Fountain Valley, CdM earn seeds in CIF dual meet wrestling championships
The CIF Southern Section released the pairings for its wrestling dual meet championships on Wednesday, with five local programs advancing to the postseason.
There are four boys’ wrestling teams that qualified. Fountain Valley and Corona del Mar, which won team titles in their respective divisions during the 2019-20 season, lead the charge again.
Previously completed in a single day, the CIF dual meet wrestling championships will be contested one round at a time this year.
CIF Assistant Commissioner Thom Simmons said that the move to having the dual meet wrestling championships held over several days was brought on by the coronavirus and state public health guidelines.
“[To] the best of our knowledge, the last time that the dual wrestling championship was decided over several days was in 1994,” Simmons said in an email. “The CIF-SS then went to a one-day format. The problem was always gym availability, and we felt it could be done in one day.”
Additionally, the CIF individual wrestling championships will not take place, which means no Masters Meet for the section and no state tournament.
Boys’ wrestling competition is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with teams looking to keep their seasons alive through the finals on June 5.
Fountain Valley received the No. 4 seed in the Division 2 bracket. The Barons won the Surf League again this season, extending their league title streak to 10.
The host Barons rally from a 21-point deficit to defeat the Rams 31-30 on Saturday in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 dual meet wrestling championships.
In its Division 2 playoff opener, Fountain Valley (3-1) will square off with Beckman (4-3-2, Pacific Coast League at-large) at home. The Barons won the Division 3 championship against Long Beach Millikan 31-30 last season.
“Our kids really want to win it,” Barons coach Brad Woodbury said. “We got a tough division, and of course all the divisions are tough, so we’re just going to go one match at a time. We’re working hard. It’s a crazy year.”
Edison (2-1), an at-large selection out of the Surf League, will travel to take on Pacific Coast League champion Laguna Hills in another Division 2 tilt.
Corona del Mar (6-1) will not begin its title defense in Division 6 until the second round on May 29. The second-seeded Sea Kings have a first-round bye, and they will host the winner of Westlake (2-3, Marmonte League at-large) and Inland Valley League champion Menifee Heritage (4-1).
In the Division 6 title match last season, CdM topped Montebello 48-16.
“We can win it,” Sea Kings coach Mark Alex said. “It’s going to be tough, but we can win it. I’m happy with our No. 2 seed. [Top-seeded] Western is a really good team this year.”
Newport Harbor (2-5) fell to CdM in the Battle of the Bay match with the Wave League title on the line, but the Sailors got into the Division 6 bracket with an at-large bid. The Sailors will start at home against Cerritos (5-4, 605 League at-large).
In girls’ wrestling, Marina will host Norwalk Glenn (3-0) in a first-round match on Wednesday.
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