Long Beach Poly’s Ahmad Rawashdeh takes on Millikan’s Anthony Avelar in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Mallett Orozco takes on Long Beach Poly’s Colin Ornelas in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Chase Antrobius takes on Long Beach Poly’s Knox Espinoza in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly fans cheer on their wrestler in the Moore League matchup against Millikan in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Teagan Rowsell takes on Long Beach Poly’s Sammy Via Timu in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Wyatt Durst takes on Long Beach Poly’s Alex Carrera in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Chris Anguiano takes on Long Beach Poly’s Augustus Brown in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Malid Sharif takes on Long Beach Poly’s Jayden Al Ekong in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Jason Fiala takes on Long Beach Poly’s Rocky Lo in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Devyn Kripp takes on Millikan’s Gabriela Bonilla in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Ahmad Rawashdeh takes on Millikan’s Anthony Avelar in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Daniel Escobedo takes on Long Beach Poly’s Kevin Bennett in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Evan Bradley takes on Long Beach Poly’s Alberto Olague in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Tyson Dabu takes on Long Beach Poly’s Jordan Dizon in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Chase Antrobius takes on Long Beach Poly’s Knox Espinoza in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Chase Antrobius takes on Long Beach Poly’s Knox Espinoza in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Kaimana Araquel takes on Millikan’s Kai Backstrom in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Jimmy Alvarez Jr. takes on Long Beach Poly’s Lincoln Chung in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Martin Ornelas takes on Millikan’s Daniel Cullen in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Jimmy Alvarez Jr. takes on Long Beach Poly’s Lincoln Chung in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan’s Jason Fiala takes on Long Beach Poly’s Rocky Lo in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Devyn Kripp takes on Millikan’s Gabriela Bonilla in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Martin Ornelas takes on Millikan’s Daniel Cullen in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption
1 of 23
Long Beach Poly’s Ahmad Rawashdeh takes on Millikan’s Anthony Avelar in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH — With the chants inside Ron Palmer Pavilion rising around him and his team trailing 34-29, Long Beach Poly boys wrestler Sammy Timu found himself in a tough situation.
He was facing Millikan’s Teagan Rowsell in the final match of Thursday night’s showdown between the two Moore League rivals. Timu, a sophomore who wrestles in the heavyweight division, held a five-point advantage heading into the third and final period.
As the final minute of the match wound down, Timu found the power to escape from Rowsell’s grasp and pinned him to give Poly the six points it needed for a 35-34 win.
“I think it’s a blessing that God had given me the strength to pull the last move off,” said Timu. “It was really the crowd and my family around me. They were cheering me on and to continue to keep going even when facing adversity. I know how to struggle through it.”
The match began with the Rams earning three straight victories — from Anthony Avelar, Daniel Cullen and Kai Backstorm.
Poly’s star, state-ranked wrestler Knox Espinoza, and Damien Orozco-Mallett then gave the Jackrabbits back-to-back wins.
But then came perhaps the most shocking outcome of the match, as Millikan freshman Jimmy Alvarez Jr. pulled off a victory against senior Lincoln Chung to shift the momentum back to Millikan.
Alvarez managed a takedown in the second period and Chung’s three near takedowns weren’t enough to bring the freshman down.
The two teams kept trading wins, leading up to the final encounter between Timu and Rowsell.
Timu, who also is a defensive lineman for the varsity football team, was able to get the upper hand against Rowsell with consecutive takedowns in the first two periods, setting up the epic final period.
“(Millikan) built that tradition,” said Poly head coach Ken Lee, whose team is undefeated in league. “They built that standard in Long Beach and it’s really good to see.”
Long Beach Poly’s Kayla Chagala takes on Millikan’s Meg Chelsea Pulido in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Kayla Chagala takes on Millikan’s Meg Chelsea Pulido in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Maribel Quezada takes on Millikan’s Ava Gomez in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Riley Pestanas takes on Millikan’s Natalie Curioso in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption
1 of 4
Long Beach Poly’s Kayla Chagala takes on Millikan’s Meg Chelsea Pulido in the Moore League matchup in Long Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Earlier in the afternoon, Poly’s girls team also came away with a big win against the Rams 47-35.
After jumping to a 17-12 lead, thanks to three wins in the first five duals, Poly saw the match become tied when Millikan’s Meg Chelsea Pulido defeated the Jackrabbits’ Kayla Chagala 17-2.
The tide shifted when Poly’s Bowie Digregorio defeated Millikan captain Kayde Preciado 8-5 with a pin.
The Jackrabbits followed by winning the next four matches, the last three of which were forfeited by Millikan.
“I saw a lot of heart and a lot of grit from out girls,” said Lee. “We had a lot of girls that were filling a lot of big shoes. We suffered quite a few injuries this week, and, you know, they were able to go ahead and come out and just play.”
“This was an amazing night of wrestling,” he added. “I feel like this community is doing better as a whole and being able to have these competitive matches is not only great for the schools, but it’s great for the sport.”