Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Bruce Lim: Risking life and Lim

Barry Faulkner

- Charging, whirling, pawing, lunging, dipping, tugging and

sprawling, Bruce Lim is the explosive eye of the storm on the wrestling

mat. But, ironically, it’s this aggressive, unrelenting approach that

also positions the Newport Harbor High senior dangerously on the edge.

“I get nervous,” Newport Harbor Coach Dominic Bulone said of watching

his star performer, whose propensity to push his opponents can, and

occasionally does, come back to bite him.

But, the rock-hard 5-foot-3 dervish, who has won 19 of 21 matches heading into tonight’s Sea View League-opening dual meet at Irvine,

obviously gets the better of the action the majority of the time.

And, in the middle of the swan song season of a an, as yet, uneventful

prep career (he was third last year at league finals in the 119-pound

class), he has deemed the potential rewards of his six-minute tsunamis

greater than the risks.

“I just want to take CIF this year,” said Lim, who finished second in

the 119-pound class at the 37-school Estancia Tournament, completed

Saturday.

His strong tournament showing, which included four victories and a

heartbreaking 10-8 overtime loss in the title match, earned him Daily

Pilot Athlete of the Week honors.

The seeds of Lim’s new-found confidence began in summer workout

sessions at various community colleges, when he discovered he was beating

opponents he previously deemed superior.

“I felt like I could be twice as good as I was last year, so I starter

training really hard,” Lim said. “I didn’t run at all last season and

I’ve been running every day, now, for months.”

Work ethic is only one attribute that drew praise from Lim’s coach.

“He’s quick, he knows a lot of moves, he attacks well and he counters

well,” Bulone said. “He’s also very good at going move to move, something

we call chain wrestling. He’s really fluid and smooth and takedowns are

definitely his strength.”

Executing the takedown -- starting from a neutral position, taking an

opponent to the mat and gaining control of him -- are how points are most

commonly scored.

“He has about 50 takedowns this season and he’s only allowed five,”

Bulone said. “Only two guys have taken him down and one of those was kind

of a lucky shot.”

Lim doesn’t rely on good fortune to dominate opponents. Instead, he

pounces panther-like toward taller foes, who typically submit to a blend

of strength and quickness uncommon for the lighter weight classes.

“I either attack all the time or, when guys shoot on me (lunging at

his legs to try to gain control for a takedown), I fight them off or

counter,” Lim, a Sailor co-captain, said.

His ability to take down foes, virtually at will -- he often allows

rivals a one-point escape, so he can execute more two-point takedowns --

usually creates big margins of victory.

Included among his tournament wins was a 15-2 semifinal verdict over a

highly regarded Omar Gaitan from Katella High.

“Normally, Bruce is very even-keeled,” Bulone said. “But, after he won

that match, he pumped his fist, because he knew it was a big win.”

An win even more beneficial to Lim’s confidence was a preseason

practice-room triumph over older brother Brad, a 2000 Harbor graduate who

won two Sea View wrestling titles.

“I got into wrestling because of my brother,” Bruce Lim said. “We

wrestle a lot at home in the living room and I had never really beaten

him. When I was a freshman and sophomore, he was my practice partner and

he really kicked my butt. To beat him, by one point, really pumped me

up.”

Bulone’s heart pumps harder when Lim competes.

“With his style, especially against the caliber of opponents he faced

in the Estancia Tournament, it doesn’t take but a little mistake to get

yourself in trouble,” Bulone said. “He lost a match earlier this year

when he kind of made a mental goof in the last few seconds. That match

made him think a little, which was a good thing. For the most part, he

wrestles very smart.”

Lim’s daily workouts, which include several sets of treadmill running

at a local fitness club, have helped create the kind of conditioning that

can sustain his exhaustive pace. His infrequent defeats fuel his dogged

determination.

“I’ve been watching the videotape of my loss (in the title match),”

Lim said. “I was a little disappointed not to win, but I guess I’ll just

have to work harder.”