Saratoga News Photograph by Skye Dunlap Saratoga's Jared Usher (on top) battles Ryan Watkins of Monta Vista in dual match action. Usher lost a tough 8-6 decision to Watkins, and the Falcons lost 42-24 to the Matadors. Big week for Falcons' Follmar But Saratoga falls short against Mats By Dick Sparrer Keith Follmar started the week off right for the Saratoga wrestling team. And he didn't finish too badly, either. Follmar opened wrestling competition last week by placing at the Jim Root Classic tournament held on the Saratoga campus of West Valley Community College. And he finished the week by pulling out a thrilling one-point victory in a dual match against Monta Vista. But his individual win wasn't enough to help the Falcons pull out a team win against the powerful Matadors. Saratoga ended up falling 42-24 to Monta Vista to slip to 0-3 in the tough De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Still, the team loss couldn't do much to tarnish Follmar's performance. Follmar started the week by clinching second-place at 171 pounds in the Root Classic. The only other local placer was Joey Mannina of Prospect, who placed third at 140 pounds for the Panthers. Follmar came back with a thrilling 5-4 victory over top-rated Matt Krieger of Monta Vista in the dual match on Thursday. Follmar was one of four winners for Saratoga in the battle with the Matadors. Monte Kawahara pinned 47 seconds into the third round at 112 pounds, and Yuichi Kurosawa won by fall with just 13 seconds remaining in the second round at 119. David Cheng, like Follmar, pulled out a tight 5-4 win at 152 pounds for the Falcons. Jared Usher lost an 8-6 heartbreaker at 135 pounds in another of the closer matches on the night. In other local mat action last week, Prospect dropped a tight 42-35 decision to Leigh in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, despite five pins by the Panthers. David Lam (103), Rocco Lucero (130), Brian Bonilla (140), Richard Tapia (145) and Matt Delorio (152) each by won by fall for Prospect against the Longhorns. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 27, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.