The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Banners are flying high

Firebirds honor great Fremont wrestlers of the past

By Dick Sparrer

Fremont has had its share of banner years in athletics.

And if you don't believe it, just stop by the main gym at the high school--the banners there tell it all.

Championship teams and individuals are featured on the banners that adorn the gym walls, banners that the school's athletic department and athletic boosters continue to update to recognize past Fremont stars.

And it was time for a little updating when the Firebirds hosted their winter sports awards night recently.

Fremont invited back outstanding wrestlers of the past for a special night of recognition. Longtime coach Web Lawson and 13 former Fremont Central Coast Section champions returned for the celebration.

Lawson was the Fremont wrestling coach for 27 seasons, leading the then Indians to CCS titles in 1966, 1967 and 1968. The CCS championship teams were singled out on one of the banners to fly in the Fremont gym, and the 13 CCS champions were listed on another.

Larry Noon, Allan Dunn, Larry McCoy, Steven Wilhelm and Brendt Noon were all CCS champs on that 1967 team that won the section championship. The five champs top the list of wrestlers on the CCS championship banner.

B. Noon, Tom Morrison and Walt Nakabayashi each won CCS titles in 1968, and B. Noon won a third section crown in 1969.

Erik Ekern (1970), Brett Ekern (1977), Scott Mariani (1978), Steve Zankich (1978), Bobby Soto (1990) and Oliver Salud (1991 and '92) were other CCS champions named on the banner.

The Fremont Athletic Boosters, behind the efforts of chairperson Rosemary DeGuara, are working to update all of the banners in the Fremont gym. Along with the wrestling banners, the boosters' plans for this year include adding the 1997 Firebirds to the list of league champions on the boys' basketball banner and creating a banner honoring two-time CCS individual cross country champion Beth Bartholomew (1988 and '89).

Not only were stars from the past honored at the recent ceremonies held at Fremont, but the stars of the present were also featured at the winter sports awards coordinated by Fremont girls' sports commissioner Monica Blankenship.

Winning special honors were: girls' varsity basketball--Chi Tran, most outstanding; Natalie Woo, most valuable; girls' junior varsity basketball-- Josie Wells, most outstanding; Lani Castro, most valuable; Beatriz Corro, scholar athlete; boys' varsity basketball-- Darren Lang, outstanding senior and scholar athlete; Melvin Rabena, outstanding junior; Samantha Hess, scholar athlete; boys' frosh-soph basketball--Cameron McNeil, best sophomore; Glen Marasigan, best freshman; boys' varsity soccer--Chris Hoff, most valuable and scholar athlete; Amin Khairy, most improved; Doug Cameron, scholar athlete; boys' junior varsity soccer--Javier Bustamonte, most valuable; Eric Fontes, most improved; girls' varsity soccer--Avygail Brumbau, most valuable; Natalie Ahn, co-most improved and scholar athlete; Jaime McCleary, co-most improved; Michelle Evans, scholar athlete; Sueh-Han Liew, scholar athlete; girls' junior varsity soccer-- Elaneh Sajadi, most valuable; Sonjia Lopez, most improved; varsity wrestling-- Darren Glesser, scholar athlete; Matt Sabraw, most pins; junior varsity wrestling--Daniel McCune, co-most inspirational and most pins; Mario Jeffcoats, co-most inspirational.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 18, 1998.
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