Rough Start Puts Hunter in the Mood for a Title

Westlake High’s Billy Hunter can be excused for approaching Saturday’s 175-pound championship match in the Master’s wrestling tournament with a yawn.

After all, Hunter took a 36-0 record and 30 pins into his match against Warren’s Derek Brown at Fountain Valley High.

But, en route to a 12-2 win, Hunter was caught napping when Brown greeted him with the first takedown Hunter had allowed all season.

“I kinda fell asleep at first,” Hunter said. “I went in thinking that I was going to finish first or second, and it wasn’t any big deal.”

Brown slammed Hunter to the mat, which gave Brown a 2-0 lead that awakened Hunter.

Suddenly, Hunter was not content with finishing second at the meet for the second consecutive year.

“Once he threw me down, I changed my mind about being happy with second place,” he said.

The strong, quick senior led, 6-2, after one period and--despite having a contact lens ripped from his left eye--took a 10-2 lead into the third.

“I knew going in the second period that I had to go after him,” Hunter said. “And, in the third, that pretty much broke him.”

Hunter, ranked among the state’s top four prospects by Amateur Wrestling News, settled for the 12-2 win over Brown, who was 41-0.

“At first, he was a lot stronger than me,” Hunter said. “But he was using more muscle than technique, and he started to wear down.”

Hunter was one of three Westlake wrestlers, and five from the Valley area, who finished among the top six and qualified for the state championships Friday and Saturday in Stockton.

Hunter lost, 1-0, to Katella’s Joe Pastorello in the state’s 175-pound final last year.

Westlake’s Farzin Daneshnia and Neal Mason finished third, as did Newbury Park’s Jeff Jay and Agoura’s Steve Baer.

They worked through the consolation bracket and will be making their debuts in the state meet.

Daneshnia, a senior, defeated San Clemente’s Jason Booth, 6-1, in overtime to finish third at 112 pounds and improve to 39-3.

Mason (40-3), a senior, handed Eisenhower’s Colby Gilbreath a 4-1 loss in the third-place match at 154 pounds. Jay (31-3), a heavyweight, overcame an 8-2 first-round loss to West Torrance’s Josh Gormley--the eventual champion--and beat Duarte’s Nathan Collins, 6-1, for third place. Jay beat Gormley, 5-2, earlier this season.

Baer beat Alhambra’s Richard Guiterrez, 2-1, in the third-place match of the 105-pound division.

Local wrestlers who lost two matches and did not earn a trip north included Quartz Hill’s Gilbert Zavala (105), Moorpark’s Paul Guiterrez (126), Channel Islands’ Heda Kuwata (138) and T. R. Merickel (112), Rio Mesa’s Phil Marino (138) and Henry Wilson (154), Newbury Park’s Wade Caddin (145) and Westlake’s David Schumm (191).