STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Hunter Taken Down From Lofty Perch

Wrestlers like Steve Baer and Billy Hunter appear at the state high school championships every year.

Hunter is the hunted; the favorite who takes an unexpected fall. Baer is the gutsy underdog; the scrappy unknown who battles his way to the top.

Hunter, a senior at Westlake High and last year’s state runner-up, brought a 39-0 record to the quarterfinals of the 175-pound division.

But he was rudely greeted with a 3-1 loss to Ukiah’s Brett Colombini, who was third at 165 last year. Colombini broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown with 1 minute 10 seconds left and improved to 52-0.

“(Colombini) was a lot quicker than we anticipated,” Westlake Coach Larry Stonebreaker said. “He was able to stop Billy’s leg attacks.”

Hunter refused comment.

“It’s really tough on a kid like that who set his sights on the top,” Stonebreaker said.

Agoura High’s Baer was at the top. He defeated Selma’s Nick Quintana, 6-4, to earn the first semifinal berth in Agoura’s 19-year wrestling history.

Baer and Westlake’s Neal Mason qualified for today’s semifinals.

Newbury Park heavyweight Jeff Jay almost made it too. But he lost, 6-4, to Hoover’s Gary Williams in the quarterfinals when Williams broke a 4-4 tie with a takedown with four seconds left.

“In my mind, I’ve been here (at the state meet) a thousand times before,” said Baer, who lost in the Southern Section Masters meet last year. “But this is the first time I’ve walked through these doors.”

Baer made quite an entrance. He pinned two of three opponents and improved to 33-2.

Mason (43-3) overcame a nagging bloody nose and defeated Madera’s Alfonso Cuevas, 3-0, to become only the second Westlake wrestler to qualify for the semifinals.

Twelve other Valley-area wrestlers were eliminated Friday: Westlake’s Farzin Daneshnia (112 pounds); Canoga Park’s Mario Acosta (98); Steve Pratt (126) and Chris Camarena (132); El Camino Real’s David Aparicio (112), Greg McMurray (119), Roy Steinbock (145) and Saul Emard (165); San Fernando’s Greg Tan (154); Birmingham’s Barak Isaacs (191); Granada Hills’ Karl Finley (175); and Chatsworth’s Lester Martinez (heavyweight).