2006 South Bay League Report:
Lancers top Mariners, take bead on league title

By Phillip Brents
Posted Jan. 25, 2006

The shine may not have been present as in years past but the importance of the outcome was not lost on either the Hilltop or Mar Vista wrestling teams in their highly-anticipated dual encounter Jan. 19 at Hilltop High School. The host Lancers emerged with a resounding 51-23 victory in the match-up of what is believed to be the South Bay League’s two strongest teams.

“We got this one out of the way. We have three more dual meets. If we win those, this could stand up as the dual meet for the league championship,” Hilltop coach Tim Tyler said. “This could lead to making the second half of the season much more enjoyable.”

The Lancers coach had anticipated a much closer score between the teams but Hilltop broke away from a 17-11 deficit by winning seven of the eight final match-ups on the mat, including three by pin and two by technical fall.

“I told the kids they shouldn’t worry about how the score might start out, that they might have to deal with some adversity. The key for us would be to stay calm and level,” Tyler said.

The dual started out in Mar Vista’s favor with 217-pounder Joey Martinez and heavyweight Mike Guinto taking the mat first for the Mariners. Both teammates advanced to the championship match of the Marauder Invitational in early December, with Martinez pulling off a win by pin. Martinez was most recently coming off a championship performance at the two-day Scripps Ranch Invitational where he defeated Patrick Henry’s Leo Coleman, a second-place finisher at the prestigious El Dorado Holiday Invitational.

The 217-pound match also pitted one of the Lancers’ stronger grapplers, Mel Zamora, a repeat tournament medalist this season. Martinez defeated Zamora by a 5-2 decision to give the visitors a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard.

But the course of the dual meet took an abrupt turn in the next bout when Hilltop’s Keoki Cavaco pinned Guinto in 4:49 to put the hosts ahead 6-3 instead of trailing by an even larger margin. Adrian Soto upped the Hilltop lead to 11-3 with a 15-0 technical fall at 105 pounds against Danny Medrano. The back-to-back wins provided key points to allow the hosts to withstand three straight Mar Vista victories.

Hugo Medrano (121) out-pointed Hilltop’s Andi Galata, 9-6, and Mar Vista’s Matt Arroyave (127) dealt Hilltop’s Damian Santillan a loss by 16-1 technical fall to put the Mariners back in front on the scoreboard. But the Lancers responded with three wins of their own to take back the lead for good, highlighted by Todd Garrison’s 2:29 pin of Mar Vista’s Odeh Metri at 132 pounds that tied the team score and Javier Martinez’ 16-0 victory by technical fall against Mar Vista’s Joe Rillat at 137 pounds that gave Hilltop a 22-17 team scoring edge.

Alan Matos, who placed fifth at the Scripps Ranch Invitational, pinned Hilltop’s Brian Partida in a match-up of 147-pound wrestlers to pull Mar Vista to within five points on the scoreboard at 28-23 but Matos’ win would be the last of the night for the visitors.

Benz Seaton (152) and Gabe Cajina (162) both followed with pins to stake Hilltop’s advantage on the scoreboard to 40-23. When Kevin Diaz administered a 20-3 technical fall at 173 pounds, the Lancers led by 22 points with one match remaining — a forfeit win for Hilltop 191-pounder Augustine Mercado.

“They came with a different team than I anticipated. I expected Matos to be at 140s but he was up a weight class. I had a couple things I was going to do (with our lineup) if he was at 140s,” Tyler said.

CIF preview
This year’s Scripps Ranch Invitational proved to be a preview of the upcoming San Diego Section Division II championship tournament, with Oceanside and Patrick Henry taking the lead as the teams to beat, according to Hilltop’s Tyler. Oceanside, with seven medalists, placed third among the nearly 50 entered teams (behind team chanmpion Southwest El Centro and runner-up Ramona) — 33 points ahead of seventh-place Patrick Henry (four medalists), 45 points ahead of ninth-place Mira Mesa (three medalists), 52 points ahead of 11th-place Scripps Ranch (four medalists), 57.5 points ahead of 13th-place Helix, 76.5 points ahead of 20th-place Bonita Vista (two medalists) and 88.5 points ahead of 27th-place Hilltop (two medalists).

Overall, 10 of the 17 teams entered in the upcoming Division II finals were present at the Scripps Ranch Invitational.

