His Last Shot

Daniel Contreras wanted to help shoulder the weight of the Orange El Modena wrestling team this season, and it has meant restraining his own.

Contreras has maintained a strict diet since September, which allowed him to remain in the 160-pound division for a fourth consecutive season, a remarkable feat for a high school wrestler. Contreras said the move allows the Vanguards to form a more competitive lineup.

El Modena posted its biggest victory Saturday night, upsetting top-seeded Santa Ana Calvary Chapel in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division I dual-meet championships at Temecula Valley High.

“It’s hard to keep the weight down, but it’s worth it,” Contreras said. “I did it because the team is a lot better if I stay down. If I would have bumped up a weight class, it would have made everyone on the team bump up and we wouldn’t have been as good.”

Contreras, who last week became the first wrestler to win four consecutive Century League titles, is beginning to focus on individual goals. His sights are set on winning a third consecutive title Saturday at the Eastern Division individual championships at Riverside Norte Vista High. The Vanguards, with 12 wrestlers qualified for the meet, are favored to win the team title.

Beyond that, Contreras dreams of culminating his high school career with victories at the Masters and state meets.

“Winning state is my goal,” he said. “I think that’s totally reachable if I show up and wrestle the way I am capable.”

Until the season ends, Contreras plans to stick with his daily menu of oatmeal for breakfast, tuna and green beans for lunch, salad and fresh fruit for dinner and a couple gallons of water each day. It’s the first season Contreras has been especially conscious about making weight.

“I’ve been making 160 pretty easily until this year,” he said.

Contreras said his body stowed a lot of “baby fat” when he wrestled for El Modena as a freshman. Even though he gradually replaced it with muscle, remaining in the same middleweight division all four years is very uncommon.

“That’s almost humanly impossible,” El Modena Coach Alan Clinton said.

Other veteran coaches agree.

“That’s very rare,” said Laguna Hills Coach Cliff Jarmie. “Sometimes a freshman comes in as a heavyweight and stays there, or someone like [Santa Ana’s Hugo] Guzman will remain in the lower weights, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that with a 160-pounder.”

Despite missing the first half of last season because of a broken ankle, Contreras reached the quarterfinals of the state meet before losing, 15-6, to eventual champion Josh Sherley of Bakersfield.

A week before at Masters, Contreras posted one of the meet’s biggest upsets, knocking off Yuri Kalika of Calvary Chapel. Kalika is one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state this season at 171 pounds. Another former rival in the 160-pound weight is Calvary Chapel’s Joe Williams, now the state’s No. 1-rated 189-pounder.

Among those expected to stand in Contreras’ way of a state title are Stephen Avila of Anderson, who won the Five Counties title Jan. 18, Brett Sloan of Vacaville, who defeated Contreras in a Five Counties semifinal, 11-8, before finishing second, Darrin Kirby of McKinleyville, and Jeff Baker of Bakersfield Centennial.

His nearest challenge is expected to come from Santa Ana’s Ray Mueller, but Contreras has already pinned him twice this season, including the third-place match at Five Counties. When Santa Ana defeated El Modena in Saturday’s dual-meet final, 38-22, the Saints forfeited the 160-pound match to Contreras and moved Mueller up a weight class.

Contreras was disappointed he didn’t have a chance to wrestle in the final. The Vanguards were awarded six points for the forfeit, but Contreras was hoping to earn them on the mat.

“When I wrestle [Mueller], it’s always a challenge,” he said.

Of the four losses by Contreras this season, two came at the 171-pound level, when Clinton experimented at the Reno tournament by moving the entire team up a weight class. Contreras’ most disappointing loss came against Daniel Atondo of Sunnyvale Fremont, who rallied to beat him at the Bakersfield tournament. Contreras avenged the loss in a quarterfinal match at Five Counties by technical fall.

“That felt great,” he said. “It just shows that I never should have lost to that guy.”

Clinton said the biggest difference between 160 and 171 pounds is the strength of the wrestler. Someone like Contreras, who has the strength to compete at 171 and the quickness to match opponents at 160, can have a distinct advantage.

“He’s probably going to be a lot stronger compared to a lot of his opponents,” Clinton said. “It also pays off that he has been to the big show.”

Contreras is looking forward to a third trip to the state meet March 7-8 in Stockton. He’s hoping to end his high school career by stepping to the top of the podium, accepting his first-place medal and enjoying the slow ride home.

“Krispy Kreme might be the first stop,” he said.