Saratoga News Dinh leads Westmont to sixth at Bianchini By Dick Sparrer Jarrod Rothman was one of the top wrestlers in the state in his weight class as a sophomore last year. And guess what? Not much has changed for the Monta Vista wrestler... except now, he's a junior. Rothman figures to be a top contender for a state medal again this season, and if performance thus far is any indication, he should reach that goal. Rothman, a top placer in December at the rugged Coast Classic, won the 119-pound division championship at the recent Gary Bianchini Memorial Wrestling Tournament Cupertino, and was named the outstanding wrestler in the lower weights (103-125) at the prestigious event. It marked the third straight time that Rothman has placed at the local tournament. He was sixth at 103 pounds as a freshman, and he won a title at 112 pounds as a sophomore. Vacaville ran up 172 points to win the team title at the Bianchini with Bellarmine, second at 142.5. And it was a Bellarmine wrestler whom Rothman beat in the finals to clinch his 119-pound crown. Del Oro (129.5) was third in the 29-team tournament, with Hollister fourth (128.5), Turlock fifth (109.5), Westmont sixth (95), Monterey seventh (89.5), Palma eighth (87), St. Francis ninth (86) and Dos Pueblos 10th (83.5). Rothman helped Monta Vista clinch 11th in the team standings with 83 points. Oak Grove was 12th (81.5), with Los Gatos 13th (80.5), Cupertino 14th (73) and Fremont 15th (59.5). Westmont's Dat Dinh and Ryan Stassart of Los Gatos each reached the finals at the Bianchini. D. Dinh was second at 103 pounds to lead the Warriors to the team sixth in the tourney. He was joined on the chart of placers by teammates junior Tony Oka, third at 171, senior Greg Woodland, third at 215, senior Phat Dinh, fifth at 130, senior Brodie Gorman, sixth at 152, and junior Jose Blanco, consolation champ at 160. Stassart made it to the championship round at 125 pounds before losing. He ended up second for the Wildcats to top a list of five Gatos placers in the tournament. Dae-Jin Joseph was fifth at 112 pounds for the Cats, with James Pease sixth at 130, Dan Benedetti sixth at 135 and Alan Wagman sixth at heavyweight. In the Danny Ruppel Second Man Tournament a night earlier, sophomore Rory Conley was an individual champion and won the outstanding wrestler award in the lower weights in leading Cupertino to a team second. Bellarmine won the title with 229.5 points, and the Pioneers ended up second at 136, with St. Francis third at 125. Fremont was sixth overall, with Los Gatos eighth and Westmont ninth. Pioneers top Cats In dual match action last week, Cupertino turned back Los Gatos 39-30. The Pioneers are now 2-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, and the Wildcats slipped to 1-1. Cupertino boasts a 7-0 dual match record for the year. Cupertino will take that 2-0 league mark to Los Altos on Jan. 21 for a 6:30 p.m. match. The Eagles are also 2-0 in the division and 14-2 for the year. Falcons fall The Saratoga wrestling team slipped to 0-2 in league action after a 49-18 dual match loss to Los Altos last week. The Falcons won just four bouts in the dual match, with David Wong, Monte Kawahara, David Azzi and Keith Follmar nailing victories. Azzi topped the list of Saratoga winners when he pinned his Los Altos opponent with 20 seconds left to wrestle at 160 pounds. Wong cruised to a lopsided 14-5 victory at 103 pounds, Kawahara breezed to an easy 13-0 win at 112 pounds, and Follmar nailed a decisive 10-2 triumph at 171 pounds. The Falcons will be gunning for their first division win this week when they host powerful Monta Vista in a 6:30 p.m. match on Jan. 21. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 20, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.