The Pioneers spoke loud and clear with an impressive 41-38 win over the Wildcats in the first dual match of the season in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).

Los Gatos is the defending division champion and figures to be a title contender again this year. The early-season victory for the Pioneers has set the tone for that dual-match race.

Going into the year, veteran Cupertino coach Jay Lawson knew that Los Gatos would be a powerhouse, but he also saw the race coming down to three teams—Los Gatos, Fremont and Cupertino. It likely still will, since Fremont opened the year with a solid 50-25 win over a strong Monta Vista squad.

Last week's win by Cupertino over Gatos, though, could have really set the tone for the season.

Six wins to open the match helped the Pioneers clinch the team victory over the Wildcats.

With the match beginning at 160 pounds, Cupertino opened up a commanding 36-0 on four pins and two forfeits. Los Gatos answered back with five wins in a row to cut the lead to 36-27, but Brett Haraguchi clinched the team win for the Pioneers with a pin at 145 pounds. Haraguchi won by fall with 45 seconds left to wrestle in the second round in his match.

Cupertino had opened the bout with six wins in a row. David Kullmann pinned with two seconds left in the first round at 160 pounds and Jaime Mejia-Beher won by fall with 30 seconds left in the second round at 171.

Nykole Ramirez-Baker (189) and Ben Reynolds (215) each won by forfeit and Andrew Reese pinned in just a minute at 275 pounds.

Alex Wu pinned with just 15 seconds left in the first round at 103 pounds to put the Pioneers on top 36-0 before Gatos won five straight. But that just set the stage for Haraguchi's clutch win.

"That was a huge win for us," said Lawson of the win over the Cats. "We have a lot of respect for Los Gatos."

Cupertino had opened the year with a solid showing at the annual Ray Andree Memorial Tournament at Westmont. Mejia-Beher topped a list of five Cupertino placers to lead the Pioneers to a team fourth behind Greenfield, Willow Glen and St. Francis. And they did it with upper weight standouts Reynolds and Reese still playing football in the CCS playoffs.

With the two in the lineup, Cupertino appears to be a strong tournament team this season, which bodes well for the Pioneers' hopes of finishing high at the CCS finals.

"I think that we could do better in CCS than league," said Lawson.

Mejia-Beher was the 189-pound champion at the Andree. Wu (103), Mitch Conley (119) and Kullmann (171) were each second and Ramirez-Baker (215) finished fourth.

Mejia-Beher, Wu and David Joiner (145) won special honors at the tourney by nailing the most pins in the least time in their weight divisions. Mejia-Beher pinned four times in 531 seconds, Wu two times in 124 seconds and Joiner three times in 470 seconds.

Four returning CCS placers and six comeback league placers lead the Cupertino attack this winter.

Reynolds, a senior 189-pounder, leads the list of returners. He's back on the mat this year after winning a league title, finishing second in CCS and placing eighth in the state as a junior.

Conley is another senior who won a league title last year and placed third in CCS.

Reese, a senior, was second in the league and sixth in CCS, and Kullmann, a senior, was third in league and sixth in CCS.

Mejia-Beher came within a match of placing at CCS after finishing third at the league tournament, and Haraguchi was second in the league. Both are seniors.

Lawson considers the six talented seniors to be "potential state qualifiers."

The coach is also looking for big things from varsity newcomers Ramirez-Baker, Matt Ku and Robert Frink.

The Pioneers will be back on the mat this weekend when they head to Reno for the Sierra Nevada Classic on Dec. 27­28, then they're off until a crucial Jan. 9 match at Fremont. A win there would all but clinch the dual match championship for Cupertino.

Fremont, though, may have other ideas. The Firebirds opened the year with a solid 50-25 win over Monta Vista last week, winning eight of the 10 matches contested.

Pins by David Leyva (103), Joseph Tran (125), Frank Ogasawara (130), Demarr Mills (160), Richard Atondo (171) and Ernesto Ancona (275) sparked the Firebirds to the win over the Matadors.

Mills, Atondo, Ancona and Bayardo Sanchez are top returners for the Firebirds this season. Sanchez lost a tough 6-1 decision to Monta Vista standout Dan Montanez at 152 pounds, but he should be a force for Fremont this season.