But a day later, heartbreaking losses ended any hopes that the two Santa Clara Valley Athletic League wrestling superstars had of winning state championships.

Still, the two seniors have nothing to be ashamed of. Both placed in the state tournament, and now both will advance to the national tournament coming up March 28­30 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Atondo finished fourth at 162 pounds, and Reynolds was fifth at 191, good for state tournament medals for the two mat stars.

"He wrestled extremely well," said Fremont coach Bobby Soto of Atondo, who now takes a 38-7 season record to the nationals. "He could just have easily gone 0-2 because of his tough draw."

Atondo had three tough opponents on the first day of the tourney but beat the number six seed 10-6, the number four seed by fall and an undefeated wrestler 10-4.

He lost a controversial 9-8 decision in the semifinals but won 5-4 to get back into the match for third and fourth place. He lost that one 9-6 to wind up fourth overall.

It was a similar path for Reynolds.

"He had a great first day—he won all three matches and wrestled extremely well," said Cupertino coach Jay Lawson of Reynolds, who takes a 37-4 season record to nationals. "But his semifinal match was very upsetting. He was dominating the match but then got caught on one move."

Reynolds, who won three bouts the first day, dropped a 10-8 nod in the semis, then had to come back right away and wrestle again. He lost by fall but battled back with a 9-3 win in his last match to clinch fifth place.

"He really sucked it up," said Lawson of Reynolds' fifth-place win. "He had a very good last match."

Reynolds will wrap up an outstanding high school career when he competes with the best high school wrestlers in the nation on the last weekend of March.
"That's a good way for Ben to end his high school career," said Lawson.

It was a career that started with a fifth-place finish at the league junior varsity finals.

"He went from fifth at the JV finals as a freshman to fifth in the state as a senior," said Lawson. "And he did it through hard work and determination.

Reynolds won his first two matches 3-0, 12-2 and 5-2, then lost to a wrestler from Corning High School who he had lost to earlier in the year at the Sierra Nevada Classic. That had been Reynolds' only loss on the mat this season heading into the state tourney.

Reynolds finished eighth in the state tournament a year ago.

Atondo earned a place at state last year after winning a Central Coast Section championship. This year, though, Atondo was second at CCS.

"We were concerned about how he would do at state since he didn't win CCS," said Soto. "But he definitely recovered from that."

Atondo wrestled from behind most of the first day but managed to come back with three straight wins. In his second match, he was trailing a wrestler who had beaten him earlier in the year on a technical fall.

"But Daniel pinned him," said Soto. "He really stuck him. That was definitely the highlight of the tournament."

He lost his next match 9-8 when, according to Soto, the official lost track of how many stalling warnings had been issued. Soto said three were issued, which would have given Atondo two points, but the official remembered only two so awarded just a single point. The Fremont wrestler lost by a point.

Atondo won 5-4 a match later, then lost 9-6.

"Every match was tough, but his conditioning and training paid off," said Soto, who placed second in the state for Fremont back in 1990.

Atondo joined the Fremont wrestling program as a freshman back in Soto's first year as the school's head coach. He moved up to the varsity as a sophomore, then started to make a name for himself as a junior.

"By the end of his junior year, he started to beat some good people," said Soto. "When he placed seventh at the Five Counties tournament, that was the clue for us."


Montanez 30-8

Monta Vista sophomore Dan Montanez also made the state trip but lost his first two matches at 154 pounds. Montanez lost a 12-11 heartbreaker in his first bout, then lost a tight 4-3 decision to face elimination.

Despite the losses, it was a sensational year for the young Matador. He posted a 30-8 season record, including three wins at the league finals to claim his second straight SCVAL crown. He finished third at CCS to qualify for state. He boasts a two-year record of 53-15.


Former Firebirds

Former Fremont wrestling stars Anthony Baza and Chris Osian have continued their wrestling careers at the college level.

Baza, who placed fifth in the state two years ago for Fremont, is wrestling at California State University, Bakersfield. He posted a 2-2 record at the Pac 10 tournament as a freshman.

Osian is competing on the wrestling team at San Francisco State College.