By DICK SPARRER
"Hey, Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys--you just won the Super Bowl ... what will you do now?"
"I'm going to Disneyland!"
Smith is one of the more recent athletes to announce his plans for a Magic Kingdom holiday following a major athletic achievement.
But a few more sports stars were making their travel plans after outstanding performances at the Central Coast Section wrestling championships last weekend at Santa Clara High.
So the question was, "Hey, Jeremy Piamonte of Fremont--you just placed at CCS ... what will you do now?"
"I'm going to Stockton."
Stockton? Well, it may not be as much fun as a trip to Disneyland, but it should prove to be just as exciting for Piamonte and the other wrestlers who placed in the top four in their weight divisions at CCS. Because Stockton is where the CIF state wrestling championships will be held on March 1-2.
The top placers from the Central Coast Section will get together with other section placers to battle for state honors in the tournament at the University of the Pacific.
Fremont's Piamonte and Geoff Beckstrom will be among those local wrestlers making the trip to the San Joaquin Valley after solid performances at the CCS finals.
Piamonte earned his state berth by placing third at 130 pounds for the Indians. Beckstrom ended up fourth at 275.
Piamonte, who won by fall with 18 seconds left to wrestle against Nathan Herrera of Oak Grove in the tournament quarterfinals, battled back from a semifinal loss to beat Jason Luna of Gilroy 10-2 in the third-place match.
Beckstrom battled his way into the top four at 275 pounds with an impressive win over Chris Evans of San Benito in the quarter-finals. Beckstrom pulled out a 10-1 victory over Evans.
But Beckstrom lost in the semi-finals, then lost 12-7 to Corny Medellin of North Monterey County in the third-place match. But it was still good enough for a state trip for the Fremont star.
Both Piamonte and Beckstrom entered the CCS tourney after winning individual titles at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 28, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.