Marmonte grapplers get their revenge

Fans turn testy at league finals


TURNING UP THE HEAT—The action was fast and furious during last weekend's Marmonte League Wrestling Finals at a sweltering Simi Valley High gym. Calabasas' Randy Horowitz, above left, gets the best of Thousand Oaks' Eric Lawson in the 162-pound final, while Westlake's Jason Villavisencio, below, has Royal's Brett Wilson in a face-down no-win situation in the 114-pound championship.

TURNING UP THE HEAT—The action was fast and furious during last weekend’s Marmonte League Wrestling Finals at a sweltering Simi Valley High gym. Calabasas’ Randy Horowitz, above left, gets the best of Thousand Oaks’ Eric Lawson in the 162-pound final, while Westlake’s Jason Villavisencio, below, has Royal’s Brett Wilson in a face-down no-win situation in the 114-pound championship.


Love them or hate them, Royal High’s wrestling squad proved once again why they are the cream of the crop in the Marmonte League.

During the Marmonte League Wrestling Finals held at Simi Valley High last Saturday, six Highlanders claimed individual championships, matching last year’s effort by RHS.

Royal had a league-record nine wrestlers win titles in 2006.

“Whether or not this is the best team I’ve ever coached is still yet to be decided, but I’m definitely very proud of them today,” Royal head coach Rich Carrillo said.

One of the biggest matches of the day was senior Sergio Cortez of Royal going up against Agoura senior John Combs in the 154pound weight division.

Cortez had been very vocal earlier in the year, stating in the Simi Valley Acorn that, “In my mind, we’ve already won league.”

A few weeks after the statement, Cortez was pinned by Combs in the 160-pound weight division during a league match.

In the rematch, however, it was Cortez who came away with a 13-6 win.

“I have all the respect in the world for Combs,” Cortez said after the win.

“Earlier in the season, he beat me fair and square. I have to give him credit, because after that loss he became my motivation. He’s the reason for any success I will have this season.”

Although the Royal faithful were thrilled to see Cortez defend his title, not everyone in attendance shared the same feelings.

Upon winning the match and receiving his medal, Cortez was showered with a wave of boos.

“I have no idea why (the boos) occurred,” Cortez said. “Like I said, I have all the respect in the world for Combs. I feel fine, and if people don’t like me, so be it.”

Agoura head coach Dennis Ritterbush said there’s no animosity between Combs and Cortez.

“I don’t think (the boos) had anything to do with Combs,” Ritterbush said. “I don’t know for sure why people were booing, but I’m guessing it’s just because Royal is a very good team, and the fans were sick of constantly seeing them win.”

Carrillo was also surprised at the jeering, but refused to blame crosstown rival Simi Valley.

“Simi was hosting the event, sure, but all the schools in the league were represented,” Carrillo said.

“I have no idea why it happened, and I was a little surprised it did. Whatever people in the stands want to do, that’s out of my control. All I can control is myself, and my kids.”

Cortez wasn’t the only grappler to take home hardware. Here’s a rundown of the day’s other winners:

105 pounds – Dean Skidmore

(Royal) pins Shane Murphy

(Simi Valley)

Royal showed a sign of things to come throughout the tournament when Skidmore pinned Murphy with five seconds left in the first period.

“I didn’t want to give up any early points, so I went out very aggressive,” Skidmore said. “I just tried to keep the pressure on him throughout the match and stick with the key moves that I knew.”

114 pounds – Jason Villavisencio (Westlake)

defeats Brett Wilson

(Royal), 8-3

Villavisencio lost in the 105pound finals last year, but rebounded in his senior year by defeating Wilson.

“Last year I was not mentally into wrestling the way I was this season,” Villavisencio said. “This time I was in a whole different state of mind, and I knew there was no stopping me.

“I knew (Wilson) had a very good double-leg move, so I tried to stay away from that. My cross face worked very well for me.”

121 pounds – Behdod Katebian (Thousand Oaks)

pins Kyle Armour

(Simi Valley)

Katebian pinned Armour with 10 seconds remaining in the first period thanks to some good advice from his older brother, Behrod.

“My brother won his league finals match last year, but it was basically his worst wrestling of the season,” Katebian said. “He told me make sure I had a good warm-up and to make sure I was focused going into the match. The advice really paid off.”

