Jason Rouimi Loved to Wrestle : Tragedy: Agoura High athlete who died after his first-round match hoped eventually to reach the State tournament.

Dan Rouimi passed his twin brother Jason in a hallway at Agoura High School Friday morning, patted him on the back and wished him luck on his afternoon wrestling match.

Early that evening, Dan was napping at the family’s Westlake Village home when assistant wrestling coach Dennis Ritterbush called and told him that Jason collapsed after winning his first-round match in the CIF Southern Section Division 4-A championships at Rio Hondo College in Whittier.

Dan figured his brother probably was simply tired.

“But Coach Ritterbush told me not to take this news lightly,” said Dan, who also wrestles for Agoura. “He told me it was an emergency situation and to call my father at work.”

Within an hour, Claude Rouimi and his son, Dan, were en route to Greater El Monte Community Hospital in South El Monte. When they arrived, they were taken to a small room with the attending doctor and Coach Steve Smith.

“The doctor told us that Jason had died,” Dan said. “It was very shocking news. When we got to the hospital I expected Jason to walk out and meet us. I never expected this to happen. I just kept asking myself, ‘Why?’ ”

Jason, a 16-year-old sophomore, won his first-round qualifying match in the 125-pound weight class that afternoon. After his 6-0 victory over Eric Reed of Irvine High, Jason turned in his match card and followed his coaches off the mat. Before he reached the exit, he fell on his back.

Emergency personnel at the scene tried to resuscitate him. By the time paramedics arrived, Jason’s pulse was weak. He collapsed at 3:55 p.m. and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 4:57 p.m., apparently a victim of cardiac arrest.

An autopsy was performed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office Sunday. Results are expected to be released today.

“Sometimes Jason would really put on an acting job when he was tired,” Ritterbush said. “This time, though, it seemed more serious. He just stared up at the ceiling. I knelt down to talk to him, but he did not respond. His breathing was erratic. His eyes were rolling around and he was making his hands into fists.”

Since his death, it has been reported that Jason might have lost large amounts of weight before Friday’s match. The Rouimi family and Agoura coaches angrily deny that, and Smith said Jason had to lose only three pounds between Wednesday and Friday.

They say Jason started the season at 119 pounds, but later moved up to 125 because losing weight became too difficult. On two occasions, when he could not make 125, he wrestled at 130. Smith said Jason did not struggle with weight loss more than any of his other wrestlers.

Smith said Jason appeared fine Friday and seemed excited about his match.

“It was his goal to finish among the top five (at 125) and qualify for the Master’s meet. I think he had a good chance.”

The Rouimi family has no history of heart disease, and Dan said his brother rarely was ill.

“The only time I can remember him getting hurt is when we were kids. We were playing around up on the roof and I accidentally pushed him off and he broke his wrists,” Dan said.

Dan and Jason’s mother, Sonja Rouimi, died in 1983 after a six-month bout with lung cancer.

“That was the hardest thing I ever had to deal with until now,” Dan said. “I was only 9 years old, but I lost someone who was very close to me and it really hurt. . . . It really made me and my father and Jason very close.”

Claude Rouimi, 50, has raised his sons alone since his wife died. He manages a clothing store in Woodland Hills, and although he works long hours, rarely misses a wrestling match. Friday’s match was one of the few he did not attend this season.

Claude Rouimi has declined all interviews.

Dan and Jason, fraternal twins, started wrestling together in the sixth grade after hearing an announcement on the school loudspeaker. They both took an immediate liking to the sport and signed up for as many camps and wrestling leagues as they could find.

Smith teaches at the area middle school and has known the Rouimi brothers since they started their wrestling careers.

“Jason did all the things that a wrestler needs to do to become good,” said Smith, Agoura’s wrestling coach for 17 years. “He was extremely talented. He loved the competition and could have been really top notch. He had better skills as a sophomore than many of our seniors, and he was still learning, too.”

Although Dan was three inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than Jason, the two wrestled each other frequently. Dan said the sport was one of the most important things in Jason’s life.

A wall in Jason’s bedroom is called the “ultimate wall” and is a collage of wrestling mementos, including pictures, draw sheets and certificates. Trophies and ribbons are scattered around the room.

“Jason never really worried about the future,” Dan said. “He was a good student (2.7 grade-point average), and very popular with his peers. But he never talked about what he wanted to do after high school. He lived life day by day. When he died, the biggest things in his life were his family, friends and wrestling.”

His wrestling career was on the rise this season. He wrestled on the junior varsity last season at 112 pounds, but always talked about making the varsity. After an intense off-season of training, Jason told Dan he thought he was ready for the varsity. He made the team at 119 this season, but was so talented he was able to wrestle at several different weights.

He won 21 of his 27 matches this season, and was the champion at the Alemany High Invitational in December. Ritterbush described his victory Friday as the best match of his career.

Jason recently told Dan that it was his goal for both of them to qualify for the State tournament next year.

“We were best friends, and he was always there to encourage me,” Dan said. “He worried about himself, but he worried about others more. Whenever I was struggling or upset, he was always the first to be there for support.

“At this point, it is hard to comprehend my life without my brother. Going back to school will be very difficult.”

Jason qualified for Friday’s match by finishing third at the Marmonte League championship at Channel Islands High in Oxnard Feb. 9. Dan wrestles at 103 pounds, but a late-season back injury forced him to miss the league meet. Because of school, he did not attend Friday’s match, the first one he missed all season.

Smith and Ritterbush spent most of the weekend at the Rouimi home, offering comfort and trying to explain the tragedy.

“I assured them that everything that could have been done to help save Jason was done,” Smith said. “I wanted them to know that I was there for them to talk to and offer support.

“The hardest thing is that I could tell the family what happened, I just couldn’t tell them why it happened,” he said. “This has been the worst thing I’ve ever gone through as a coach. I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody.”

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that friends make a donation to the Jason Rouimi Memorial Fund in care of the Agoura High Athletic Dept., 28545 W. Driver Ave., Agoura, Calif., 91301.

Dan says he will dedicate next season to his brother.