The Falcons won six of the 10 matches contested, but they had to give up 18 points on three forfeits, and the result was a tough 39-34 loss to the Trojans.

Still, Saratoga entered the final match of the night up 34-33 in the team score, only to lose when Richard Macklin was pinned in the third round at 103 pounds.

Saratoga by pinned for three of its six individual victories in the match. Scott Surrette stuck his opponent at 145 pounds with a first-round fall, and Allen Chen at 125 and Doug Macklin at 130 each posted second-round pins.

John Venuti rolled his foe around for a 17-9 win at 189 pounds, Derek Macklin was a 3-1 thriller at 140 and Spencer Sevilla blanked his Milpitas opponent 3-0 at 160.

Jeff Nguyen was pinned in the second round at 112, Stephen Chu lost 13-3 at 135 and Zack Kowitz lost 18-1 at 215 to round out the matches.

Saratoga went on to place fourth in the Silver Bracket at the Silicon Valley Challenge Cup tournament hosted by Bellarmine last weekend.

The Falcons opened the tourney with two wins in three matches, beating Amador Valley 45-33 and Capuchino 63-18 while losing 52-15 to host Bellarmine. The Bells won the pool and went on to beat San Benito to take the championship in the Gold Bracket.

The loss to the Bells dropped Saratoga into the Silver Bracket. The Falcons topped Riordan 42-36 thanks to a final-match pin by Venuti at 171 pounds.

Saratoga lost 46-39 to Harbor to slip into the third-place match in the bracket, then lost 48-30 to Aptos.

Sevilla was perfect for the Falcons over the weekend, winning five matches--three by fall--at 152 and 160 pounds. He pulled out a big 3-0 win over top-ranked Mitch Penrod of Bellarmine at 152.

Nguyen was 5-1 with five pins at 103 and 112 pounds, and Chen was 4-2 with three pins at 125 and 120. Surrette with 3-2 with a couple of pins at 145 and 152.

Richard Macklin was 2-0--both of them pins--at 103 and 112, Ryan Stoffers was 2-0 at 130 with a pin and Jasper Loren was 2-1 at 140.

Saratoga faces a league bye this week, but will send wrestlers in two directions for tournament action this weekend. The varsity team will compete in the San Ramon Valley Invitational on Saturday and the rest of the Falcons will take part in the Los Gatos Wildcat Frosh-Soph Tournament the same day.

Saratoga had opened the league dual match season with a 40-33 win over Homestead before winter break. This time it was a win by Richard Macklin at 103 pounds that clinched the team victory.

Homestead needed a tech fall in the final bout to steal the decision away from the Falcons, but Macklin had other ideas. He pulled out a 7-2 decision win to help Saratoga claim the victory.

Venuti at 171, Kyle Patzman at 189 and Kowitz at 215 each pinned against the Mustangs. Nguyen won 17-6 at 112, Chen 18-11 at 135, Surrette 12-2 at 145, Sevilla 17-2 at 152 and Danny Gold 8-3 at 160.

In other recent tournament action, Derek Macklin finished second at 140 pounds and Kowitz was fourth at 215 at the Lynn Dyche Classic held at James Lick High School in December.

A day earlier, Nguyen, Doug Macklin and Surrette each advanced to the second day of competition at the rugged Coast Classic Tournament at Scotts Valley High School, but none placed.