VISTA – One of the first things that catches your eye as you approach the Vista High School campus is a flashing red sign bragging of its “4-time Avocado League Champion Wrestling Team.”

Considering the team's success, you'd assume they'd be training in a well-equipped wrestling room or a cavernous gymnasium.

But the Panthers, who haven't lost a league dual meet in four years and boast a roster that includes a defending state champion and two CIF Division I titlists, carry out their grueling training regimen in a dance studio, no bigger than a tennis court, lined with black wrestling mats.

“It's quite a contrast to Poway's million-dollar facility,” said Chris Davis, who's in his seventh year as Vista head coach.

Vista's impressive run has been guided by Davis and his staff, and instituted by seven seniors who made a commitment to this team from the beginning of their high school wrestling careers.

Chris Escobar (125 pounds), Derek Dixson (130 pounds), Anthony Meza (152 pounds), Rod Gallegos (162 pounds), Mike Thomas (189 pounds), Sean McHugh (215 pounds) and heavyweight Kasey Cowan have been wrestling for Vista since their freshman years.

“Since I've been here, this is by far the best class,” said Davis, who graduated just one senior from last year's team – 2007 CIF 160-pound masters champion Seth Rehn.

The wrestlers

This year's senior class owns its share of hardware. Meza, one of the team captains along with Cowan, Gallegos and McHugh, is a 2007 state champion and a three-time CIF Division I champion. Although Meza is the most accomplished of his teammates, he insists he's treated equally.

“At practice, everybody gives me a good look,” said Meza, who will wrestle and play baseball for the University of Northern Iowa next season. “There's nothing different. I'm just a normal guy.”

But Meza's skills are anything but normal. The senior won his third CIF Division I title Feb. 16 at Otay Ranch, where he pinned his first two opponents and dismantled Rancho Buena Vista's Cody Fanning in the finals. Meza, whose father was a CIF champion for Vista in 1981, wasn't the only Panther to stand atop the podium last weekend. Escobar, who along with Dixson has been a four-year starter for Vista, won his first CIF title in impressive fashion. The 125-pounder won a major decision over Poway's Matt Welsh in the semis before out-pointing Jaydy Gonzalez of El Camino in the finals.

Escobar, Dixson and Meza went through a trial by fire early in their careers. With a gaping hole in the lower weight classes in 2005, Davis was forced to start the freshman trio at varsity in a dual meet with Valhalla.

To Davis' surprise, all three of the young grapplers won their matches. “All three of them could handle being beat up,” Davis said.

But not all of the 2008 class was an immediate success. Davis said McHugh and Gallegos struggled early in their careers, failing to excel in junior varsity tournaments.

“I don't think there was anybody that was worse at wrestling as freshmen and sophomores,” Davis said. “(But) wrestling is a sport that rewards hard work, and I don't think those kids have ever missed a workout.”

Gallegos said he showed up for his first practice in 2005 weighing 195 pounds. The senior, who played defensive lineman for the football team as a freshman, now wrestles at 162 pounds.

“All of the coaches gave me good nutrition advice,” Gallegos said.

The senior has had an impressive year at his natural weight. Gallegos finished seventh at both the Jim Londos Memorial Tournament and the Temecula Valley Tournament, and took seventh at the prestigious Five Counties Tournament at Fountain Valley High School on Jan. 19.

Gallegos was upset in the first round of the CIF tournament, but rebounded to take second and earn a spot in the masters. Thomas also bounced back after a semifinal loss to win two straight matches en route to a third-place finish.

“It's a privilege to be wrestling with these guys,” Gallegos said of his teammates. “We've come together as a band of brothers. I think we're the tightest-knit group around.”

McHugh, who will wrestle for Palomar College next season, won the Londos title at 215 and took second in CIF, losing a tough final to Poway'.

“It's just bigger than you,” McHugh said of the team. “You're a part of something. I wouldn't rather do anything else.”

The coaches

Fostering the group-before-individual ideals are Davis and his top two assistants – Rick Worthington and Eric Pitts.

Worthington, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and a former Marine Corps captain, brought with him a tough disciplinarian style learned from years of military service.

The Marine joined the staff five years ago and immediately helped Davis institute a more grueling training program.

“He does some real twisted stuff,” Davis said with a chuckle. “He's really good at keeping the training fresh. He does a good job of switching it up so workouts don't get stale.”

The schedule includes practices at 5:45 a.m. every other day, lifting weights two days a week and after-school practices every day of the week.

“When I got here, (Davis) was by himself,” Worthington said. “We got rid of the guys who didn't want to do things the way we want them.”

Pitts, who wrestled at Indiana University, joined the staff a year later – the Class of 2008's freshman year. And because of this, he feels a close bond with the seniors.

“More than just great wrestlers, they're great people,” Pitts said. “People have nothing but good things to say about them. They get a lot of respect on campus from the staff.

“Times have gone by very fast. The last four years seem like they went by in a blink of my eye. It's been great to see them go through this and grow.”

The legacy

Before the arrival of these seven wrestlers, Vista had its share of success on the mats. But these Panthers have made the school a force to be reckoned with on the California wrestling scene.

Vista is ranked second – behind powerhouse Poway – in the San Diego Section. Cowan, who placed seventh in state last year and third in CIF this year, hopes what he and his mates have helped build will carry on in the years to come.

“I think the younger guys on varsity are going to keep it going,” he said. “They've seen how we wrestle. I don't know about going undefeated, but they'll do well.”

Nine Vista wrestlers competed in yesterday's masters, and those who finish in the top four will move on the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield on Friday.

After that, the seven seniors' high school careers will be over, but the legacy they built will not soon be forgotten.

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