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    Esperanza boys wrestling dominates Centennial to win CIF-SS Division 2 dual meet title
    • February 6, 2025

    ANAHEIM – Esperanza’s boys wrestling team closed out strong, with three pins and a technical fall in the final five bouts, to wrap up a 54-7 romp over Corona Centennial for the CIF Southern Section Division 2 dual meet championship.

    “It feels good,” said Esperanza freshman Chris Arreola, who recorded a second-round technical fall at 136 pounds. “I’m happy our team got it done. We kind of shut them out, and everybody did their part.”

    The Aztecs, ranked 10th in the state by Calgrappler, won the first five matches for a 22-0 lead.

    The match started with the 144-pound match, and the Aztecs started strong. Mateo Centeno set the tempo when he opened with a quick takedown and near-fall, and led Rocco Godinez 9-0 after one round. He recovered from being put on his back in the second round and rolled to a 14-4 victory.

    Esperanza’s Dimetry Molina beat Pablo Hernanzez 13-5 at 150, then the Aztecs’ Maddox Herrera recorded the first of four falls with a second-round pin of Centennial’s Jesse Jimenez.

    Esperanza’s James Holiday followed with a 3-minute, 18-second pin at 165 pounds. The Aztecs’ Sammy Sanchez (106) got a takedown and near-fall in the final minute of the first round, then got his fall with a second left. Gianini Sanchez needed just 36 seconds to pin Gavin Salas at 113.

    Chris Arreola of Esperanza cruised to a second-round technical fall, one of five pins for the Aztecs in a 54-7 victory over Centennial of Corona in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Dual Meet Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 5. (Photo by Steve Dulas)
    Chris Arreola of Esperanza cruised to a second-round technical fall, one of five pins for the Aztecs in a 54-7 victory over Centennial of Corona in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Dual Meet Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 5. (Photo by Steve Dulas)

    Arreola went after Aiden Verrick of Centennial like a hungry dog, taking him down twice with near-fall points en route to a 16-2 first-round lead. One more takedown ended the bout 43 seconds into the second round.

    “I like scoring points in the match, but I’d rather get the pin for the team points,” Arreola said.

    The match was the latest stop in Arreola’s comeback. He missed a month of the season with a broken left wrist, he said.

    “I missed a couple of duals, and a couple of tournaments that could have gotten me higher in the rankings,” Arreola said. “After this, we’re going to go win our league title, we’re going to go win another Masters title, and we’re going to get it done at state.”

    The Aztecs seem to be poised for a run at state. They have seven wrestlers in the state rankings; those seven include four sophomores and three freshmen.

    Centennial had rolled into the final with two lopsided victories, but had nothing to cheer about until 190-pounder Keshaun White overpowered Aiden Shahrestani 13-3.

    The Huskies’ other victory came at 285, when Angel Rodriguez outlasted Brody Aguilar 4-1, getting a takedown with one second left in the third round.

     

     Orange County Register 

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