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Athletic Department
Mike Odman, the Celts' relentlessly upbeat coach, who has produced two Mission League championships since resurrecting the wrestling program at the 500-student, all-boys school four years ago, won't look that far ahead. Not halfway through a season in which his football-enhanced team has yet to reach full strength and doesn't begin league play until Wednesday. "Right now, it's just one match at a time, naturally, and all the cliches apply," Odman said. He and members of the best wrestling team in Crespi history -- particularly the late-starting football additions -- will allow themselves the luxury of dreaming of the tiny school winning section titles in consecutive sports seasons. "I definitely want another ring," two-way football starter Sam Chamberlain said after making his wrestling season debut Saturday in the 215-pound weight class with four pins and a third-place finish at the Ontario tournament. Chamberlain, who maintains a 4.4 GPA and expects to play football next season at Harvard or Brown, said the chance for the rare section double has increased his focus in wrestling. "The guys that were on the football team know we have the opportunity," he said. "We're better-seeded, and I think we have a stronger team than our football team did. Our football team was just a matter of character -- we were a great team together. But I also think our wrestling team has a great bond." The Celts' wrestlers, including six individual league champions from last year's second consecutive league team titlist, are at their best at the right time. Divisional realignment has moved six 2004 quarterfinalists out of Div. VI, leaving Crespi the top-ranked team in the division. Two-time defending Div. VI dual-meet champion Highland of Palmdale now is in Div. V, along with fellow Golden League entry Antelope Valley, which was fifth in last year's dual-meet championship. Traditional Div. VI contender Charter Oak of Covina, the 2004 runner-up, has moved to Div. IV, with Bonita of La Verne, Morro Bay and Santa Monica. "A lot of those teams that moved out were good, and we were the next team, and we got stronger," said two-time league wrestling champion Martin Ciccolini, whose 11 interceptions last football season earned him a spot on the Cal-Hi Sports All-State team. "It's a very good chance, and our team is getting better, so it looks good. It makes my senior year a lot better." Junior heavyweight Sione Fua said he thinks about the opportunity for back-to-back section titles. Fua, who has won two tournament titles and gone 12-1 since joining the wrestling team after earning all-state honors in football, said a divisional dual-meet title could depend on whether a young team wrestles to its potential. Five of Crespi's six returning league champions -- Luis Munoz (112), Lamar Reed (135), Sean Ellis (140), Josh Morgan (189) and Fua -- are juniors. "We have a bunch of young guys," said Ontario champion Fua, who weighs in at 275 pounds, the heavyweight maximum, but combines his size with exceptional quickness and agility. "They have to step up and wrestle the way they know how to wrestle." Fua, who has teamed with senior Conrad Agajanian (19-7, three tournament finals at 171) to lead the Celts early in the season, hopes the wrestling team can match the no-quit attitude of the football team, which won a Div. X title four years after Crespi went 0-10. "We have a lot of good wrestlers that have been working hard in the offseason and are ready to come out," Fua said. Odman, whose improving team finished eighth in the 22-team Upland tournament despite wrestling in just 10 of the 14 weight classes, takes Crespi to the San Marino tournament Saturday. The Celts will be defending their title and taking a look at the site of the Feb. 12 Div. VI dual-meet final -- while trying not to look ahead. "It's certainly food for thought and very special," Odman said of Crespi's opportunity to win football and wrestling titles. "God willing, we'll be put in that position. But at this juncture, we're just keeping the faith and working hard." Dave Shelburne, (818) 713-3609 dave.shelburne@dailynews.com |