While the other students in the district were getting ready for Christmas, the Rams were getting ready for a trip to the annual Lynn Dyche Tournament at James Lick High School in East San Jose. And it turned out to be a very productive Christmas trip for the Rams.

Willow Glen finished fourth in the 30-team field at the Dyche, with three Rams winning their way into the championship round.

Seniors Adrian Morales and Amir Faraj-Perry and sophomore Eugene Martinez each advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes to lead the Rams to the team fourth. All three placed second for Willow Glen.

Morales pinned three opponents to make it to the championship round at 171 pounds before losing to Cupertino standout Jaime Mejia-Baker.

Faraj-Perry ended up second at 215 pounds, winning three straight before losing to Andrew Reese of Cupertino. The Pioneers ended up winning the tournament championship.

Martinez, who Willow Glen coach Phil Luna calls his "super sophomore," was second at 135 pounds for the Rams.

"He's just unbelievable," said Luna of Martinez. "He's starting to feel much more comfortable out there."

Rueben Rodriguez finished third at the Dyche for Willow Glen, and Sam Olivas and Robert Oropeza each won consolation championships.

Rodriguez split his first two matches at 130 pounds but came back to win three straight bouts to clinch third.

Olivas at 119 and Oropeza at 189 each lost their first match but fought back to win out to claim consolation titles.

"That gave us good points on the back side," said Luna, referring to the consolation bracket.

"When you don't have a full team, it's difficult to win it or even finish in the top two," said Luna. "But I'm real proud of these kids."

Willow Glen ran up 119 points to finish fourth in the tourney. Host Lick was third at 130.

Willow Glen was coming off of a tough 39-34 loss to powerhouse Silver Creek in a league match in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

The Rams came through with four pins in the match. Nick Lancaster at 103, Martinez at 135, Ricardo Hernandez at 140 and Morales at 171 each won by fall for Willow Glen.

Olivas pulled out a 7-2 decision win at 125 pounds, and Joel Drescher won by forfeit at 275.

Silver Creek pinned in five weight classes, but the outcome of the match hinged on three decision wins that went to the Raiders.

Jason Grossman lost an 8-6 heartbreaker at 152, Faraj-Perry lost a tough 6-3 nod at 215 and Daniel Cousino lost 13-9 at 160. The three decisions created a nine-point swing in the team score.

The loss evened Willow Glen's season record to 2-2 and left the Rams 0-1 for the year. Willow Glen returns to the mat Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m., for a league match at Overfelt.

Three Rams placed recently in the Terra Nova Junior Varsity Tournament. Oropeza, a junior at 171 pounds, and Lancaster, a freshman at 103, each won titles at the tourney, and freshman Paul Hernandez was second at 125.

In other local wrestling action, Bobby Lopez of Willow Glen Middle School won a seventh-grade title at 115 pounds at the recent county championships.