The Willow Glen Resident Rams out to pin mat title Willow Glen chasing its first wrestling crown since 1969 By Dick Sparrer At long last, it's finally here. It's just a regular season dual match between the Willow Glen and Leigh wrestling teams. But it's a match the Rams have been waiting for for 30 years. It's not so much that the Rams will be going up against the Longhorns on Jan. 27 in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. It's that the Rams will be going for the West Valley Division championship. "We're pretty hyped up," said Willow Glen coach Phil Luna. "It won't be easy, because Leigh is tough where we're tough. "But hopefully we'll win, and win our first championship in 30 years." It was 1969 the last time a Willow Glen wrestling team won a league crown. But the Rams hope to end that drought on Wed-nesday when they host Leigh at 6:30 p.m. The Rams put themselves in position to clinch the league title by crushing Gunderson 66-12 in a dual match last week. "It was pretty impressive," said Luna of the win that helped Willow Glen improve to 4-0 in the division. The Rams lost at 103 pounds, but then ran off 12 straight victories, including five by fall--four of them coming in order late in the match. It all started when Jeff Ramirez pinned in 40 seconds at 152 pounds to help the Rams all but wrap up the team win. After that, pinning became almost contagious for Willow Glen. Memo Rivera pinned in 51 seconds at 160 pounds, Steven Kline won by fall with 49 seconds left in the second round at 171, and Jessie Hendricks pinned with 36 seconds remaining in the first round at 189 pounds. Junior standout Fernando Betancourt capped the day with a 7-3 victory at 215 pounds. Gunderson actually started things off with a win at 103 pounds, but then the Rams went to work. Shane O'Hare won by forfeit at 112 pounds before Daniel Lopez clinched a tight 6-4 win at 119. Lupe Duran nailed a quick pin in 29 seconds at 125. Henry Chavez posted an 8-3 victory at 135 pounds and, after forfeit wins by Will Rideau at 140 and Paul Yarbrough at 145, Willow Glen started its string of pins. The Rams went on to the Titan Classic tournament at John F. Kennedy High over the weekend, and Betancourt made it all the way to the finals before losing. The junior clinched second at 215 pounds for the Rams. Lopez clinched a third-place finish at 112 pounds, and Chavez was third at 135. Chavez, a sophomore, lost to the No. 1 seed, but came back with three straight wins to secure third place. Duran had to settle for a sixth-place finish at 119 after retiring because of an injury. A night earlier, Willow Glen competed in the Del Mar junior varsity tournament, and three Rams placed in the top six. Alvin Rideau ended up fourth at 125 pounds with W. Rideau sixth at 130 and Kline sixth at 171. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, January 27, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.