Fountain Valley’s Max Wilner wins first career Masters title

Reporting from Norwalk —  In a not-so-small way, the wrestling season began on Friday for Fountain Valley High sophomore Max Wilner.

The redemption portion of the campaign came with the beginning of the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.

Wilner entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the 160-pound bracket after winning the Northern Division crown, his second CIF individual title in as many years.

It was in the Masters Meet at Temecula Valley High last year that Wilner first experienced postseason defeat. A takedown was the margin of victory for Riverside King’s Adrian Salgado in that tournament.

“I was upset last year at Masters,” Wilner said. “I felt like I let that title slip right out of my hands.

“It upset me, but it also added fuel to the fire, basically. This year, I was the No. 1 [ranked] seed here. I wanted to dominate my way through.”

Wilner accomplished his goal, recording three pins and a major decision en route to claiming his first Masters title on Saturday at Cerritos College.

He also received a walkover in the quarterfinals.

After not placing in the CIF State wrestling championships last year, Wilner said that he was motivated by the opportunity to improve his seed for state. He entered the weekend ranked fourth in the state by The California Wrestler for 160-pounders.

Wilner defeated Bellflower St. John Bosco’s Louis Rojas 11-3 in the final. He hopes that the convincing win over a common opponent will help him surpass Bakersfield Frontier’s Max Aguirre, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the state.

“It’s a big goal of mine to place at state this year,” Wilner said. “I’m trying to win it. If I don’t, I’m at least coming home with a big bracket.

“The No. 3 seed at state from Frontier, he beat Rojas 7-2, so it was a goal of mine to beat Louis by more than he did. That puts me in the argument for getting the No. 3 seed at state as opposed to being the No. 4.”

Fountain Valley will be sending three individuals to the CIF State wrestling championships, which will begin Thursday and run through Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

Sean Solis and Zach Parker will be joining Wilner as the Barons’ qualifiers.

“I like that,” Parker said of joining his teammates at state. “Last year, we only had one qualifier, Max Wilner. This year, we have three. Next year, we’re going to have more.”

Parker, a freshman 113-pounder, pulled off an upset in the quarterfinals, defeating No. 1 seed San Marino’s Koa Ruiz by a 10-4 decision. The win punched Parker’s ticket to state. He placed sixth.

Solis went 3-2 in his matches to go on the mat. The Northern Division champion at 106 pounds, Solis advanced to the quarterfinals of the main draw in the Masters Meet. He placed seventh.

Fountain Valley’s Nico Damschen (170) and Newport Harbor’s Austin Osumi (195) each won in the third round of consolation to begin Saturday, but they experienced the agony of defeat in the blood round. Both of them lost in the semifinals of the ninth-place bracket, which determines the section’s final state berth in each weight class.

“It felt good to have a bunch of people here supporting me,” said Osumi, who was surrounded by teammates and coaches after his final match with the Sailors. “I feel like I did pretty good. I wasn’t really expecting to place. There is a lot of good competition, but I thought that I could. I’m just sad that it is over.”

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