Kid Lim

Steve Virgen

When the final day of the CIF Southern Division wrestling

championships came Newport Harbor High senior Kid Lim went on a

mission.

Lim, the seventh seed of the 119-pound division, knew he had to

finish fifth in order to qualify for the Masters Meet, which was the

goal he set before the season began. But the odds were stacked

against him.

Two days before the CIF Southern Division championships began, Lim

sprained his ankle while sparring. The ankle was still tender Feb.

20, but much better than before.

Lim received more adversity Feb. 20. He suffered a disappointing

loss to Santa Ana’s Josh Pacheco in the quarterfinals, but rather

than sulk, Lim became motivated. He opened the next day by pinning

Foothill’s Mike Vandal in 37 seconds in the third round of

consolation.

Lim moved on and pinned Cabrillo’s Steve Borchett in two minutes,

50 seconds. However, for the third time this season, Lim lost to

Sonny Siegal of Laguna Hills. If Lim would have won that would have

guaranteed qualifying for the Masters Meet.

So with his back against the wall again, Lim came out swinging,

or, as they say in wrestling, shooting. In the fifth-place match

against Freddie Valencia of Northview, Lim scored a thrilling 8-7

victory, amid cheers from Laguna Hills wrestlers.

In regard to team points in the CIF Southern Division

championships, Laguna Hills needed Northview to lose to that

119-pound division fifth-place match to have a better chance of

winning the team title. The Hawks’ wrestlers cheered loudly for Lim

and inspired the Newport senior.

“It was exciting,” said Lim, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week.

“I was real pumped up. I wanted it really bad. The crowd was

cheering. It made me want it even more with the crowd cheering for

me. I was surprised because it was Laguna Hills that was cheering.”

Lim was also thrilled with his victory in the intense match. The

score was tied, 5-5, in the third period and Valencia had the

advantage after he chose to be on top to begin the period. Lim was

seeking a reversal, something he was not able to gain in the entire

second period.

But with just under a minute left, Lim scored the two-point

reversal and he also picked up another point for an illegal move by

Valencia, for an 8-5 lead and held on for the win.

“It felt so great,” Lim said. “It was something I never felt

before.”

With the victory he became the third Lim to qualify for the

Masters Meet. Lim’s older brothers, Brad and Bruce, wrestled at

Newport Harbor. Brad, who is now an assistant for the Sailors, placed

fourth in CIF in 1997, but did not compete in the Masters Meet

because he dislocated his elbow in the third-place match, also in the

119-pound division.

Bruce, who wrestled in the 119-pound division as well, came within

one win from advancing to the state meet in 2001. The top eight from

Masters qualify for state competition.

Kid Lim has been inspired by his two older brothers.

“I can’t really say [I have learned] any one thing from them,” Lim

said. “I learned a lot of technique from both of them. I learned my

takedowns, especially from Bruce.”

Sailors Coach Dominic Bulone said Kid has had the most takedowns

(242) for a varsity career at Newport within the past five years.

Bulone has been keeping statistics since he became coach five years

ago.

Within the past five years, Lim has recorded the most career wins

(75) and team points (414.5) at Newport Harbor. Lim especially

enjoyed the win over Valencia. And, so did Bulone.

“I was relieved,” the Newport coach said. “I knew the Northview

kid was tough because they have such a great program. The thing I

liked the best about it was he won a close match. When it was 5-5 in

the third period. I was pulling my hair out. The fact that he pulled

it out in the end with 8-7 victory, gave him confidence going to

Masters. I knew he wanted to go so I was really happy for him.”