Eagles Are Set for Holiday Season

Josh Holiday sees two ways he could react to the team he has inherited. He can wince because of the high expectations he will face as its first-year coach or simply smile.

Great expectations are nothing new for the Santa Ana Calvary Chapel wrestling program, so Holiday chooses the latter.

“I like what I’ve stepped into,� said Holiday, who takes over for Joey Coughran and is Calvary Chapel’s third wrestling coach in as many years.

What’s not to like?

The Eagles, winners of seven state titles from 1993-01, finished fifth in the state last season and have their entire lineup back. They are the class of the Southern Section this season and should make a run at another state championship.

“They are definitely out in front of everyone else,� said Don Garriott, coach of North Torrance. “For anyone [in the section] to beat them, some breaks are going to have to go the other team’s way.�

Senior Joe Williams, arguably the best wrestler at any weight class in the state, returns and he is looking for a second consecutive state title. Williams, The Times’ wrestler of the year last season, also won Masters and Five Counties titles last season at 171 pounds. He will wrestle at 189 this season.

Mario Estrada, another senior, won a Masters title as a sophomore and finished seventh in the state last season at 119 pounds, the same weight he will wrestle at this season. Senior Yuri Kalika moves to 171 pounds after finishing fifth in the state at 160, and sophomore Bryan Osuna will be at 112 pounds after an eighth-place finish in the state at 103.

Junior Patrick Aleksanyan, who will wrestle at 130, qualified for state last season at 125 pounds but didn’t place among the top eight. Junior David Juaregi and senior Ryan Byng also return after missing the state meet by one match.

What it all adds up to is a loaded lineup with high hopes.

“Our expectations are no different than they always are,� said Holiday, who was part of Calvary Chapel’s state title team in 1994 and won individual state titles in 1994 and 1995. “We want to win everything we possibly can. There is a strong wrestling tradition at this school that we don’t want to break.�

Even with such a strong lineup, winning everything will be a tough task. Calvary Chapel will wrestle only 10 times before the Southern Section playoffs begin. Take away four Pacific Coast League meets, which should be cakewalks for the Eagles, and that leaves only six meetings on the mat.

But those matches give Calvary Chapel one off the most difficult schedules of any team in the state. The Eagles will wrestle at the Clovis West dual meet tournament, the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Doc Buchanan tournament at Fresno Buchanan High and the Five Counties Invitational at Fountain Valley High -- all among the top tournaments in the nation.

Calvary Chapel’s dual meets will be against defending state champion Bakersfield and cross-town rival Santa Ana, second to the Eagles in the section this season.

“The schedule was made before I got here,� Holiday said. “I would have liked at least one smaller tournament, but we have to wrestle our schedule and that’s OK. We want the best competition.�

Holiday hopes he’s still smiling when it’s over.