Daily Pilot High School Male Athlete of the Week: Moreno never gives up
Newport Harbor High wrestler Xander Moreno is good at getting out of sticky situations.
That should come as no surprise. He is the son of a Marine, and among the many qualities that servicemen and women can pass on to their children, an indomitable will works out perfectly for sports.
Moreno’s father, Javier, served in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. Combat veterans excel at negotiating danger, and in some cases, they make life very uncomfortable for others.
The Sailors are happy to say that Xander Moreno has inherited those traits, making life miserable for those who step onto the mat with him.
“I’ve seen him get in trouble in a match,” Sailors Coach Dominic Bulone said. “Most wrestlers around would give up. They kind of give up on the position and reset, try to fix the problem from there, but he battles out of every situation.”
“No matter how bad it looks. If he’s about to give up a takedown or a reversal, he just fights out of that position. That’s unique in the high school ranks.”
Moreno is having a phenomenal season thus far. He is undefeated, and he has yet to surrender a takedown.
He has the attention of his brother, Xavier, who was a state-caliber wrestler in his time at Bullard High in Fresno.
“That’s amazing,” the proud older brother said. “That’s unheard of. That’s something that he wants to keep up. Keep that percentage high.”
“Every single takedown. That’s a big deal. I know he hasn’t lost, but I didn’t know that it was a 100% takedown rate.”
Xavier was a two-time state championship meet qualifier at Bullard, and he has been pursuing mixed martial arts for the past four years. He currently trains with Pacific Martial Arts.
As accomplished as his brother is in the sport, Xander says there is definitely a degree of sibling rivalry in play.
“I’m always wanting to beat my brother,” he said. “I want to get higher than him. That’s just brotherly competition.”
Moreno once watched his brother break an opponent’s collarbone at a very young age. That is one area that he will not be attempting to match his brother in.
“I don’t want to break the kid’s collarbone,” said Moreno, who remembered witnessing the injury when he was 8. “I still want to get in there and make him look like a fool and just dominate. I don’t want it to be close.”
If he wants to surpass his brother at any level in wrestling, he will have to maintain the standard that he has set this season. He is running out of time, as he plans to join the Air Force after high school.
The junior seemed certain that his mind wouldn’t change if a college knocked on his door and told him that they would like for him to wrestle at the next level.
“High school is where I want to stop,” he said. “I’m looking to go to the Air Force after I exit high school. I would want to focus more on my studies.”
Moreno went 5-0 in winning the 145-pound division of the Ed Spring Holiday Classic at Brea Olinda High last week. He dominated the opposition, scoring three pins and two major decisions.
Part of what has made Moreno so successful in the first month of the season is his adaptability.
“I just look for what’s available,” he said. “There’s not always one move. I don’t feel like there is one move that you can always go to. Every wrestler is different.”
Beginning his wrestling career in a hotbed of the sport may also be a factor. Moreno spent his first two years at Clovis North, and he began wrestling in the fifth grade while at Bullard Elementary.
Clovis North is in the Tri-River League in the CIF Central Section. Seven of the 14 state champions in 2015 came from schools in that league.
In his latest duel, Moreno competed at the 160-pound level. He weighed in at 152 pounds, and wrestlers are allowed to go up one weight class.
He won his match, 22-3, on Wednesday against Corona del Mar. The victory helped the Sailors keep the Golden Singlet, the prize fought for in the Battle of the Bay, for the sixth straight year.
The toughest bouts of the season have yet to come. The Five Counties Tournament is three weeks away.
Within his regular weight of 145, Moreno could see Fountain Valley’s Karson Ayres on Jan. 10. Ayres is the top-ranked wrestler for that weight class in Orange County.
“He’s ranked in the top 10 in the state,” Bulone said of Ayres. “I think that, just within our league, that’s going to be the guy to be a good measuring stick for him.”
Xander Moreno
Born: April 22, 1999
Hometown: Hanford, Calif.
Height: 5 feet 6
Weight: 152 pounds
Sport: Wrestling
Year: Junior
Coach: Dominic Bulone
Favorite food: Arroz con leche (Mexican rice pudding)
Favorite movie: “Training Day”
Favorite athletic moment: Last season with Clovis North, he had the opportunity to wrestle against Navonte Demison of Bakersfield, who went on to become the state champion in the 138-pound weight class.
Week in review: Moreno went undefeated in his five matches to win the 145-pound title in the Ed Spring tournament. He had two major decisions, and he pinned the remainder of his opponents.
