Bulone said of George in the title match. “He didn’t seem to crack under pressure.”

Also for Harbor, Cameron Rausch went 3-2 and tied for ninth in the heavyweight division, while Josh Lithgow finished 4-2 and also tied for ninth in the 160s.

— From staff reports