BAKERSFIELD – One week ago, Daniel Kwittken's backside was two feet in the air and his self-esteem was six feet under.
In the San Diego Section Masters 140-pound title bout last Saturday, the Torrey Pines senior was pinned by La Costa Canyon's Dustin Hernandez on a move known as “The Banana Split.” If you don't know wrestling, use your imagination.
Kwittken, was San Diego's top seed and wanted to become Torrey Pines' first masters champ.
But now he's got a chance to become the school's first state champion.
When the tournament resumes today at Rabobank Arena, Kwittken will be one of four San Diego wrestlers in the semifinals.
Poway entered today in second place in the team competition behind Clovis.
Kwittken, who had a week to marinate in the misery of last week's defeat, said he's not done yet.
“I want this bad,” he said. “I was (ticked off) after last week.”
His coach said he's seeing a focused, motivated wrestler.
“There were times in matches during the season where he would take breaks,” Torrey Pines coach Jesse Mindlin said. “But not today. Today he was amazing. He's pushing the tempo. I'm so proud of this kid.”
Kwittken is joined in the semis by La Costa Canyon sophomore Bryan Grubbs (103), Vista senior Anthony Meza (152) and Poway junior Ian Daube (171).
For Meza, a defending state champion, it's a third straight appearance in the semis. For Grubbs, Kwittken and Daube it's a first. Grubbs said he draws inspiration from former teammate Elliott Dennis, who reached the state final last year before graduating.
“He was a huge inspiration to me and I try all the time to be like him,” Grubbs said. “I talked to him last week and he congratulated me on everything.”
LCC assistant coach Don Williams said he sees a lot of last year's silver medalist in Grubbs.
“He's a tough little kid,” Williams said. “Last year he followed Dennis around like a little puppy. He left a big impression on him. Hopefully a couple of years from now he'll be leaving his imprint on a younger wrestler.”
In the team race, Poway held the lead for most of the day while advancing six wrestlers into the quarterfinals. But then it all came apart and Titans started dropping two matches at a time. As Poway lost quarterfinal matches, its remaining wrestlers were dropping out of the consolation rounds, leaving the Titans with seven of the original 12 they brought to Bakersfield. Only Daube is still alive in the championship bracket, where team points are a premium.
“Boy the wheels came off didn't they?” Poway coach Wayne Branstetter rhetorically asked. “It was a great start, but I knew the storm was coming.”
The pivotal turning point in the team race came in a pair of quarterfinal matches that featured Poway and Clovis wrestlers. Poway's Henry Yorba (130) dropped an overtime match to Stephen Weimer and heavyweight Sam Cervantes fell to Jonathen Zamora. It was a 10-point swing that put Clovis ahead and likely made Poway's goal of a fourth team title out of reach.
“We've gotten a lot out of these kids and I ask a lot of them,” Branstetter said. “I felt like we had a chance. But Clovis is a really good team. We're not out of it yet. But our backs are against the wall.”
Kevin Gemmell: (619) 718-5304; kevin.gemmell@uniontrib.com