127 pounds – Saul Garcia

(Moorpark) defeats

Justin Crane (Agoura),

18-6 in major decision

Garcia, who Moorpark coaches call ATM (Automatic Takedown Machine), had no problems with Crane. Garcia took a 10-2 lead after two periods and never looked back.

“All my life I’ve wanted this,” Garcia said. “All the training I went though during the season has made this moment feel so good.”

132 pounds – Ben Comfort

(Thousand Oaks) defeats

Erick Pahua (Royal), 11-7

Comfort rebounded well from a finals loss to Moorpark’s Kyle Nance in the 127-pound division a year ago to defeat Pahua.

Comfort established a 7-2 lead after the first period and cruised from there on.

137 pounds – Nicholas

Martinez (Royal) pins

Ben Wolhaupter (Agoura)

Martinez became the first of what would be four consecutive finals wins for Royal when he pinned Wolhaupter with 1:18 remaining in the final period.

Martinez had a 5-2 lead at the time of the pin.

142 pounds – Blake Ginsburg (Royal) defeats Collin Bedwell

(Moorpark), 6-4

CortezCombes may have received the headlines, but the closest match of the day belonged to Ginsburg and Bedwell.

The match remained deadlocked at two after the second period, but Ginsburg quickly gained a 42 lead as the final period began.

Bedwell used a strong move to tie the match at four with 19 seconds remaining, but couldn’t hold on as Ginsburg came back with a strong move of his own with three seconds remaining to earn the win.

“I was just so glad to win this for my mom, Carol, who passed away in 2000,” Ginsburg said. “I knew I won when I started to hear the crowd, especially my uncle, Mark, go crazy cheering at the end of the match.”

147 pounds – Mike Dumelle

(Royal) defeats Cameron Kanney (Thousand Oaks),

16-5 in major decision

Dumelle was in a different weight class when he defeated Mike Shai of Calabasas last year for a title, but the results were the same this time around.

Dumelle wrestled very aggressively, taking a 9-4 lead in the first period. He was one of three Highlanders to defend their title successfully.

162 pounds – Randy Horowitz

(Calabasas) defeats Eric Lawson (Thousand Oaks),

15-0 on technical fall

Horowitz had no problems avenging an early-season loss to Lawson by claiming a 15-0 win.

“I really wanted to work on my technique,” Horowitz said. “(Lawson) is a strong kid, and I had to play it smart to defeat him.”

173 pounds – Matt Rulon (Royal) defeats Kyle Hasan

(Simi Valley), 10-0

After claiming the 191-pound title last year, Rulon went down a weight class this season and easily defeated Hasan.

“Watching my teammates win during the day really helped me,” Rulon said. “It helped me focus, because I didn’t want to be left out of the pack.”

191 pounds – Brandon Jansen

(Thousand Oaks)

defeats Chris Organ

(Simi Valley), 10-9

After leading 10-6 with a few seconds remaining in the third period, Jansen survived a late comeback by Organ to hold on for the title. Thousand Oaks had seven wrestlers reach the finals, second only to Royal with eight.

217 pounds – Phillip Hanley (Thousand Oaks) defeats Alex

Melancon (Calabasas), 5-4

Hanley put a move on Melancon with 10 seconds remaining to earn a 5-4 win.

With three of the four Thousand Oaks title winners returning next season, and Royal graduating five of its six title winners, fans may have seen an early glimpse of a shift in power in the Marmonte.

Heavyweight – Andrew Singer

(Moorpark) defeats Jeff

Gideon (Thousand Oaks), 4-3

After taking a 31 lead heading into the final period, Singer, a freshman, held on to defeat Gideon by registering a point in the final 15 seconds for the win.

“It feels great to be a champion, and I’m very glad I won,” Singer said. “During the final moments I just tried to stay smart and fight my hardest.”

Photos by WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers

Photos by WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers

JOE BINOYA/Acorn Newspapers THE OLD GAME—Ethan Cousins of Belmont Shores makes a futile attempt to stop J.D. Nemit of Calabasas as he charges ahead during a U-10 rugby game at A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas.

JOE BINOYA/Acorn Newspapers THE OLD GAME—Ethan Cousins of Belmont Shores makes a futile attempt to stop J.D. Nemit of Calabasas as he charges ahead during a U-10 rugby game at A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas.

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