Warriors 3-6 in wrestling dual meets for season

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Fallbrook High School’s wrestling team finished the dual meet season with a 3-6 overall record, although the Warriors were 0-5 in Palomar League competition.

Poway High School has won a CIF division championship every year since 1987, and the Warriors concluded the regular season Feb. 3 in the Titans’ gym. Poway’s margin of victory was 81-0.

“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, but it is what it is and I’m proud of our kids,” said Fallbrook coach Cristian Vera.

Vera has let his wrestlers know that regular-season matches should be considered practice for the CIF tournament. “We went in with that same mentality,” he said of facing Poway.

“The reality is Poway is the team we have to beat,” Vera said. “The mentality we had going in is this is our first opportunity to see what we can do against them.”

Fallbrook’s junior varsity wrestlers were also able to experience Poway. Vera noted that the Warriors and the Titans utilize the same techniques. “They don’t do anything different than we do,” Vera said. “They do it at a much higher level and much more consistently.”

Six team points are given for a victory by pin or by a forfeit, which usually occurs when one team doesn’t field a competitor in a weight class rather than when a grappler is disqualified. The varsity and junior varsity combined had 17 matches. Poway won all 17 with 16 of those being by pin.

Ethan Aguila wrestled in the 154-pound class. “Ethan actually had kind of a pretty good match and he even had his opponent on his back for a short period of time,” Vera said.

For individual matches, one point is given for an escape, two points are awarded for a takedown, a reversal, or a near fall lasting two to five seconds, and a near fall lasting at least five seconds is worth three points. Aguila lost a 7-4 decision.

“In many ways it was kind of a blessing in disguise,” Vera said of facing Poway. “There’s tons of benefits.”

In nonleague competition, Fallbrook defeated Orange Glen, Valley Center, and Oceanside while losing to San Pasqual by a 40-39 margin.