Wildcats' Pease wins an award as most outstanding wrestler at JFK

By Dick Sparrer

Daniel Lopez and Andrew Pease must have been worn out after competing in the Titan Shootout wrestling tournament at John F. Kennedy High School in Fremont.

Sure, they each wrestled--and won--four matches at the tournament to claim individual championships. But that wasn't all. They each had to climb the victory stand... twice.

Because not only did Lopez and Pease win titles at the Shootout, they also won outstanding wrestler awards.

Lopez, Willow Glen's talented 114-pounder, won four straight matches to claim the crown in his weight class. He was also named the outstanding wrestler in the lower weights.

Pease, the tough 142-pounder from Los Gatos, also won four bouts to clinch a title in his division. And he was picked as the outstanding wrestler in the middle weights.

Lopez topped a list of six Willow Glen placers as the Rams nailed a team third behind Mt. Pleasant and Los Altos. Los Gatos finished fourth overall with Pease figuring as one of five Wildcats to place.

Mt. Pleasant ran up 139 points to win the team title, with Los Altos a close second at 138. Willow Glen was third at 130, with Los Gatos and Mitty sharing fourth with 127 points each. Interestingly, Willow Glen whipped Mt. Pleasant, and Los Gatos crushed Los Altos in dual matches within their respective leagues.

Pease starred for the Wildcats with his individual title at 142 pounds. Four other Cats walked away with third-place finishes: Dae-jin Joseph at 121 pounds, David Serwitz at 147, James Pease at 154 and Jerry Yuhara at 162.

Los Gatos will get back to the business of league competition this week, and the Wildcats have a big match on tap in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

The Wildcats will host Monta Vista in a key bout on Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m. The squads will match 4-0 records in the Thursday night clash, and the division dual match championship will be on the line.

Monta Vista set up the titanic with a 33-27 victory over Fremont last week. The loss all but dropped Fremont out of the race for the dual crown in the division. That distinction will go to either Monta Vista or Los Gatos.

And that's what Thursday night's match will decide.

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