PALM DESERT
Four-time Desert Valley League wrestling champion Roy Galvan of La Quinta High School, led the way for the Blackhawks Saturday at the DVL Individual Finals. La Quinta had the most champions on the day, with five.
“(Trevor Dalskov of Palm Desert) came out tough and he actually wrestled, and I caught him with a cow catcher,” said Galvan, a senior who wrestles at 120 pounds. “(Overconfidence) is something that I worry about, my dad tells me all the time, ‘Don’t take anyone lightly, just wrestle the best you can wrestle,’ and that’s what I did.”
Galvan pinned Dalskov in the second period.
La Quinta also had champions in Joel Avila (106 pounds), Nick Errante (138), Brian Ramirez (145) and Robert Polimeni (195).
Palm Desert had four champions, the second most of any school in the DVL, matching it’s second-place finish behind La Quinta in team competition.
Billy Weaver (126) was the first Aztec of the day to take home a championship, defeating Franklin Miller, of Palm Springs, 11-2 in a major decision.
“Last year I took third in DVL. This is my first DVL championship, it feels really good,” said Weaver, just a sophomore, “but I came in expecting to win.
“I already wrestled (Miller) once this season … and I pinned him in the third period,” Weaver added. “This time I came in knowing he’s really strong … and I knew it was going to be a tough match and I didn’t think I would pin him again.”
Also bringing home DVL championships for Palm Desert were: Anthony Montanona (132), Matt Holm (152) and Isai Serrano (182).
Cathedral City hadn’t won a weight class all day heading into the final two matches. The Lions won both.
Sergio Hernandez beat Rylan Mills of Palm Springs 3-0 at 220 pounds, and Danny Torres pinned Humberto Rodriguez of Coachella Valley at 285 pounds.
Hernandez, a senior who is wrestling for the first time this year, came into the tournament seeded last in his weight class and knocked off top-seeded Tanner Doria of La Quinta 8-7 in the second round.
“Heavyweights — all you gotta do is wear them out, as you can see, I’m worn out,” Hernandez said. “I really don’t know how to get points that much, I just take the guys down. It feels really great to win a championship. I didn’t expect this.”
Coachella Valley also had two champions in Ramses DeMara at 160 pounds and Jose Zazueta at 170 pounds.
“This is my second DVL championship and it feels awesome,” said DeMara, who beat Daniel Hammon of Palm Desert by a technical fall, 17-2. “CV hasn’t had a two-time DVL champion in a while, so it feels good for me to accomplish that.”
Indio had one champion: Billy Mauldin, a first-time champion at 113 pounds.
“I beat (Esteban Ruiz of Palm Desert) before in the duals, and I beat him in the second period, I knew I was going to beat him,” the junior said. “I pinned him in the first round, after the first minute, it was pretty easy.”
Neither Xavier Prep nor Palm Springs won a weight class. However, the Indians advanced several wrestlers and the Saints advanced one. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the CIF Sectionals, Coastal Section Feb. 21 and 22 at Westminster High School.
