Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Westmont's Jason Kennedy puts a move on Willow Glen's Steve Klein as he works for a pin in dual match action last week. Kennedy pinned Klein in the third round at 191 pounds, but the Warriors lost 46-33 to the Rams.
Five pins not enough for Warriors
Falcons fall in girls and boys soccer, basketball
By Dick Sparrer
It wasn't what they did on the mat that cost the Westmont Warriors a wrestling decision against Willow Glen last week, it was what they gave away.
Westmont wrestlers actually won six of the 10 matches contested in the Thursday evening bout--five of them by fall. But the Warriors had to forfeit in four weight classes, and that generally spells defeat in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Willow Glen was able to pull out a 46-33 win over Westmont, despite winning just four bouts on the mat.
The Warriors had to forfeit at 105 pounds, 119, 127 and 142, putting them behind 24-0 in the team score before the match ever began.
But the young Westmont wrestlers battled the Rams none-the-less, and outscored Willow Glen 33-22 in the matches contested.
Freshman Hiep Dinh at 114 pounds, junior John Bauman at 132, junior Gareth Gorman at 173, senior Jason Kennedy at 191, junior Tom Miller at 215 and sophomore Eric Salmons at 277 were all winners for the Warriors against the Rams.
"We have six seniors who had injuries or did not come out [this year]," said coach Ron Scadina, accounting for Westmont's thin ranks and young wrestlers. "[We have] 10 kids who were either ineligible or whose parents pulled them for a minor injury or grades dropping, and two seniors who quit after yearbook pictures who said their hearts weren't in it."
But the young wrestlers who have remained have shown great heart and ability.
Dinh was trailing his match, but turned his opponent in the third round to pin with 1:17 left to wrestle at 114 pounds.
Bauman continued his winning ways at 132 pounds with a tight 6-4 victory. The junior has finished second at the Jim Root Classic and fourth at both the Bianchini Memorial and Lynn Dyche Tournament this season.
Westmont trailed 46-9 heading into the final four bouts against Willow Glen, but the last four Warriors all won by fall for an impressive Westmont finish.
Gorman pinned with five seconds remaining in the second round at 173 pounds. The junior boasts a 24-2 season record that includes first at the Bianchini and Dyche tournaments and thirds at the Root and Nevada Union tourneys. Gorman was the outstanding wrestler at the Dyche Tournament.
Kennedy followed Gorman's pin with a pin of his own. The senior standout won by fall 43 seconds into the third round at 191 pounds. He had finished fourth at both the Root and Dyche tournaments and was third at the Bianchini.
Miller pinned 55 seconds into the third round at 215 pounds against the Rams. The junior was sixth in the Cupertino junior varsity tournament and posted a 4-0 record in the Willow Glen dual match tournament.
Salmons capped the night when he won by fall with four seconds left in the second round at 277 pounds. The sophomore, who was sixth at the Dyche, was wrestling up a notch from his normal 215-pound slot.
Falcons fall
The Saratoga boys and girls soccer teams each came up losers in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League last week.
The Saratoga boys slipped to 2-5 in the division when they were blanked 3-0 by Palo Alto, and the girls dropped to 2-5 in the division and to 7-6 for the year when they lost 7-0 to Palo and 3-0 to St. Francis.
Basketball Losses
The boys and girls basketball teams at Saratoga also lost two games apiece last week.
The boys ran head first into co-division leaders Palo Alto and Wilcox, and lost 59-41 to Paly and 49-39 to the Warriors. The girls lost 46-34 to first-place Los Altos, then 62-41 to Wilcox.
Justin Zebb was hot from three-point territory, tossing in three treys are his way to an 11-point night against Palo Alto. But Saratoga ended up losing by 18 to the Vikings.
Eric Lee and Alexi Sevastapoulus supported with nine points apiece for the Falcons. Lee and Sevastapoulus each hit a three-point bucket.
Jess Alejandro dumped in five points, Matt Ashburn hit four and Alan Tsai dropped a three-pointer.
The Vikings, 5-0 in the division, led just 14-11 after a period, but stretched that lead to 29-19 by the half. The Falcons hung with the Vikes in the third quarter, but Paly blitzed Saratoga 21-12 in the final period to put the game away.
The Falcons fell to 0-5 in the De Anza Division and to 8-10 for the year with the 10-point loss to Wilcox later in the week. The Chargers, like the Vikings, are also 5-0 in the division.
Lee pitched in five field goals to finish with 10 points for the Falcons. Zebb chipped in with nine points, Ashburn hit seven, Alejandro and Sevastapoulus added four apiece, Tsai popped three and Daniel Ruby hit two. Ashburn and Tsai each hit three-pointers.
The Falcons actually led this one early, taking a 9-8 lead at the first buzzer. The Chargers went up four at the half, 19-15, but Saratoga cut the lead to a point after three periods, 31-30. Wilcox topped the Falcons 18-9 in the fourth, though, to claim the victory.
It was a similar story for the Saratoga girls, who lose to division leaders Los Altos and Wilcox last week. The Falcons are now 1-5 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL and 4-11 for the year.
Los Altos improved to 5-0 in the division with the 12-point win over Saratoga to open the week.
Senior center Tannaz Altafi fired in 12 points to lead all Saratoga scorers in the game. Stephanie Morrison and Dernie Wang chipped in with seven points apiece, Szu-Han Wang had four and Lynn Chouw and Tiffany Tan added two each.
The Eagles opened up a 14-3 first-period lead and led 25-9 at the half. But the Falcons made a game of it by topping LA 17-6 in the third to cut the Los Altos lead to 31-26, only to see the Eagles soar 15-8 in the fourth to win it.
D. Wang lit things up for 17 points and Morrison tossed in 11, but the Falcons lost 62-41 to Wilcox later in the week. Tan had seven points, S. Wang four and Altafi two.
D. Wang drilled a pair of three-pointers for Saratoga, and Tan hit one.
High School Rugby
The Silicon Valley Rugby Football Club is looking for high school players (ages 14-18) from Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, Mountain View and Santa Clara for the spring season. No experience is needed, and everyone plays. For more information, contact Joel Roman by phone (408.732.3212) or by email (JoelRoman@aol.com) or check the website at www.mediaframe.com/svrfc.
Volleyball Signups
The United States Youth Volleyball League is now accepting registration for its spring program in Los Gatos and San Jose.
The coed league is open to players ages 8-14 and the fee of $90 per player includes instruction, games, uniform T-shirt and equipment. League play runs March 31-June 16.
Teams will meet twice a week: on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. at Camden Park West, and on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. at Los Gatos High School.
Call 1.888.988.7985. or visit their website at www.USYVL.org.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
