Poway Wrestling Team Just Keeps On Winning : High schools: Dual match winning streak stands at 154.

By MARTIN HENDERSON

Jan. 31, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

POWAY — An omnipresent green baseball cap is perched on Wayne Branstetter’s head. The gray P on it stands for Poway, but it could easily stand for perseverance. The school’s wrestling program has gone 154 consecutive matches without a loss.

Poway. Perseverance.

Pretty simple.

The team’s only state championship, in 1986, is proclaimed on one wall of the wrestling room. Facing it are more than a hundred names of section champions and place-winners from the masters and state meets. Adjacent is the Wall of Fame, where a photo of Shane Rosselle, the only state champion, hangs prominently.

Inside this room Branstetter has forged dynasties from boys. He has done it with a nurturing attitude, solid fundamentals and a passion for the sport.

The Titans haven’t lost this season. They won the El Dorado Invitational, El Rancho Dual Meet Tournament, the El Cajon Invitational, the Monte Vista Invitational and the Five Counties Invitational. They are perfect in 17 dual meets.

“We’ve won everything in sight,” Branstetter said. “So far.”

The Streak, the 154 dual matches without a loss, began in January 1977. There were two close calls, in 1980 when heavyweight Bob Connolly won by forfeit and Poway tied Vista and in 1989 when Poway clung to a 29-27 lead against rival Mt. Carmel and underdog heavyweight Richard Earl defeated Tom Kempf to preserve the victory.

More close calls loom this weekend, when the Titans will make news one way or the other. They will either lose a dual meet for the first time in more than a decade or establish themselves as the national power. The Cowboy Classic dual meet tournament in Stillwater, Okla., is a showcase for some of the best high school programs in the country. Poway will be there. So will Midwest City, Okla., ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. Wrestling magazine. So will Edmond, Okla., ranked second in the state. So will Clovis, ranked No. 1 in California. “There’s not going to be any easy matches there, that’s for sure,” Branstetter said.

But Poway’s not an easy match, either.

The trip to Stillwater, home of the Wrestling Hall of Fame, presents Poway’s greatest challenge.

“You’ve got to beat somebody to be somebody,” said Isaac Romberg, the 152-pounder.

“We should have a good chance,” said Byron Campbell, returning masters champion at 145 and one of only three seniors on the Poway varsity. “Like coach says, we wrestle just as hard as they do.”

At practice last week, Branstetter was telling his team that Oklahoma wrestlers like to ride the legs. He went through a myriad of drills and explanations detailing defensive strategies. Branstetter has done some research, talked to a few people and tried to impart his knowledge to the 13 athletes who will defend The Streak.

But it’s not always easy.

Near the end of Friday’s practice, Branstetter suddenly asked parents observing the session to leave the wrestling room. He was quiet when he made the request. You figure it was the calm before the storm.

“I’ve never heard the guy raise his voice,” said assistant coach Al Torretto, who has been a part of the program since the 1973-74 season. “He’s more of a slow burner. He’s got that quiet intensity. He’s talked very firmly, but he’s not a guy that just gets in a guy’s face and screams at the top of his lungs.”

Dick Campbell, Byron Campbell’s father, has been watching practices for four years. He said it was the first time he’s been asked to leave.

“I just needed to talk to the boys and didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable,” Branstetter said. “We had to make a little mental adjustment.”

When the junior varsity exited 15 minutes later, the varsity was running sprints inside the building.

“He gets mad sometimes,” Byron Campbell said. “He gets on us. I remember doing sprints right at the beginning of practice because he didn’t like the way we were paying attention.

“Sometimes he wonders if he’s not more dedicated than we are. You will be dedicated or you won’t be on the team.”

And closed-door sessions serve as little reminders.

The Streak.

Al Dorris coached the first 23 victories. He finished the ’77 season with a league title, won another one the following year--the fourth in a row and his first section championship--then retired to grow fruit in Valley Center.

“You have to compliment Al Dorris for saying, ‘We’ve built this program up to a certain point and I don’t want to see it fall down,’ ” Torretto said. “Wayne was Al Dorris’ pick.

“When Wayne took over, the goals became bigger. He said, ‘Now we’re going to try to win the state. We want to be the best team in San Diego County and we want to place at the state meet.’ I would have to say Al Dorris worked hard, but Wayne worked that much harder. Wayne lives and breathes wrestling, whereas Al had other interests.”

Branstetter, the wrestler, won the Channel League title three times while competing at Oxnard Hueneme High, and reached the Southern Section finals his senior season. He won the Western State Conference championship while at Ventura College and took seventh in the state at 142 pounds. His junior season at Chico State, he placed second in the Far Western Conference and reached the third round of the NCAA Championships before losing. A dislocated shoulder prevented him from competing his senior season. He’s a teacher today because he wanted to be a coach.

This all-consuming passion sets Branstetter apart from other coaches.

“He sets the standards for everyone else to try to reach,” Mt. Carmel Coach Jose Campo said. “He’s the hardest working coach in the county, and his kids are the hardest workers all summer and in the freestyle tournaments. He’s definitely someone to look up to.

“I hope the people of Poway recognize what they have in him. I think a lot of his victories are taken for granted. There’s no other sport or team that can compare with what he’s done.”

There are times when Branstetter’s passion exceeds his own acceptable limits.

