After winning four straight matches to reach the championship match of the 160-pound weight class Feb. 25­26 at San Jose's Overfelt High School, Montanez had reached his first CCS gold medal bout. However, the Matadors' senior leader lost 3-2 to freshman sensation Hunter Collins of Gilroy, earning silver instead of gold.

Montanez, who raised his season record to 31-5 during the CCS meet, now advances to the CIF State Championships for the third straight year. The top four finishers in each weight division will represent the CCS at the state meet, March 4­5 at Centenniel Gardens in Bakersfield. Last year Montanez came close to claiming his first state medal, winning five bouts before losing a 5-2 decision in the medal round.

At the CCS meet, Montanez posted a pair of first-round pins to reach the quarterfinals, where he blanked Harbor senior Lucas Duckwall 13-0. A 5-3 semifinal win over Chris Rey of Half Moon Bay set up the finale against Gilroy's Collins, who twice earlier in the season had won close decisions over Montanez.

An escape late in the championship match gave Montanez a 2-1 lead, but Collins managed a two-point takedown to take the lead and the 160-pound title.

Collins was one of four individual champions for Gilroy, team champions with 186 points. Los Gatos, with no individual winners but seven top-five placers, finished second with 176 points. Fremont, paced by champions Filip Novachkov (112 pounds) and Greg Crane (152), was third at 144.5 with St. Francis fourth at 111.5.

Cupertino sophomore Aris Harutyunyan won five of seven bouts to claim fifth place at CCS. He beat Los Altos senior Jarrett Fishpaw 6-4 in the fifth-place match. His only two losses were to silver medalist Kevin Cunningham of St. Francis and bronze winner Kurtis Ogasawara of Fremont.

Four other Cupertino wrestlers won bouts at CCS, helping the Pioneers score 33 points for 30th place. Junior 152-pounder Renato Linares won three of five bouts. Senior Bronson Farr (215), junior Renato Sanchez (125) and sophomore Paul Kim (160) all won two and lost two.

Monta Vista junior Mike Lipp (125) and sophomores Grant Kadokura (112) and Nate Fung (135) all won bouts before being ousted from the double-elimination tournament. Homestead sophomore Kyle Smith won a bout at 119.

CCS basketball

The curtain closed on the 2004­05 high school basketball season last week when several local teams were ousted from the Central Coast Section play-offs.

The boys teams of Cupertino and Homestead were eliminated from the Division II tournament on Feb. 23. After sticking close to No. 4 Sequoia of Redwood City, 13th-seed Cupertino stumbled in the third quarter and never recovered. Sequoia outscored the Pioneers 15-2 in the period and ran off with a 52-31 victory.

Senior John Hiley sparkled for coach Craig Ellegood's Pioneers, who concluded the season with a memorable 20-8 record. Hiley scored 10 points and 10 rebounds. Six-foot-four junior David Warren also scored 10 points for the Pioneers, and junior guard Ehson Mortezaie added five points and two steals. Alonzo Fitz had six rebounds and two blocked shots to go along with two points. Greg Thacker didn't score, but chipped in with five rebounds.

Five seniors played their last game for the Pioneers--Hiley, Fitz, Thacker, Dane Sakino, and Gordon Peng.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Homestead could not cash in on a first-round home game, falling to No. 10 Aragon of San Mateo 69-56. Standout swingman Mark McLaughlin was one of five seniors playing their final game for coach Marc Cadet's Mustangs. The others were guards park Min, Shane Wey and Cameron Ott and center Alex Mrozack.

In girls' competition, No. 12 seed Lynbrook could not overcome a tough first-round draw in Division II. The Vikings suffered a 61-36 defeat to Leigh, the No. 5 seed, closing the season with an overall mark of 19-10.

The defeat capped the fine careers of seniors Nikki Chang, Vickie Chien, Gloria Sue and Tiffany Pan. Chang, the team's leading scorer and defensive stopper a year ago, missed much of this season with a knee injury. Pan took over as the Vikings' top point-getter, while Chien led the team in assists and steals. Sophomore Emily Shen was Lynbrook's best rebounder and shot blocker.

Homestead, after edging Lincoln of San Jose 42-41 to reach the round of 16, proved no match against top seed Archbishop Mitty. Overwhelmed by Mitty's suffocating pressure defense, Homestead fell 88-17 and finished the season with a 9-16 record.

Sophomores Kate Mower and Cheryl Ichikawa were the top scorers against Mitty. Completing their high school careers for the Mustangs were seniors Shelly Baxter, Melissa Manuel and Ryan Gallagher.

Monta Vista, seeded 14th in Division I, lost 53-38 in a first round match-up at No. 3 Gilroy and finished the season with a 12-15 record. Seniors playing their final game for the Matadors were Lorraine Lau, Nicole Bullier, Kim Lau, Tiffany Cheng, Sandra Kou and Kimberly Larson.