Two years of unfulfilled potential were enough for Ty Wilcox.

A promising wrestler stuck on a struggling team at Nevada Union High in Green Valley, Wilcox and his parents searched for a school with a dedicated program.

Their search ended 500 miles away at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel. Nearly two years, a state individual title and an 89-1 record later, Wilcox couldn't be happier.

And he's not the only happy traveler.

Carlos Blanco moved from Victorville to Moreno Valley two years ago and enrolled at Canyon Springs, which has a top wrestling program. He has gone 80-0 since and won a state title last season at 125 pounds.

Such success stories are rare, however. Only about half of the high schools in California offer wrestling, leaving aspiring athletes in the sport with limited opportunities.

At Rosemead, five wrestlers will compete in the state-qualifying Southern Section Masters meet Saturday at Fountain Valley. Two of Coach Louie Madrigal's wrestlers, Hector Torres and Mike Noriega, have legitimate shots at winning state championships.

Down the road at Arcadia, however, there is no wrestling program, even though the school has an enrollment of 3,100.

Neither does South Gate, which has one of the largest enrollments in the state with 4,200 students. But at nearby Bell, wrestling is one of the school's most popular sports. The Eagles have won three City Section titles in the last four years and are favored to win their fourth title Saturday at Bell.

The sport fares a little better in Northern California, where a higher percentage of schools offer wrestling and league meets often draw thousands of fans. But in Southern California, wrestling is the third-lowest participatory boys' sport, trailing even golf.

The disparity is far worse in the City Section, where only 16% of the schools offer wrestling. Of the 10 sports offered in the section, wrestling is the least popular.

Those involved with wrestling say the coach makes the difference in having a successful program.

Calvary Chapel is a private school with 300 boys. Yet the school has been the most successful in California in the 1990s, winning three team state titles in the last four years. The Eagles have produced seven individual state champions and nine athletes who have earned full college scholarships.

Calvary Chapel competes before standing-room only crowds wherever it goes. More than 2,500 fans turned out this season for a meet against at Temecula Valley, another of the area's most successful programs.