Imperial tops rival Holtville, captures Division 4 boys wrestling title

For the last three years, Imperial High School played second fiddle to rival Holtville at the San Diego Section Division 4 boys wrestling championships. Holtville muscled its way to three straight titles; the Tigers settled for second all three times.

Early Saturday evening, inside a steamy Mar Vista High School gym, Imperial exacted some revenge. The Tigers ran away with the Division 4 title, compiling 256 points. In second place: Holtville with 204.

There are 14 weight classes in high school wrestling. Twelve Imperial wrestlers advanced to the semifinals, six earned spots in the finals and two made the long drive home to the Imperial Valley wearing gold medals.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Imperial head coach Jerry Barragan. “I’m a little overwhelmed right now. At the start of the season there were holes throughout the entire lineup. To bring 13 kids here ...”

He shook his head, unable to complete the thought.

“These kids,” he added, “they really showed up.”

Winning titles for Imperial were senior Valente Huerta at 146 pounds and freshman Noah Larios at 217. Huerta eked out a 5-3 decision over Ty Pope of Mount Miguel while Larios pinned Zavier Leatherman of Army-Navy Academy in 1 minute, 44 seconds.

“I’ve been wrestling since I was 5,” said Larios. “To help my school win a championship, man, it feels great.”

Madison sent just eight wrestlers to the championships. Four earned titles.

At 126 pounds, Omar Rodriguez pinned Landon Bedsole of Christian in 0:52. At 132, Gavin Mitchell pinned Eddie Martinez of Imperial in 3:18. At 150, Cyrus Moliere pinned Roy Eddy of Palo Verde Valley in 3:30.

At heavyweight (285 pounds), Nagon Gillespie pinned Holtville’s Smith Hilfiker in 2:34.

No one had a better tale to tell than Moliere. A senior, Moliere didn’t begin wrestling until last year, spending the season on the junior varsity.

“He wasn’t very good last year,” said assistant coach Brandon Davis. “He only won a couple matches. And look where he is now. He had a huge turnaround because he worked so hard in the offseason.”

Asked what it was like to be one of the Warhawks’ four champions, Moliere flashed a 100-watt smile, put both fists in front of his shoulders, then flashed both thumbs up.

Boys wrestling

CIF San Diego Section Division 4 championships

At Mar Vista High School

Team: 1. Imperial 256; 2. Holtville 204; 3. Madison 146.5; 4 Palo Verde Valley 139; 5. Christian 96.5; 6. Crawford 86; 7. Mountain Empire 86; 8. Coastal Academy 81; 9. Mater Dei Catholic 81; 10. Guajome Park Academy 75.

Top four advance to Masters

Finals: 106 – Strahm (Holt.) maj.dec. Gurrola (Mar Vista) 13-2; 113 – Johnston (TCC) tech. fall Rivera (Holt) 15-0; 120 – Jones (Christian) pin. Harmon (Imp.) 4:38; 126 – Rodriguez (Mad.) pin Bedsole (Christian) 0:52; 132 – Mitchell (Mad.) pin Martinez (Imp.) 3:18; 138 – Navarro (Holt.) pin Barragan (Imp.) 1:51; 144 – Huerta (Imp.) dec. Pope (MtMig) 5-3; 150 – Moliere (Mad.) pin Eddy (PVV) 3:30; 157 – Tolentino (CoAca) dec. Poderick (MDC) 8-3; 165 – Smith (PVV) pin Toten (Holt.) 3:47; 175 – Iten (Holt.) pin Esquivez (Imp.) 1:14;190 – Gomez (Gua.Park) pin Magallon (Holt.) 0:43; 215 - Larios (Imp.) pin Leatherman (AN) 1:44; 285 – Gillespie (Mad.) pin. Hilfiker (Holt) 2:34.

Third place: 106 – Sok (Craw) pin Valdez (Christian) 0:34; 113 – Cordova (Imp.) pin Brennan (Mt.Emp.) 2:03; 120 – Patlan (Mt.Emp.) pin Guadarrama (Val.Cen.) 4:30; 126 – Alvarez (Imp.) maj. dec. Mixon (Guajome Park) 13-3; 132 – Hypes (Christian) dec. Siwy (Clairemont) 7-4; 138 – Martinez (CP) maj. dec. Marcial (MarVi) 19-8; 144 – Vasquez (Mad) med.for. Mignosi (CoastAca.); 150 – White (Coa.Aca) pin Adame (Imp.) 3:47; 157 – Zepeda (Imp.) dec. Maganda (GuaPark) 6-2; 165 – Surposa-Buendia (CP) dec. Evans (TCC) 5-3; 175 – Carter (PVV) dec. Holland (MDC) 6-4;190 – Mincher (Imp.) pin Reed (Mt.Emp,) 2:57; 215 – Frye (ValCen) pin Hernandez (PVV) 1:52; 285 – Aguirre Y Fierro (Imp.) pin Lopez (Lin.) 0:27.