Daily Pilot Wrestling Dream Team: TJ McDonnell first to top them all at Fountain Valley
Fortune favors the brave, never far removed from fear.
TJ McDonnell, a decorated senior wrestler at Fountain Valley High, had accomplished nearly everything one can in high school, but in his mind, he had plenty to lose.
For as long as he could remember, the dream had been to win a state championship. If successful, he would be the first in school history to do so.
“I was just so scared of not winning,” McDonnell said. “So scared of losing. I knew that I had done too much in my life with that one goal in mind to waste a second preparing to accomplish it. A couple months before the [state] tournament, I was having trouble sleeping at night, just felt like I was about to wrestle the match in my head.
“I was nervous, getting cold sweats, getting shaky. I was just a mess because ever since I was 6 years old, the goal had been to be a state champion.”
McDonnell had hoped to check that box as a junior, when he finished third in the 182-pound bracket. Down to his last chance, he felt like he could not do enough.
With the determination of a fighter, McDonnell battled his nerves and his opponents until he was back on the main stage. Then, he said, a calm came over him.
“Once I got there, all those nerves that I had been feeling months prior had just disappeared,” McDonnell said. “I started looking around and seeing everything from a different perspective, honestly, like I never have before at any competition. I just started to really take everything in and tell myself that I wanted to remember every part of it.”
It would be a weekend to remember, as McDonnell navigated through six matches to win the 182-pound title in the CIF State individual wrestling championships in Bakersfield. McDonnell pulled out a 5-4 decision over Moreno Valley Canyon Springs’ Sonny Kling to win it.
A late reversal gave McDonnell the match, and it reversed his fortunes at the state finals.
McDonnell is the Daily Pilot Wrestler of the Year for the second year in a row. The Oregon State signee won his third Sunset Conference and Southern Section individual wrestling championships, as well as his second Masters Meet title.
“In the last four years, TJ has been a team leader from the start and a role model for the entire team,” Fountain Valley coach Brad Woodbury said. “TJ has raised the bar in the Fountain Valley wrestling room. Now, Fountain Valley wrestling asks who is going to be the next state champ, and that is a huge impact on this program. He has had a great career at Fountain Valley, and we are excited to see what he does at the college level.”
As a senior, McDonnell went 39-1 overall, claiming titles at the Cossarek Classic, the Mann Classic and Fountain Valley’s host Five Counties tournament in the regular season. He did not suffer defeat in 2023.
“I definitely knew this year that I was setting an example for the rest of the guys on the team,” McDonnell added. “I could see them looking over at me during practice. … I know that they all knew how badly I wanted it, and I am glad that I was able to show them exactly what it takes. When you want it that bad, all you can do is just give it everything you got, and hopefully it will work out for you.”
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brad Woodbury
Fountain Valley
Fountain Valley has enjoyed quite a decade, having won four CIF individual wrestling championships titles and a CIF dual meet wrestling title since 2015. Woodbury has seen them all, including a return to glory in beating Hesperia 282-221 for the Inland Division team title this year.
FIRST TEAM
Anthony Lucio
113 | Fountain Valley | Jr.
As Fountain Valley added another section individual wrestling championships title to its coffers, Lucio provided key lowerweight points in claiming the crown at 113 pounds. Lucio (28-8) also topped the gold bracket at Masters, before placing sixth at the state meet.
Haden Hernandez
126 | Marina | Sr.
Hernandez kept one of the busiest schedules in the area, accruing 54 wins in 63 matches. His consistency and endurance earned him four tournament titles in the regular season. The Missouri Valley College signee capped his senior season with titles in the Sunset League and Inland Division finals, before a 4-3 showing in the state meet saw him place eighth.
Carissa Qureshi
126 | Marina | Sr.
A trio of bracket winners propelled Marina to its second state championship as a team in as many years, as Marina bested Walnut 114-88. Qureshi (37-0) was merciless, holding her opponents scoreless in five victories by fall to fulfill her destiny as the top seed in the state tournament.
Hercules Windrath
138 | Fountain Valley | Jr.
Windrath started the season on fire with titles in the Cossarek Classic and Mann Classic at 152 pounds. The Cal Poly commit dropped down two weight classes for the postseason, and it culminated in him winning the 138-pound title in the Inland Division finals and placing sixth at state. He sported an overall record of 38-8.
Duda Rodrigues
150 | Newport Harbor | Jr.
Local girls’ wrestling shined with four individual state champions. Among those wrestlers, only Rodrigues did not compete for two-time defending state champion Marina. Rodrigues (36-0) kept pace with Qureshi, authoring an undefeated season of her own. She conceded just one point in her five matches at the state meet.
Saiheron Preciado-Meza
189 | Marina | Sr.
A transfer from Lakewood, Preciado-Meza was inserted into the Marina lineup and quickly became a vital piece of the Vikings’ repeat efforts. Bound for the University of the Cumberlands, she pinned all five foes she squared off with at state. Preciado-Meza (33-1) took her only loss in the Queen of the Hill at Corona, then ran the table with six tournament titles thereafter.
Eugenio Franco
195 | Corona del Mar | Jr.
Franco, a verbal commit to Cal Poly, has proven that dominant wrestlers run in the family. His older brother, Emilio, now in the wrestling program at San Francisco State, was seen at his matches with some regularity. Franco went 52-8 with 18 pins. The runner-up to Fountain Valley’s Ryland Whitworth in the CIF finals, Franco topped the gold bracket at Masters before turning the tables on his league rival in the consolation semifinals en route to a third-place finish at state.
Ryland Whitworth
195 | Fountain Valley | Jr.
An imposing figure, Whitworth continues to be a tough wrestler to score against. Whitworth (39-6) racked up six titles, including a run of four in a row from the Sunset League finals through the Masters blue bracket. He wound up placing fifth at state.
Destiny Marquez
235 | Marina | Sr.
Marquez put the finishing touches on a triumphant trio for Marina at the state finals, capping it in dramatic fashion with a 1-0 decision over Alhambra Mark Keppel’s Allie Phillips in the championship match. She had a 37-2 overall record. Marquez will be joining forces with Preciado-Meza at the University of the Cumberlands.
SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year, Weight
Hunter Jauregui, Fountain Valley, Fr., 106
Adrian Jimenez, Marina, Sr., 113
Presley Anderson, Marina, Sr., 116
Bach Le, Edison, Sr., 120
Demian Pryima, Newport Harbor, So., 120
Loscar Riestra, Corona del Mar, Sr., 132
Anthony Manno, Newport Harbor, So., 145
Antonio Aramburu, Corona del Mar, Jr., 152
Zion Hernandez, Corona del Mar, Jr., 160
Khale McDonnell, Fountain Valley, So., 170
Jeremy Kanter, Laguna Beach, Sr., 182
David Calix, Costa Mesa, Sr., 220
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