HIGH SCHOOLS:

Even after getting beat by his top wrestler, Josh George, in a local 5K run in October, Newport Harbor High Coach Dominic Bulone is an ambitious man.

Why not? He just guided the Sailors to their first Sunset League victory since they rejoined the league last year. Newport Harbor beat defending league champ Esperanza, 48-27, in a league opener Thursday.

So the ninth-year coach said he will now be competing in the OC Marathon on Jan. 6, which falls on his birthday. Bulone will turn 35, but he’s hoping this race turns into an opportunity to qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon.

The time he needs to complete the OC Marathon is 3 hours, 15 minutes, a mark he recorded three years ago. But with the qualifying time lower back then, Bulone couldn’t get to Boston.

Bulone’s Sailors (10-2, 1-0 in league) will be there to give the birthday man an extra hand. They’re known as “Bulone’s Gnomes” and the wrestlers, including George, a 21-0 140-pounder, will be handing out water at a water station at the 8.2-mile marker.

Hopefully by then Bulone will be on his way to Boston.

 Bulone’s show in the OC Marathon won’t be a solo act. His assistant, Josh Ready, is also competing. Ready will run in the half marathon.

 During the Battle of the Bay Wednesday, both Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar wrestlers recorded impressive pins with both teams combining for eight.

The Sailors came back at the end when 103-pounder Max Jolliffe pinned CdM’s Ryan Grainger in the last match, as Newport Harbor prevailed, 38-34.

But one of the more interesting falls came when CdM’s Scott Feely, appearing as he would be pinned in the 135-pound class, scored a reversal on David Garcia and then pinned him for the victory.

“Feely had the match of the night for us,” CdM Coach Gary Almquist said.

Next for the Sea Kings is the Mann Holiday Classic at Cal State Fullerton on Friday and Saturday.

 Costa Mesa’s Cody De La Mater is healthy again and he’s started the season on a roll.

The 189-pound senior went 5-0 during the Santa Margarita Duals Tournament earlier this month to claim the top prize.

De La Mater pinned four of his opponents, signs that he’s fully recovered from a torn meniscus surgery in his right knee that slowed him down at times during his junior season.

 With low numbers this year Estancia doesn’t have much of a wrestling team, but it’s not stopping the school from playing host to the 27th annual Estancia New Year Classic on Jan. 4-5.

Irvine won the competitive event last year with Santa Ana taking second and Calvary Chapel third. Costa Mesa, Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor will each participate.

The Sailors last year had four wrestlers place in the top eight, but only George returns from the group.

 The Estancia Coast Classic gets underway Wednesday at Estancia High.

The boys’ basketball tournament will feature eight schools, Estancia (5-6), Fullerton (6-4), Aliso Niguel (6-6) and Windermere Secondary in one pool, and Brea (7-3), Laguna Hills (3-8), Norco (3-5) and Chaparral (5-4) of Temecula in the other pool. The championship, which will pin the top team from each pool, is set for Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Estancia begins pool play against Fullerton at 7:30 p.m.

 Costa Mesa (5-4) and Newport Harbor (3-7) are the only two Newport-Mesa-area girls’ basketball programs competing in Costa Mesa’s 25th annual Winter Classic starting Wednesday.

The 14-team tournament features some good teams, San Ramon Valley (8-1) of Danville, Tustin (8-1), Mission Viejo (7-5), Rosary (7-2) and Merced (7-4).

The rest of the teams are Laguna Hills (6-5), Tesoro (5-5), Valencia (5-4) of Valencia, El Toro (4-8), Fountain Valley (3-6), Westminster (1-6) and Compton (0-3).

Newport Harbor opens with Laguna Hills at noon and Costa Mesa with Valencia at 4:40 p.m.

 Sage Hill and Corona del Mar won’t be competing in the Costa Mesa Winter Classic, but the two schools will collide in a nonleague contest this week, nonetheless.

The Lightning, led by junior Tierney Danner, will play host to the Sea Kings Friday at 7 p.m.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.