HEAD OVER HEELS—Royal High grappler Christian Beauvoir, bottom, flips Alex Rivera during Wednesday’s practice. The Highlanders have won six straight Marmonte League championships. JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers Ulysses Parlebas stood before his teammates in the sweltering wrestling room at Royal High.

As a reward for winning outstanding upper weight wrestler at the Warrior Classic last weekend, the French exchange student sang “La Marseillaise,” France’s national anthem, at the end of Monday’s practice.

Parlebas put his right hand over his heart and belted the song with pride.

About halfway through, Parlebas forgot a verse. Instead of stopping, he simply hummed that part—imagine Frank Drebin butchering the “Star-Spangled Banner” in “The Naked Gun,” only this was funnier.

His teammates responded with good-natured laughter. Parlebas managed a smile and finished the “La Marseillaise” with zest.

PRIME POSITION—Highlander wrestler Edward Ruiz looks to finish off his opponent. Ruiz, a senior, competes at 119 pounds. JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers “We want to have a little fun,” Royal head coach Richard Carrillo said. “That’s why we do it.”

The Highlanders are having fun and building a wrestling dynasty in the process. The school has won six consecutive Marmonte League titles and is looking for No. 7 this season with a talented, experienced group.

“I like the fact that they are willing to improve,” said Carrillo, now in his sixth season at the helm.

“They don’t know everything. They work hard and want to get better. That’s key. They know they need to make improvements between now and the postseason, and they’re willing to do it.”

Royal returns state qualifier Edward Ruiz, a 119-pound senior. Ruiz said his experience at Bakersfield in March was memorable, even if he didn’t make it past the first day of the event.

“It was breathtaking,” the grappler said. “I was amazed at the high-caliber skill of all the top kids and how hard they worked.”

Ruiz, who placed third at the Marmonte championships last season, said he has worked on his endurance and strength this offseason.

“I need to work on a little bit of everything,” he said. “My goal is to make it back to state and hopefully place.”

The top eight finishers in each respective weight class place at the state championships.

Senior captain Christian Beauvoir, who missed part of his junior campaign with a knee injury, said the Highlanders have strong chemistry.

“Everyone’s getting along well,” the 171-pounder said. “We have really strong unity, and everyone’s improving pretty fast.”

Alex Rivera, a senior who wrestles at 215 pounds, said the Highlanders look forward to defending their league crown.

They took a good first step with a 75-3 win last week against Westlake. Royal’s next meet is Jan. 7 at home against Agoura.

“We definitely want that league championship,” Rivera said. “We always wrestle tough. We never give up.”

Rivera prides himself on solid technique and finishing matches strong.

Senior Hector Barajas, a 125-pound grappler, appreciates the help former Highlanders offer at practice. On this particular day, 2009 RHS graduate Blake Ginsberg of Cal State Fullerton was assisting.

Barajas is constantly working on his moves, and he uses his speed and aggressiveness to shoot for early pins.

“Other teams have made improvements, so we’re trying to stay on top and improve,” Barajas said. “We will try our hardest to get the league championship. We want to keep the dynasty going.”

Carrillo said Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks will present the toughest challenges for Royal.

“We’re not counting anybody out,” the coach said. “They’re all strong this year. By no means are we a shoo-in to win. We need to put forth our best effort.

“Judging from what I’ve seen so far, I expect to see some very, very close matches. It could come down to who has a good night.”

The Highlanders will count on depth up and down the lineup to sustain its history of success.

Returning league champ Dean Skidmore is a junior who has bumped up from 103 to 125.

Carrillo called Skidmore a tough wrestler with good technique.

Skidmore’s brother, Travis, is a 112-pound freshman. Colton Wegrzyn is at 103.

Sophomore J.B. Dones is an explosive and strong 135-pound grappler.

Senior Justin Goldberg is a wrestler to watch at 140, the coach said.

Steven Kiblinger contributes at 145. Shane Toth and Codey Mann competes at 145 or 152.

Christian Quinonez (160), Colin Gordon (160), Joel Waddell (189), Marcus Piechowski (215) and heavyweight Mason Medina round out the current group of primary wrestlers.

Four girls are also competing on the team.

Junior Amelia Castillo, senior Brittany Skidmore, sophomore Amy Spafford and junior Breanna Stikkelman contribute. Castillo has come close to breaking the varsity roster, the coach said.

Carrillo is assisted by Steven Little, who wrestled for Carrillo at Chatsworth. Carrillo coached the Chancellors for four years.

Ryan Brown, Scott Duncan, Derek Greminger, Robert Merritt and Jeremy Sereno are the other assistant coaches.

Three former Royal grapplers who graduated this spring are wrestling at Division I schools: Sergio Cortez at Arizona State, Mike Dumelle at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and Ginsberg at Cal State Fullerton.

That success is a testament to Carrillo and his program.

The Highlanders want to keep moving in the right direction. All they can control is how hard they work.

“We have to stay healthy,” Carrillo said. “So many factors come into play. We can be as prepared as we want to be. Sometimes God has other plans. We’ll do the best we can.

“They have to keep focused and realize they have to take it one week at a time, one match a time and one move at a time. We’ll see how everything shakes out.”