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'Tino wrestlers face tough tests
Pioneers pin down Matadors 43-20
By DICK SPARRER
The first week of February promises to be a challenging time for the Cupertino wrestling team.
The Pioneers are off to a 3-0 start in the dual match season in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, and they face Santa Clara this week--a team that lost 63-12 to Los Gatos last week.
But when February rolls around, this will get very tough in a hurry for the Pioneers. They host powerhouse Los Gatos on Feb. 1, and travel just a few days later to take on tough Anthony Baza and the Fremont Firebirds on Feb. 6.
Gatos and Fremont were the squads that Cupertino coach Jay Lawson picked as the title favorites in the division prior to the start of the season, and now his Pioneers will have to face them back-to-back to begin the month of February.
Lawson would like to think that his squad will be 4-0 in league commpetition heading into the first of the two matches, but to get there the Pioneers have to beat Santa Clara this week.
Cupertino will visit the Bruins on Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m., and need to beat them to remain in the title picture. Santa Clara is coming off of a devastating loss to Los Gatos, but that decision might not prove a good barometer to determine Cupertino's chances against the Bruins.
Santa Clara pounded Monta Vista 49-16 recently, a team that Cupertino beat 43-20 last week. So the Wednesday match-up could be a close one for the Bruins and Pioneers.
Cupertino didn't exactly have an easy time of it against the Matadors last week, but the Pioneers did win five straight matches to close out the bout and clinch the victory.
Monta Vista had won five of the first seven matches contested, but had to give up 12 points to Cupertino with a pair of forfeits.
But the Pioneers closed out the match in grand fashion, winning in five straight weight classes.
Sophomore Andrew Reese posted an 11-3 decision win at 162 pounds to get the streak started. Soph Michael Joiner followed with a lopsided 13-0 win at 173, and junior Scott Mueller won 16-7 at 191.
After sophomore Jaime Mejia-Beher won by forfeit at 215, soph Ben Reynolds nailed a first-round pin at 277 pounds.
Senior Rory Conley rolled to a 9-0 win at 114 pounds to give Cupertino its first win of the night and Joshua Martin, another senior, won 8-3 at 132 pounds. Forfeit wins went to Jen-Hao Chen at 137 and Mohammad Gorjestani at 142.
But Monta Vista made a match of it with a few wins in the lower and middle weights.
Paul Montanez topped the list of five Monta Vista winners with a pin at 147 pounds. The junior won by fall with 29 seconds left to wrestle in the second round.
David Hournaresh pulled out a 9-6 win at 105 pounds, Luis Casillas won 18-2 at 119, Curtis Contro held on for an 11-7 win at 127 and Don Huiron won 6-4 at 154.
The Matadors also lost a 49-16 De Anza Division decision to Santa Clara recently. The Mats could manage just three individual wins against the Bruins.
Hournaresh pinned at 1:25 of the first round at 105 pounds and Paul Hu won by fall at 1:28 of the first at 191 pounds. Hiro Miura added a 17-3 victory at 154 pounds for the Mats.
In other local action, Gabe Tseng and Robert Lee each won matches to lead the Lynbrook wrestling team to a tight 36-35 win over Milpitas in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL. The Vikings are now 4-1 in the division.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
