Huntington Beach's Bryan Osuna takes off for Topeka, Kansas today,
to compete at this weekend's 2000 Kid's National Wrestling Championships.
Osuna enters the competition fresh off a win at last weekend's California
State Folkstyle Wrestling meet held at Clovis High in Fresno. In
addition, the 4.0 Honor student at Calvary Chapel Junior High also won
both folkstyle and freestyle titles at the Las Vegas Folkstyle and
Freestyle Tournament of Champions held earlier this month.
Osuna, who sports a 40-2 record on the season, easily dispatched Bobbie
Rivera of San Jose, 11-2, in his first match, to set up a meeting with
hometown favorite, Greg Clark of Clovis.
Osuna recorded an early two-point double leg takedown for a 2-0 first
period lead, a score that stood until the third period, where Clark
battled back to forge a 2-2 tie. It was broken a mere five second later,
however, when Osuna scored a one-point escape on a Gramby Roll.
That move was critical, as it propelled Osuna to an eventual 5-2 victory.
In the meet's title match, Osuna met up with Reese Erickson of Oregon,
which was invited to participate in the California tournament in order to
qualify for the National tournament.
Osuna owned the match from start to finish, scoring a single leg take
down and a fireman's carry for a 4-0 lead through two quarters. He later
scored on a series of near-falls, including an arm bar and chicken-wing,
to mount an insurmountable 12-0 third quarter lead, then settled for a
12-2 win to clinch the title.
The Kid's National Wrestling Tournament is one of three big meets coming
up for Osuna. In April, he will participate in the World Champions
Wrestling Tournament in Reno, which will be followed by an appearance at
the AAU National Championships to be held in Tulsa, Okla.
