High pre-season hopes turned into loss after loss for the Rams, who had a number of key wrestlers leave the program during the year.

Yet, those who stuck it out enjoyed the sweet taste of victory last week when Willow Glen rolled to a 45-24 win over Pioneer in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL).

And despite the tough road in dual match competition, the Rams have managed to enjoy great success on the tournament trail this season—success that coach Phil Luna expects to see continue.

"I've been real impressed with my team," said the coach. "As a team, we have a real good shot at placing in the top three at league finals."

Willow Glen, coming off of a solid fifth-place showing at the prestigious Mid Cal Tournament in Gilroy, will head to Leigh for the BVAL finals on Feb. 8, and standouts Adrian Morales and Amir Faraj-Perry head up the Rams' high hopes for a strong finish in the tournament.

"We've got the horses," said Luna. "We'll definitely have two guys in the finals—maybe five or six."

Morales and Faraj-Perry both placed at the Mid Cal, and Luna expects both to be wrestling for gold at the league tournament this weekend. He also has high hopes for Daniel Cousino, Rueben Rodriguez, Sam Olivas and Eugene Martinez.

"Adrian and Amir are really pushing themselves," said Luna. "They're working hard in practice on moves that they can use at CCS (Central Coast Section)."

"I'm real excited about this weekend," he added.

Morales was fourth and Faraj-Perry fifth when the Rams competed in the Mid Cals on Jan. 24 and 25.

"It's one of the strongest two-day tournaments in the state," said Luna. "Guys who place here usually qualify for state. So we're pretty excited."

Willow Glen is looking to send its first wrestler to the state tournament since Dean Vinson made the trip in 1986.

Morales posted a 4-2 mark to get fourth at the Mid Cals. He avenged an early season loss to Cupertino's Jaime Mejia-Baker when he pinned him in the second round, but he lost to the state's top-ranked 189-pounder in the semifinals. He lost again in the third-place match to settle for fourth.

Faraj-Perry was also 4-2 in the tourney, losing 2-1 in double overtime in the semifinals.

Willow Glen took eight wrestlers to the tournament, and seven made it to the second day of competition.

Cousino (160), Rodriguez (130), Olivas (125), Justin Grossman (152) and Ricardo Hernandez (140) all posted 3-2 records for the Rams.

The dual match last week, the Rams recorded five first-round pins on the road to the lopsided win over the Mustangs.

Horacio Michel pinned in just 27 seconds at 112 pounds and Naim Cosas pinned in 37 seconds at 145. Morales won by fall in 54 seconds at 189 and Cousino won on a pin in 55 seconds at 160. Olivas pinned in just 1:31 of the first round at 125.

Phuc Nguyen pulled out a tight 10-8 win at 119 pounds and Rodriguez won 5-1 at 130. Hernandez was a 5-2 winner at 140 and Justin Lumen won by forfeit at 135.

Four Rams placed at the junior varsity league finals held Feb. 1 at Santa Teresa High School.

Nick Lancaster, a freshman, was second at 119 pounds for the Rams and D.J. Faraj-Perry, a sophomore, was second at 189. Lumen, a sophomore, was third at 135 and soph Ivan Vargas was fifth at 189.