San Clemente’s Mike Marshall defeated the Dolphins’ Nick Swanson (blue) 7-2 as the Tritons went on to claim the dual meet title with a 39-20 match win over Dana Hills on January 22. Photo by Tony Tribolet
By Steve Breazeale
Tritons Wrestling Drops Dolphins, Claims Dual Meet Title
DANA POINT— San Clemente wrestling head coach Mark Calentino admitted he was a bit uneasy about the Tritons chances before his undefeated team took to the mats against South Coast League rival Dana Hills on January 22. The veteran coach thought it might be a tossup as to who would walk away the victor.
But with a flurry of successive match wins, the Tritons prevailed, defeating the Dolphins 39-20 to claim San Clemente’s first dual meet title since 2009. San Clemente finished the dual meet stages with a 4-0 record and are 15-0 on the season.
Calentino and his coaches had the match scenarios drawn up as an even split before the night’s action, with San Clemente taking seven matches and the Dolphins taking seven. It would have to be an above average night for either team if they wanted the victory, according to Calentino.
Dana Hills jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after heavyweight Brandon Ramirez defeated San Clemente’s Tyler Maxwell by way of pin fall and 106-pounder Clayton Brock won his match against the Tritons’ junior varsity fill-in Victor Flener.
With momentum, and the home crowd, against them, the Tritons made their run.
Consecutive match wins by Danny Garcia and Mark Munoz put the Tritons on top 12-9.
After bumping their lead up to 27-16, San Clemente’s Tony Flores wrestled with Dana Hills’ Trevor Tribolet in the 170-pound class. The match went back and forth, with Tribolet taking an early lead until a late surge by Flores in the second and third periods ensured a 7-4 win, which gave the Tritons some much needed breathing room.
“We really had to wrestle well to make something happen and they stepped up. I think Tony (Flores) winning was a gigantic match,” Calentino said. “That was a match on paper we had (Dana Hills) winning…Flores just out-toughed him.”
The Tritons’ Ash Ryan continued his solid year by earning a 7-3 victory over Ryan Minoofar in the 195-pound class.
Austin Aceves (220 pound) provided the quickest win of the night by pinning the Dolphins’ Christian Clemente in 57 seconds, putting an exclamation point on the night for the Tritons.
“A dual meet is hard especially against a good team like San Clemente. You never know who is going to show up,” Dana Hills head coach Reza Abedi said. “(San Clemente) was just ready to wrestle…It was tough.”
Both teams now look forward to the South Coast League finals tournament on February 2.
“It’s going to be a different story (for us) in league finals…My goal is to just regroup and get as many kids as we can to CIF,” Abedi said.
Other match highlights:
126 pound- Grant Huntington (DH) def. Justin Kleinman (SC), 6-0
132 pound- Tim Parten (SC) def. Arryan Kianipey (DH), 7-2
145 pound- Brian Degenarro (SC) def. Hunter Dillon (DH), 8-4
152 pound- Austin Grimsley (DH) def. Rick Simpson (SC) 13-4
160 pound- Mike Marshall (SC) def. Nick Swanson (DH) 7-2
182 pound- Blaine Wagstaff (DH) def. Zack Adcock (SC) 16-2
Dolphin Boys Basketball Set for Rematch
A 61-31 win over Sea View league opponent San Juan Hills on January 23 might be what the Dana Hills boys basketball team needs to get back on track.
After a streak of eight wins in a row that lasted almost an entire month, the Dolphins hit a snag in mid-January. From December 18 to January 11, the Dolphins went a perfect 8-0. Since then, they have gone 1-3.
The win against the Stallions on January 23 will keep the third place Dolphins (16-7, 3-2 league) afloat in the league standings as they sit one game behind Trabuco Hills.
A road win over San Clemente on January 25 would be just the thing to shake up the league and ignite any hope of a Dolphin push into the playoffs.
The Tritons come into the game with a perfect 4-0 league record. The last time the two squared off it was a close contest, with San Clemente making a late fourth quarter push to get the 64-58 victory.
Dolphins Girls Basketball in Drivers Seat
With four straight league wins in a row the Dana Hills girls basketball team sits atop the Sea View League standings.
The Dolphins (12-9, 4-0) closest league game was a 44-42 win against second place Tesoro back on January 10, when the Dolphins rallied with a big third quarter scoring spree to get the victory. The two teams were set to play again on January 24. Results were not available at press time.
Dolphins Upset Tritons in Double Overtime
Playing on the road against the CIF-SS Division 2 No. 9 ranked San Clemente girls water polo squad, the Dolphins pulled off a 10-9 upset win in double overtime to pull even with the second place Tritons in the league standings.
Dolphins junior Molly Wilbur scored five goals in the win, including the game winner.
The Dolphins will now face Trabuco Hills on January 25.
Dolphins Girls Soccer Remains Unbeaten
The first place Dana Hills girls soccer team drew to a 1-1 tie against visiting Aliso Niguel on January 22. The two goals scored by the Wolverines were the only goals conceded by the Dolphins (9-0-4, 4-0-1) in five league matches. They now take to the road to play Mission Viejo on January 25.
Eyeing First Place
Only one game separates the Dana Hills boys soccer team and first place El Toro in the Sea View League standings. The two will square off on January 25 at Dana Hills High with a share of first place on the line.
