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Golden wrestlers well represented in Masters

Dave Shelburne, Staff Writer

Four area wrestlers are representing the Golden League in the Masters Meet, the final Southern Section qualifier for the State Meet.

League champions Josh Purpos (125) of Highland, Eric Timson (140) of Antelope Valley, Giovanni Sarran (275) of Palmdale and Lance Plunkett (215) of Lancaster began competition Friday in the two-day Masters competition at Fountain Valley High in Orange County.

The top eight finishers in the Masters earn berths in the State Meet, scheduled for March 3-4 at Bakersfield.

Timson, who has lost just three times - by a total of four points this season - entered the Masters as the Southern Section's Central Division 140-pound champion, following a 5-0 performance in last week's two-day divisional at Brea Olinda High.

Timson (37-3) took the No. 3 seeding into that 24-wrestler field, received a first-round bye, then scored a 16-1 technical fall over Enrique Razo of Katella, pinned Dan Kennedy of Villa Park and posted a 9-7 semifinal win over second-seeded Sam Barnhart before defeating top-seeded Josh Garcia of El Dorado 9-5 in the title match.

The toughest bout by far for the three-year Antelope Valley captain came in his semifinal win over Barnhart, a sophomore who held a two-point lead with seconds remaining in the final regulation period before Timson scored a two-point reversal to send the match into overtime.

Sarran, a junior who took top-seeding in the heavyweight division at Brea Olinda, pinned his first two opponents - Justin Williams of Santa Monica and Bobby Sanders of Victor Valley - before being pinned by unseeded Ryan Hoover of Hesperia in the semifinals.

Hoover went on to with the 275 title with a 5-1 decision over Canyon's Josh Solis, who had defeated Quartz Hill senior Jason Fonzi in the other semifinal, pinning the Golden League runner-up.

Both area heavyweights then dropped into the consolation bracket, where Serran and Fonzi won their opening bouts to set up their sixth meeting of the season - for the final Masters Meet berth, which Serran secured on an injury

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They wound up 3-3 for the season in an individual rivalry that was one of the best in years at any weight by Golden League wrestlers.

Fonzi's Quartz Hill teammate, junior Russell Carlin, advanced unseeded out of the section 171-pound weight class to earn his Masters berth and took a 40-8 record into

Friday's first-round competition.

Carlin won his first two matches in the section final at Brea, prevailing by decision over Danny Reyes of Apple Valley 12-4 and Frank Gonyea of Brea 11-2 before losing to Sultana sophomore Joe Mitchell 11-6 in the semifinals.

Carlin then won three consecutive matches in the losers' bracket - pinning Mike Campos of Loara, taking a 7-1 decision over Mark Kosier Kennedy and pinning Sultana's Mitchell - to finish fourth.

Two-time Golden League champion Plunkett took claimed the area's final Masters Meet berth at Brea Olinda, placing third at 215 after going undefeated into the semifinals.

Plunkett, seeded fourth, opened with consecutive pins over Will Stephens of El Modena, Mason Schmidt of Valencia and league rival Ryan Cambaliza of Littlerock before being pinned by top-seeded Zac Sweeney of Sultana.

The Lancaster senior then posted a 12-1 decision over El Modena's Stephens in a consolation-bracket rematch and pinned Homer Riviera of West Torrance in the third-place final to secure the Masters Meet berth.

Rivera had eliminated Cambaliza 12-2 two matches shy of a consolation match for a Masters berth.

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