Batinich had his own very special coming out party last Saturday when he won the 189-pound championship at the Cupertino Memorial Tournament, considered by many as the best one-day tournament in the state.

To win the title, Batinich pinned the No. 1-ranked wrestler in CCS at the weight, Elias Castillo of Silver Creek. Batinich has been ranked among the CCS leaders, but never in the elite top four.

"He's been just below the top guys," said Los Gatos coach Scott Downs. "He's been right there with them, but he's been flying under the radar."

Not any longer. Batinich won four straight matches by fall to win the title in his weight class, and now he's on everyone's radar screen across the state.

Cats finish fourth

Batinich, Bobby Pease and Matt Miguel topped a list of eight Los Gatos placers at the tough Cupertino Memorial, leading the Wildcats to a team fourth behind powers Turlock, Gilroy and De La Salle. Fremont finished a notch behind Los Gatos in fifth place.

"Last year we finished fifth, and that was the best the program had ever done there," said Downs, who heads up the team along with co-head coach Arno Dominguez. "The top four finishers get team trophies, and this is the first trophy we've gotten there."

"It's just been real interesting to watch these kids keep stepping up," he added. "We're getting better."

Batinich was a perfect example of that on Saturday. He nailed three straight pins, then pinned Castillo in the first round in the title match. Batinich had lost to Castillo in the 189-pound finals last year.

"It was solid," said Downs of Batinich's championship win. "He got the takedown, put the kid on his back, held him there, then stuck him."

Pease, a 145-pound champion at Cupertino last year, finished second at 152 pounds this year. Pease won by fall in his first three matches before losing 10-6 in the finals to Austin Cronin of Turlock, who was the defending champion at 152.

"He's ranked third in the state," said Downs of Pease, "and he lost to the kid ranked fifth in the state."

"It was close from beginning to end," added Downs. "Bobby made some poor shots, and the guy did nothing but counter.

"Bobby was tearing it up going into the finals."

Miguel came through with a solid third-place finish at 130 pounds for the Wildcats, winning his last match 5-3 to finish 4-1 for the day.

"This was a big tournament for him," said Downs. "He wrestled solidly the whole day. This was his break-out tournament."

Jake Schonig posted a 3-2 record to finish fifth at 103 pounds for the Cats with Eric Chen sixth at 171 and Devin Lopez seventh at heavyweight.

Jordan France at 119 and Nolan Nguyen at 125 each posted 3-1 records to place seventh in the tourney. The two each lost in the first round to fall into the consolation bracket, then they both won three straight.

"It's tough to place in this tournament," said Downs. "There were some good schools there."

Gatos wins Ruppell

A day earlier the Wildcats had recorded an impressive showing in the Danny Ruppell Second-Man Tournament at Cupertino. The Cats had won the title a year ago, and defending their crown this year but rolling up 228.5 points to just 175 for runner-up Bellarmine.

"This is the toughest non-varsity tournament around," said Downs.

Los Gatos took 11 wrestlers to the tourney, and 10 of them placed—six of them winning titles.

Kevin Gallagher won a championship at 189 pounds and was named the Most Valuable Wrestler in the upper weights for his effort.

Kevin Cho at 119, Dane Diefendorff at 125, James Alva at 130, David Bitter at 145 and Jeff Wysuph at 152 also won individual titles for the Cats.

Collin Sanders was second at 135 with Shawn Burns third at 160, Dylan Rosen fourth at 140 and Naveed Bogheri fifth at 103.

The Wildcats had opened competition last week with a lopsided 59-9 win over Cupertino in a rematch of last year's championship bout in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

"It wasn't as close as we assumed it would be," admitted Downs. "They wrestled hard and they're well coached, but they're awfully young."

Still, it was sweet revenge for the Cats whose only league loss last season was at the hands of the Pioneers.

Winning by fall for the Cats were Nguyen at 125, Miguel at 130, Bitter at 145, Pease at 152, Mike Wysuph at 160 and Chen at 171. France won by technical fall at 119 and Schonig took a 7-2 decision at 103. Gavin at 112 and Lopez at 275 each won by forfeit.

The match of the night came at 189 pounds where Batinich pulled out a tight 8-7 win over Cupertino's top wrestler, Nyk Ramirez-Baker

Los Gatos improved to 3-0 in league dual match competition and to 10-2 for the year. The Cats will host Monta Vista in a league match on Jan. 14, 7 p.m., before competing in the Five Counties Tournament in Fountain Valley on Jan. 16 and 17. Pease, Miguel, Batinich and Gavin will make the trip to Southern California for the tournament.

Frosh-soph tourney

The Wildcats will also host the annual Los Gatos Frosh-Soph Tournament on Jan. 17 with 25 teams expected for the daylong tournament on the high school mats. Wrestling begins Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in both the main gym and the small gym with the finals to begin at about 5 p.m. in the main gym. Admission is $5.

Among the top teams expected for the tournament are Fremont, Wilcox, Serra, Mitty, Gonzales and Monterey, along with the defending champion Wildcats.

"It will be fun," said Downs. "It will be a good chance to see the top younger guys wrestler."