HESPERIA — A growing legacy has been brewing at Santa Fe High School over the last four years for the boys wrestling program.

With two appearances in the CIF Southern Section Dual Meet Championships in the last four years, a powerhouse program has been growing under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Anthony Romero.

Unfortunately, the titles haven’t come their way lately, but the third-seeded Chiefs went up against a formidable opponent in top-seeded Sultana (10-1) on Thursday, losing 38-13 in the Division 3 championship.

Santa Fe had four winners out of the 14 matches, while Sultana highlighted its win with three pins.

Santa Fe (21-4) has appeared in nine dual meet title matches since 2005, winning in 2005, ’07 and ’09.

However, this was the team’s fourth straight loss in the finals, having also lost last year.

“This program is always going to be alumni ran,” said Romero, who wrestled for the school. “I know what it means to be great. It’s just the Santa Fe culture that I grew up with and you got to go out there and give 100 percent.

“I really appreciate the guys that went out there and still finished the dual itself.”

Romero was pleased with the effort of senior Ricardo Rodriguez III, who wrestled right after Sultana had officially clinched the title with a 38-6 lead with four matches remaining.

Rodriguez, who wrestles at 120 pounds, was a sixth-place finisher at the CIF Southern Sectional last year along with being a Masters qualifier. He put up the biggest numbers of the night for the Chiefs with a 16-3 majority decision over sophomore Thomas Tapia.

“Although the points were very high, it’s just about going out there and wrestle your heart out no matter what,” Rodriguez said. “Although we were losing by a lot, you just have to go out there and show them who you really are.”

Leading 7-0 after the second period, Rodriguez poured it on with three takedowns for nine more points in the third period.

The three other Santa Fe winners were three-point decisions by freshman Raymond Carbajal (126), junior Vincent Marquez (157) and sophomore Paul Farro (190).

Trailing after the first two matches, 7-0, the first points of the night for the Chiefs came on a decision by Marquez (157) over Sultana senior Jonathan Gomez.

After trailing 8-6 heading into the final period, two technical three-point takedowns aided in the 12-10 win for Marquez.

“I wrestle tough and I heard my coach say, ‘a takedown wins the match’,” Marquez said. “Being in the finals sets an example of what we can do.”