Simpson Cruises, but Others Struggle for State Meet Bids

There was a sense of urgency on the last day of the Southern Section Masters wrestling tournament at Fountain Valley High.

Because only the top eight wrestlers from each weight class Saturday would advance to the state meet next week in Stockton, every match had meaning.

Defending state champion Michael Simpson handled his 125-pound matches like a clinic. Breezing through his two matches on Friday, and then another two on Saturday, the Brethren Christian senior advanced to the championship final, which he won by forfeit over Steve Esparza of Calvary Chapel for his third consecutive Masters title.

Esparza, who suffered an injury last week at the division finals, decided to skip the match and concentrate on the state meet.

“I don’t want to say it was easy because every match you have is tough,” Simpson said. “And if Steve had wrestled, then it would have been a tough day. Let’s just say of the four Masters I’ve competed in, I had the least amount of trouble with this one.”

On the other hand, Gilbert Melendez, a 125-pounder from Santa Ana, had to fight for every match he won.

Wrestling with a broken arm, Melendez competed despite pleas from his doctor to have surgery.

He suffered the injury last week while warming up for the Division II finals.

Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said he wouldn’t stand in the way of Melendez’s wishes.

“He worked too hard all year for this,” Glabb said. “This is his last chance. He’s physically and mentally tough, and I won’t be the one to tell him he can’t do it.”

With his arm heavily taped, and cushioned with a thick gauze pad on the elbow, Melendez wrestled two matches Saturday. He forfeited his consolation semifinal to Robert Antenore of Irvine and finished sixth.

“It’s all coming from here,” Melendez said, pointing to his heart. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I started wrestling. I worked hard for this and I put in a lot of hours. I also have my teammates, who I won’t let down. I’ve got one more week, then I’ll get the surgery.”

Senior Adam Benitez gave Calvary Chapel its first title of the meet in the 135-pound final, beating Steve Garcia of Brethren Christian, 5-2.

The Eagles had three other champions.

Adam Bones (145) defended his title. But he had to make a reversal in the last minute to defeat El Monte’s David Rivera. Fidel Archuleta won his 152-pound final with a 6-2 decision over Leonel Sanchez of Covina Northview. And Andy Tufnell pinned Andrew Guzman of Santa Maria in 1 minute 59 seconds.

Calvary Chapel qualified eight wrestlers to the state meet, the most for any Southern Section school.

Loara’s Orlando Galvan successfully defended his 103-pound title, beating Anthony Archuleta of Calvary Chapel in the final, 4-2.

“He’s always tough,” Galvan said. “And I wanted to win this. But if I got second, that would have been all right. My main objective was to get to state, and I did it.”

Including Galvan, the Saxons had five wrestlers who qualified for state, the second-most for a county team.

Galvan’s brother, Josh (112), and Jeremy Ellis (189) finished fourth, and Ellis’ brother, Joe, took sixth at 215. Fernando Magana finished seventh at 171 pounds.

University’s Frank Gamboa pulled the upset of the day when he beat Alex Becerra of Santa Ana, 10-7, to win the 189-pound title.

Villa Park qualified four: Tommy Peralta, who took second at 112; Doug Yadon, who took fifth at 119; Willie Parks, fourth at 152, and heavyweight James Benton, who finished seventh.

Irvine will send three wrestlers to the state meet. Robert Antenore took fourth at 125, Joe Cobo was sixth at 145 and Wyatt Howard was fifth at 160.

The state meet begins Friday at University of the Pacific in Stockton.