COLLEGE WRESTLING: FRESHMAN FORCE : MOORPARK YOUNG, UNITED, EXCITED ABOUT STATE; LUCATEROS TOUGH.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

For the majority of the season, the Moorpark College wrestling team has sat atop the rankings, in search of its second state championship in three years.

Opponents have come high and low, trying to take down Moorpark, a freshman-led team that is now only one step from achieving its goal. Nine of Moorpark's 10 wrestlers have qualified for the state championships, which will be held Dec. 2-4 at Skyline College, near San Francisco.

``I think that right now, we are wrestling as well as we have all season,'' coach Paul Keysaw said.

``This is a really special group. We have some kids with a lot of talent, but every wrestler has an incredible work ethic.

``Wrestling is largely an individual sport, but those individuals make up a team, and that is what is most important to our guys.''

Moorpark is strong at every weight class, as evidenced by its near-perfect qualification percentage at last weekend's South Regional at Rio Hondo College.

Younas Waldu (133 pounds), Saul Lucatero (149) and Eddie Lucatero (157) all won regional championships in their respective weight classes.

Juan Roman (141), Arsen Aleksanyan (165), Stewart Young (179), Cris Gonzalez (184), Adam Benshea (197) and Chris Jansen (heavyweight) also qualified for the State Championships.

``We've been so fortunate this season, knock on wood, to not have any major injuries,'' Keysaw said.

``We have good team unity and the guys seem to get along real well.''

A late addition to a team can sometimes be a disruptive force, but when Young joined the team in August, he fit in perfectly.

A former CIF champion from Highland High, Young first chose to attend Cal State Bakersfield but informed Keysaw this summer that he would be transferring to Moorpark.

``I recruited him out of high school, so I already knew what kind of talent he had,'' Keysaw said. ``He's always wrestled at 157, but we were already pretty established there with Eddie, and then he couldn't beat out Arsen at 165, so he's been wrestling a lot bigger guys at 174 and doing a great job.

He weighs 165 pounds, maybe.''

Young's roommates, the Lucatero brothers from Hollister in Northern California, have anchored the Raiders' lower weights this season.

Saul, a redshirt freshman, broke his hand in his third match last season, and this year he was joined by Eddie.

``When we saw all the talent we had on this team, we set our sights real high at the start of the season,'' Saul Lucatero said.

``We knew that winning the state championship was a realistic goal.''

Saul Lucatero gets no argument from his younger brother. The Raiders lost only two of 14 dual meets this season, both to Palomar, but came back strong each time.

``We were never thinking anything less than state title,'' Eddie Lucatero said. ``For me personally, it's great, because I didn't see myself contributing so much in my first year.

I thought I would make the lineup, but I didn't know things would do this good.''

The Lucateros are already looking forward to next season, when nine of the top 10 wrestlers return.

``We're young, but we've been able to do some great things,'' Keysaw said.

``When you're on top, everybody else wrestles their best against you and tries their hardest. We feel the pressure, but once you get on the mat, all of that goes away.''

AT A GLANCE

Team: Moorpark College wrestling

What: Community College State Championships

When: Dec. 2-4

Where: Skyline College, north of San Francisco

Outlook: The Raiders will try for their fourth state title of the 1990s and their second in three years. Nine of the 10 wrestlers on Moorpark's top-ranked team will participate: Younas Woldu (133), Juan Roman (141), Saul Lucatero (149), Eddie Lucatero (157), Arsen Aleksanyan (165), Stuart Young (179), Cris Gonzalez (184), Adam Benshea (197) and Chris Jansen (heavyweight).

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, box

Photo: (1 -- color -- ran in Conejo and Simi editions only) Brothers Eddie, left, and Saul Lucatero, from the town of Hollister, each won regional titles for Moorpark College and could do well at state.

(2 -- color -- ran in Conejo, Simi and AV editions only) Stuart Young wrestled at Highland.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

Box: (Ran in Conejo, Simi and AV editions only) AT A GLANCE (See text)