Prep Wrestling: Poway High’s Tovar, Lopez capture coveted championship belts

Poway High wrestlers Ralph Tovar and Victor Lopez earned one of the most coveted pieces of hardware in any high school sport Saturday night – the title belt from Temecula’s Battle of the Belt tournament.

Lopez went 5-0 with three pins and defeated Anthony Valencia of St. John Bosco 15-6 in the 145-pound championship match to claim the belt. Valencia entered the match ranked No. 1 in the state at 138 pounds, while Lopez showed why he is No. 2 in the state at 145 pounds.

Tovar, who was the No. 3 seed in the tournament and is ranked No. 6 in the state at 132, also went a perfect 5-0. The sophomore defeated fourth-seeded A.J. Mckee of Long Beach Poly 3-0 to win the title.

Poway finished in third place as a team with 220.5 points. Clovis scored 228.5 points, edging second-place finisher Bethlehem Catholic by 2.5 points to win the team title.

Tirso Lara also had a strong showing for the Titans. He would finish in second place, falling to Adrian Camposano 9-5 in the 106-pound championship match. Camposano is ranked No. 2 in the state, while Lara is right behind at No. 3.

Stevie Cervantes finished in third place at 170 pounds for Poway.