“With everyone in the lineup, we’ll do better than what we’ve been doing,” Tyler said in reference to the team’s recent tournament outings.

RB 10-Way
Mar Vista jumped from the showcase dual against Hilltop right into the Rancho Bernardo 10-Way dual tournament featuring some of the top teams from the section. Poway’s “B” team showed its strength by defeating Valhalla, 49-15, for the championship. Mar Vista, filling out just half of the 14 weights, finished 10th with a 42-12 dual loss against Granite Hills. In a show of courage, four of the five Mariners in the lineup against the Eagles scored wins, including three by pin.

Martinez earned the first-place medal in his weight class, defeating Granite Hills’ Jesse Alexander (the champion of the season-opening Mar Vista Battle by the Beach tournament) by a 4-3 decision.

In other duals, the under-manned Mar Vista squad fell to Ramona (60-24), Poway (73-3), Carlsbad (71-3) and Steele Canyon (56-24). In the dual against Poway, Martinez recorded a 5-2 decision against the Titans' Cody Hill.

Scripps Ranch Invitational
Jan. 13-14 at Scripps Ranch High School
Metro Conference Medalists
103: 7. Carmelo Trinidad (Sweetwater).
112: 8. Ben Salas (Chula Vista).
119: 2. Matt Arroyave (Mar Vista).
140: 4. John Sardella (Hilltop); 5. Alan Matos (Mar Vista); 8. Matthew Periola (Bonita Vista).
145: 3. Gabe Ruz (Bonita Vista).
215: 1. Joey Martinez (Mar Vista); 5. Mel Zamora (Hilltop).
Teams (points): 10. Mar Vista 96.0; 20. Bonita Vista 65.5; 27. Hilltop 53.5; 33. Otay Ranch 37.0; 35. Sweetwater 36.0; 42. Chula Vista 25.0; 44. Southwest 19.0.

Monte Vista Invitational
Jan. 7 at Monte Vista High School
Metro Conference Medalists
135: 5. Javier Martinez (Hilltop).
140: 8. John Sardella (Hilltop).
152: 7. Benz Seaton (Hilltop).
160: 7. Gabe Cajina (Hilltop).
189: 8. Agustine Mercado (Hilltop).
215: 6. Daniel Robledo (Sweetwater).
275: 3. Juan Mendoza (San Ysidro).
Teams (points): 12. Hilltop 64.0; 19. Sweetwater 25.0; 21. San Ysidro 19.0; 25. Castle Park 6.0.

Hilltop 51, Mar Vista 23
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 at Hilltop High School
217: Joey Martinez (Mar Vista) decisioned Mel Zamora (Hilltop) 5-2. Mar Vista leads 3-0.
277: Keoki Cavaco (Hilltop) pinned Mike Guinto (Mar Vista) 4:49. Hilltop leads 6-3.
105: Adrian Soto (Hilltop) tech fall Danny Medrano (Mar Vista) 15-0. Hilltop leads 11-3.
114: Alan Delos Reyes (Mar Vista) won by forfeit. Hilltop leads 11-9.
121: Hugo Medrano (Mar Vista) decisioned Andi Galata (Hilltop) 9-6. Mar Vista leads 12-11.
127: Matt Arroyave (Mar Vista) tech fall Damian Santillan (Hilltop) 16-1. Mar Vista leads 17-11.
132: Todd Garrison (Hilltop) pinned Odeh Metri (Mar Vista) 2:29. Teams tied 17-17.
137: Javier Martinez (Hilltop) tech fall Joe Rilatt (Mar Vista) 16-0. Hilltop leads 22-17.
142: John Sardella (Hilltop) won by forfeit. Hilltop leads 28-17.
147: Alan Matos (Mar Vista) pinned Brian Partida (Hilltop) 4:59. Hilltop leads 28-23.
154: Benz Seaton (Hilltop) pinned Terry Agbunag (Mar Vista) 0:28. Hilltop leads 34-23.
162: Gabe Cajina (Hilltop) pinned Angelo Pallotto (Mar Vista) 0:56. Hilltop leads 40-23.
173: Kevin Diaz (Hilltop) tech fall Leon Williams (Mar Vista) 20-3. Hilltop leads 45-23.
191: Augustine Mercado (Hilltop) won by forfeit. Hilltop wins 51-23.
Junior varsity: Hilltop 60, Mar Vista 18