Photograph by Jeff Kearns
Saratoga's Troy Follmar was a league champion, and now heads to the CCS wrestling finals.
Kawahara, Follmar top list of CCS-bound wrestlers
By Dick Sparrer
It's a competition that offers an all-expense paid weekend getaway as the grand prize.
But that getaway will be to Stockton of all places. Fans, though, will be amazed just how hard competitors will work to win that two-day trip.
They can win it by placing high enough at the Central Coast Section wrestling championships this weekend. And the trip? Well, it's to the State Tournament set for March 2-3 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
The top four placers in each weight class advance to the state meet, and it's an honor just to make trip. But, then, it's quite an accomplishment to place that high at the section level.
Wrestlers will be trying to do just that when the compete at the CCS finals Feb. 23-24 at Independence High School in East San Jose. Only the top placers from league tournaments held over the past two weeks advance to the CCS event.
Saratoga will send a contingent of five wrestlers to the section tournament, led by Santa Clara Valley Athletic League champions Ori Kawahara and Troy Follmar.
Kawahara, a champion at 121 pounds, and Follmar, a champ at 217, will be joined at the CCS tourney by teammates Taj Kawahara (127 pound), James Cummins (162) and Jason Arnold (277).
Representing Lynbrook at CCS will be Michael Marr (105), Brian Baik (114), Chris Tsang (127), Grant Henderson (132), Jeff Lee (137), Ryan Oliver (173) and Ryan Beylikjian (217).
Benjie Ross will lead a group of five Prospect wrestlers into the CCS tournament. Ross finished second at 132 pounds at the Blossom Valley Athletic League finals on Feb. 10.
Joining Ross at CCS will be Prospect's Jansher Ashraf (277), Ben Jones (137), Rocco Lucero (142) and Dil Ashraf (217).
Westmont wrestlers who have qualified for the CCS tournament include of Garreth Gorman (162), Johnny Bauman (132) and Jason Kennedy (173), Tom Miller (217), Hiep Dinh (114) and Billy Stouffer (191).
Saratoga, California Since 1955
