Hueneme Doesn’t Have to Go Begging

SAN FERNANDO — Hueneme High wrestling Coach Juan Flores begged to enter his team into the San Fernando tournament.

His team rewarded him for the effort. The Vikings advanced all but two of their wrestlers into either medal matches or consolation finals, including three to finals Saturday at San Fernando High.

Hueneme, coming off Thursday’s upset of previously undefeated and defending Pacific View League champion Camarillo, won the meet by outscoring runner-up Lemoore, 164 1/2-152.

Cesar Cortez won the 140-pound title for the Vikings, decisioning Fernando Uribe of San Fernando, 14-3. Both wrestlers effectively countered on both offense and defense, but Cortez was able to survive being put on his back twice. He was able to build his lead with quick takedowns.

“[Uribe] matched up well,” Cortez said. “He was a good wrestler. I wasn’t worried. I knew I had it under control, but I didn’t want to get put on my back and lose late in the match.”

Ramiro Ruiz of Hueneme reached the final but was pinned by Jody Martinez of Lemoore, and heavyweight Pedro Perez of Hueneme won a decision over Marc Gibson of Mira Costa.

Ramon Perry of San Fernando pinned John Collins of Lancaster in the final seconds for the 145-pound title. Perry had Collins on his back for more than a minute before he was able to get the call from the official.

Will German of San Fernando defeated Ricky Brannon of North Torrance, 3-2, to win the 171-pound division.

German cruised through the preliminaries, dispatching three opponents in a combined 2:03.

In the semifinals, he pinned Brad Wolfenstein of Highland in 19 seconds.

Mike Estrada of Highland won the 112-pound title, taking a 7-6 decision from John Tran of Thousand Oaks.

Estrada (26-6) was a Times’ All-Valley selection last season at 103.

Camarillo junior Jake Nishimura, competing at 103 pounds, continued his impressive season. Nishimura has filled a void left by the ineligibility of Hank Robles.

Robles would have moved up to 112 or 119 pounds, giving Camarillo one of the region’s best one-two punches in the lighter divisions.

Nishimura beat Reggie Ballesteros of Lemoore, 2-0, in the 103 final.

Ballesteros gave Nishimura few scoring opportunities until he was penalized for locking hands midway through the third period.

Trailing, 1-0, Ballesteros chose to relinquish control, giving Nishimura another point for an escape.