A LITTLE HISTORY, A LITTLE HOLLYWOOD SAN FERNANDO, H.-W. WRESTLERS WIN MEDALS.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

BAKERSFIELD - Dramatic showings at Saturday's state wrestling meet made Raphael Reynolds the most accomplished City wrestler of all time and might have put Kenji Porter on course to become a Hollywood star.

Reynolds, a San Fernando High senior who competes in the 160-pound division, won seven consecutive matches after losing his opening-round bout and placed fourth, the best individual showing by a City Section wrestler in state championship history.

His run was highlighted by a 3-2 consolation quarterfinal victory over San Dimas' Shawn Boas, which secured a state medal, on a two-point takedown with 12 seconds remaining.

Reynolds is the ninth City wrestler to win a medal; the top eight wrestlers in each weigh class won medals this year.

``It's an honor,'' said Reynolds, 51-2 this season. ``Now they're going to respect the City.''

Porter (189 pounds), a Harvard-Westlake of Studio City senior, secured his school's first state placing with a 5-4 double-overtime victory in the consolation quarterfinals over Matt Gutschow of Poway, which won the team title.

Porter, who finished fifth, is the primary subject of a documentary his coach, filmmaker Gary Bairos, has been shooting since Porter's freshman year.

``He actually made our documentary a little more dramatic today,'' Bairos said. ``Kenji has a flair for the dramatic.''

Porter (55-7) scored the decisive point by not allowing Gutschow to escape his grasp in a mandated 30-second criteria round.

An exhausted Porter could barely have his arm raised by the referee before collapsing on the edge of the mat.

``That's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life,'' he said.

Reynolds' winning streak ended in the third-place match, when exhaustion caught up with him in a 4-2 loss to Merced's Steven Urquizo. It was his ninth match in less than 30 hours.

Reynolds took an extraordinarily difficult path to the consolation-championship match after losing his opening match Friday to Grace Davis of Modesto's Victor Carazo 2-1, a match decided by a stalling call with 20 seconds remaining.

``It's always difficult when referees decide a match,'' San Fernando coach Fernando Gonzalez said, ``but it happens, and (Reynolds) did what quality athletes do, which is overcome it and come back.''

Reynolds, who boldly predicted earlier in the week that anything less than a state title would be a disappointment, nearly pulled out of the meet after losing to Carazo. Coaches convinced him otherwise just minutes before the start of the consolation round.

``I don't handle losing very well,'' Reynolds said. ``I just had to man-up, that's what I learned (from this).''

Porter pumped his fists and lifted a video camera-carrying Bairos off his feet in an emotional celebration after pinning nemesis California of Whittier's Louie Audelo after 30 seconds in the fifth-place match.

Porter lost to Audelo at the North Torrance and Rosemead tournaments.

``That guy's been dogging me all season, and I finally got him,'' Porter said. ``I wanted that match so bad.

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com