The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Wrestlers take to the mat for CCS tourney

By Mike Barnhart

Preparing for the Central Coast Section wrestling championships really is not much different than getting ready for any other high school test. Typically, input equals output, or the quality and quantity of effort expended often determines the level of success achieved. The biggest variables really are the student-athletes' perspective and their definitions of success.

Guys like Los Gatos 154-pounder Geoff Doss, a three-time Santa Clara Valley Athletic League champion who has won a gold medal at CCS and has placed at the CIF State tourney, will approach the section tourney differently than a first-time CCS competitor like Saratoga junior Raymond Boales (217). After not participating in wrestling as a sophomore, he turned in a surprising, fifth-place effort at league finals.

Much like straight-A students who consider anything less than an A unsuccessful, Doss and three-time state placer Hunter Collins (191) of Gilroy will be disappointed with anything less than a championship at the CCS meet, Feb. 22-23 at Independence and Overfelt.

In all, 406 wrestlers qualified out of league meets for the CCS event, including 87 from the SCVAL. Consolation and championship semifinals and finals will be held Saturday at Overfelt. The gold medal bouts will begin at 7 p.m.

Wrestlers like Saratoga junior Nathan Nguyen (105), Fremont senior La Quintin Cathey (132) and Los Gatos senior Nick Kalpin (217), who each went 0-2 at state last year after placing third or fourth in CCS, probably would not be bothered by a bronze or silver medal at CCS. Their highest priority is finishing among the top four at CCS and getting a second chance to taste victory at state.

Monta Vista's Graham Paterson was plenty healthy last year as a sophomore heavyweight, but said he did not know what to expect at CCS. He quickly found out, getting pinned in the first minute of his first match by a senior. In the consolation bracket, he scored a pin of his own, before another experienced senior stuck him with a 12-2 major defeat.

The memory of the 1-2 showing has motivated Paterson for a year now. He pinned all three of his foes en route to the SCVAL championship.

"I want to qualify in the top four this year," Paterson said. "I've been thinking about it and working toward it for a while."

Fremont seniors Daunte Mills (154) and Donny Mena (217), who turned heads as sophomores at the CCS meet, but did not compete last year, "could be darkhorses at CCS," coach Bobby Soto noted after they both finished third at the league meet.

Mills, who went 3-2 at 137 pounds and finished in the top 12 at the 2006 section meet, wrestled all this season at 162 pounds, but dropped to 154 for league finals.

"Mills will be real tough at CCS," Soto predicted. "He will be a big threat."

Mena, who reached the 217 quarters as a sophomore, before bowing out with a 2-2 record, pinned three of four opponents at the SCVAL meet. His only loss was a tight 7-5 decision to Kalpin in the semifinals.

After placing sixth at CCS last year as a sophomore and second to Kalpin in the recent SCVAL meet, Travis Johnson of The King's Academy will join Mena and Kalpin in the battle for the four state berths at 217.

Local wrestlers who qualified from league to compete at CCS include:

Cupertino: Kirby Haraguchi (137), Mohammed Sharfi (105), Eddie Cho (162), Garun Arustamov (114), Gurmukh Singh, Ian Messaros (142)

Fremont: La Quintin Cathey (132), Donny Mena (217), Keith Bragas (173), Daunte Mills (154), Jesse Guerrero (277), Casey Johnson (127), Luis Ramirez (137), Warrick Africa (114), Kenny La (147), Joe Johnson (121), John Facun (105)

Homestead: Andy Chin (114), Michael Boucher (127), Matthew Healy (137)

Monta Vista: Daniel Lu (154), Asavir Kalla (162), Graham Paterson (277)

Lynbrook: Vincent Huang (121), James Kim (142), Andre Shmakov (191) and Justin Estradas (277)

The King's Academy: Josh Topete (132), Matt Thalin (154), Travis Johnson (217)