Chad Lampe of Dos Pueblos suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in the semifinals and finished in fourth place at the CIF-Southern Section Individual Wrestling Championships at Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday.
Lampe was edged on an escape point by his opponent from West Torrance in the 122-pound weight class. He rebounded with a win in the third-place semifinals but then lost to Fabian Aguilera of Buena, a wrestler he beat in the Channel League finals.
“It’s a bummer, but he still made it to Masters,” DP coach Anthony Califano.
The top five wrestlers at the Southern Section finals qualified for the Masters, the final step to qualifying for the State Meet. The top nine at Masters advance to State. Lampe finished 10th last year.
“Every kid is in a fight for the State Meet,” Califano said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
Nico Sorenson missed advancing to the Masters meet by one place. He lost the fifth-place match at 126 pounds by a 5-3 score.
At 118 pounds, sophomore Cameron Cox lost his first match in the morning and didn’t advance.
“He made a couple of mistakes and didn’t get in,” Califano said. “He’s only a sophomore, so I hope he learns from this experience. He has a tremendous future as a high school wrestler.”
Eden Martinez fell one match short of making the podium.
The Masters Meet is next Friday and Saturday at Temecula Valley High.