“When the scale tips to where you want it more than the kids want it, that’s when you’ve gone over the line,” Branstetter said. “There’s been a few times when I’ve been that way. That’s when you have to realize the kid you’re dealing with is not in the same frame of mind that you’re in. When I’ve had to slow my motor down is when I have to remind myself this kid is 14, 15, 16 years old and is learning how to drive, he’s trying to buy insurance, he’s just found a girlfriend.”

Romberg, who has a 27-3 record with a school-record 25 pins, says wrestling is all he has in school.

“It gives me confidence, a sense of accomplishment,” he said. “My grades aren’t the best and I’m not very good in any other sports.”

Romberg, like Campbell and heavyweight Corey Farkas, is one of the premier wrestlers in the county. Farkas is a Cadet National Freestyle and Greco-Roman Champion.

“He’s a father figure who shows them teamwork, pride, dedication, discipline, how to communicate,” Poway Principal Fred Van Leuven said. “The program is so much more than just a wrestling program. It’s teaching kids life and skills that are going to carry over to adulthood which will help them be successful, which is what high school athletics should be all about.”

Jake Leszczynski’s father, Mark, was the athletic trainer at Poway. After his father died early last year, Jake, then a sophomore, suffered. His grades slipped from a 3.5 grade point average to below 2.0. He lost direction in his life. Before the season began, he lost control of his car on a curve at 90 miles per hour--twice the posted speed--nearly killing teammate Tong Lee, his brother Adam and his girlfriend, Angie Daffer. Leszczynski, 16, was the least injured. None of the boys could compete this year. Branstetter and Torretto, who had tried nurturing him through the loss of his father, stepped in again.

“They helped me get through it, they gave me some advice,” Leszczynski said. “They told me how my life was going at the time and how I should take responsibility. I was confused and had a lot of anger in me. I was headed downhill.

“They told me that life goes on and you have to pick up the pieces.”

This time, the heart-to-heart talk had an impact.

“He was going down the wrong path,” Branstetter said. “We were trying to put the reins on him and send him down the right road. Coaches do that a lot. Kids, all they’re concerned about is the here and now.”

It’s been 17 years since Branstetter has lost a dual meet. His personal unbeaten streak, dating to Oxnard Channel Islands, is 170 matches.

“But it’s not all winning,” he said. “You have to find other reasons to be coaching to keep you in it that long. That gets down to the basic relationship you have with a kid, the closeness you have and in teaching them how to win and how to be a good person along the way.

“Wrestling is like a little microcosm of life. Even though it’s a game, there are little truths and basic principles that can be applied to everything you do in life.”

Van Leuven is in his second year at the school. He has noticed that Branstetter takes his athletes seriously.

“His greatest attribute is his never giving up on kids, his confidence in them,” Van Leuven said. “He sees the best in them and he’s going to get the best out of every kid.

“He devotes as much time to the kids in the lower levels as he does the stars, driving those kids to be the best they can.”

Branstetter’s own perseverance won’t allow him to lose interest in an athlete once he’s made a commitment to the program. The Streak, the tradition, the champions are evidence of athletes willing to put in the extra work, just like the coach.

“He’s definitely our friend,” said Rich Salo, the 112-pounder. “We go over to his house. If we want to go running on our own, we ask him to come with us. If we just need somebody to talk to, he’s always there.”

“Basically, a kid’s a kid,” Branstetter said. “They have basic needs and are searching for a sense of belonging, and I can give it to them.

“The streak is something we’re proud of, but I don’t dwell on it at all,” Branstetter said. “Other people bring it up more often than I think about it. I’d much rather win the state title than win in Oklahoma.”

Since Branstetter began at Poway in 1978-79, his team has won eight section titles. The 1986 team that won the state championship, but was stripped of the section title because Brian Woods wrestled up three weight classes--instead of the allowable two--and finished fourth in the section meet. Had he not placed, no one would have known and the Titans would be nine-time defending champs. But there are plenty of other championship moments, like the nine masters titles and three Five Counties titles to go along with the state championship.

The 1991 team is 17-0 despite the proliferation of underclassmen. Campbell, Romberg and Trent Harris are the only seniors on the team. They are joined by six juniors and four sophomores. Early in the season, while winning the El Cajon Invitational, Branstetter admitted winning took on new meaning this year.

“You want to savor them all because you don’t know how many more (victories) there will be,” he said. “I used to take winning for granted. I don’t anymore.”

The four sophomores are part of the reason. It’s not a secret that Poway’s strength is in its upper weights. The lower weights need to perform well if The Streak is to remain intact.

Salo, one of those sophomores, met Branstetter while a part of the feeder program at Twin Peaks Middle School. He said he was aware of Poway’s tradition, but the pressure to win, to carry on the tradition, was self-imposed.

“The coaches just wanted us to wrestle our best,” he said.

Salo, Steve Lee (103 pounds), John Lee (125) and Itai Sher (130) are the sophomores on the team. The problem they have isn’t with talent or technique, but with confidence, and they provide the key to Poway’s fortunes in Oklahoma.

“I’m sure (the Oklahoma teams) have some youth too,” Branstetter said. “They’re high school kids, just like we are. At Five Counties, we saw some awfully good wrestlers and we won that. I don’t know how good they are in Oklahoma, but you’ve got to believe in your guys.”

Branstetter has proven he believes in his athletes. Persistently.