The Sunnyvale Sun
Sports
Fremont's Cathey claims state berth with CCS 3rd
By Mike Barnhart
Since placing sixth at the state high school wrestling meet last winter, Los Gatos senior Geoff Doss has been on a mission to become a state champion.
This weekend, Feb. 29-March 1 at Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena, he will get another shot.
Doss earned a trip to the CIF State Wrestling Championships by impressively beating five challengers at the Central Coast Section championships, Feb. 22-23, at Independence and Overfelt. With four pins and a 16-5 major decision over San Benito senior Fernando Lucatero in the final, Doss captured the gold medal for the 154-pound weight class.
"I'm chasing a state title, so this was just one step in the process," explained Doss, who never looked back after taking down Lucatero with an ankle pick that earned a quick 5-0 lead. "This was just taking care of business."
Some would say it was business as usual for the determined Doss, who continues to build upon his school takedown record each time he takes the mat.
In all, 76 schools were represented in the two-day meet. The top four finishers in each of the 14 weight classes qualified for state.
Los Gatos teammate Calvin Hawkes held on to beat San Lorenzo Valley sophomore Cody Rodebaugh 3-2 for the 137-pound title and a chance to be a state medalist.
No other local athletes captured gold at CCS, but Saratoga junior Nathan Nguyen (105 pounds) and Westmont senior Abe Matsui (132) reached the championship round, before losing to No. 1 seeds.
Del Mar's Daniel Linares, who lost to Doss in the 154 semifinals, qualified for state by pinning Bellarmine senior Eli Sanchez in the third-place bout. To reach the third-place bout, Linares pinned Fremont senior Daunte Mills, who finished sixth with a 5-3 record.
Sanchez's first bout of the tourney was a 4-2 decision against senior Daniel Lu of Monta Vista. Lu went on to post a 4-2 record and a top eight finish with two major decisions and two pins.
Other local state meet qualifiers were Fremont senior La Quintin Cathey, who placed third at 132 pounds, and Lincoln senior Bacilio Monterroso, who was fourth at 114.
Matsui reached the final by beating Cathey 15-7 in one of the 132 semifinals. Cathey bounced back to win two matches to earn third.
Fremont senior Donny Mena (217) placed sixth, going 5-3 with four pins. In the process, he pinned and eliminated the SCVAL champion, senior Nick Kalpin (2-2) of Los Gatos, and the league runner-up, Travis Johnson of The King's Academy. Johnson finished in the top eight with a 3-2 mark.
Mills reached the final eight with four straight wins after losing his first match 9-2. Mills' fourth win was a pin of junior Matt Thalin of The King's Academy, who finished 2-2.
In Friday's heavyweight quarterfinals, Monta Vista junior Graham Paterson was disqualified following his third pin of the day. After Paterson pinned Brian Newell of Sequoia, Newell protested to the referee that Paterson had bit his ring finger. After a short inspection, the referee awarded the match to Newell, despite protests by the Monta Vista coaches.
Paterson, who would have advanced to the semifinals, was disqualified for the remainder of the tournament. He said it was an accident.
"It was the last match of the day and I was just looking to get it done and go home to prepare for the semis," Paterson said the next day. "I was breathing hard, so my mouth was open. When I was taking him down, he tried to push my head away and his finger slid into my mouth. When we hit the mat, the impact caused my jaws to close, making bite-marks.
"I was in control and pinning him. Why would I ever intentionally bite him?"
Paterson's season ended with seven straight pins, one in a dual meet, three en route to the SCVAL championship and three last Friday.
Cupertino senior Kirby Haraguchi had a top eight finish at 137 pounds.
At 132, Cupertino sophomore Gurmukh Singh finished 2-2. Junior Josh Topete of The King's Academy went 1-2.
Cupertino junior Mohammed Sharfi and Wilcox freshman Rashawn Mosley both went 2-2 at 105. Fremont freshman John Facun scored a third-round pin in his first bout, but lost the next two.
At 119, Vincent Huang of Lynbrook and sophomore Joe Johnson of Fremont each went 1-2.
Fremont sophomore Casey Johnson finished in the top 12 at 127. Homestead junior Michael Boucher (2-2) lost in the first round, before scoring wins in the consolation bracket.
At 142, Cupertino freshman Ian Messaros both finished 1-2.