ROYAL WRESTLER, COACH GET WARM WELCOME.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Royal High of Simi Valley fans treated their returning wrestler and hero to a standing ovation before Thursday night's Marmonte League match with visiting Calabasas.

The wrestler and the hero, however, were not the same person.

Competing in their first match since finishing third in the Upland Black Watch Tournament on Dec. 30, the Highlanders were without the services of 171-pounder Dave Talley.

But they were not without Talley, thanks in large part to Royal coach Paul Mole, who teamed with Atascadero coach Chris Ferree to bring Talley back to life after he quit breathing and lost his pulse during a second-round match at the Upland tournament.

``He wasn't breathing, and he had no pulse,'' Mole said. ``I started rescue breathing, but it wasn't working. I would say his heart quit beating for about 30 seconds. Then Chris started chest compressions. He did that for about 10 minutes, and David started to breathe just before the paramedics arrived.''

``They definitely saved my life, I have no doubt about that,'' Talley said Thursday night. ``I hadn't breathed for eight to 10 minutes. If it were not for them continually working on me and administering CPR I wouldn't be here today.''

Talley didn't expect to wrestle again this season - ``I'd like to, but there's just no way to tell'' - but said he felt good and enormously appreciative of what Mole and Ferree had done for him.

The quick response of the two coaches and the Upland Fire Department saved Talley, who was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton and spent more than 20 hours in a coma before being released to his parents.

``Those two guys did an awesome job under some very difficult circumstances,'' Upland coach and tournament director Bob Irwin said after Mole administered CPR by breathing into Talley's mouth while Ferree applied compression to Talley's chest.

But the Royal coach wound up with a little more than a happy homecoming. Assistant principal Tim Piatt read a proclamation for Mole's heroic efforts, and the Talley family presented him with a letterman's jacket in a ceremony before the match.

--Reynolds TOC champ: San Fernando senior Raphael Reynolds recorded his third tournament victory of the season on Dec. 30, when the two-time state qualifier won the 160-pound weight class in the Tournament of Champions at North Torrance High.

--Strong area start: Reynolds, who went 2-2 at 152 pounds in last year's state meet, is one of several area wrestlers who are multiple tournament winners or tournament MVP selections or both this season.

Chatsworth's Edwin Martinez, who qualified for state as a sophomore last season, was named lower-weight MVP at the Rosemead tournament after winning the 103-pound weight class.

Royal's Eric Blackwell, a state qualifier at 152 pounds last year, won at that weight in the Upland Black Watch tournament and at the season- opening Newbury Park tournament.

Teammate Kevin Dunn was named lower-weight MVP at Newbury Park after winning at 112 pounds in his first of three finals at that weight this season.

Camarillo's Jeff Whitehouse was named lower-weight MVP at the Gold Coast Classic after winning the 135-pound weight class. Reseda's George Infante (171) was outstanding upper-weight wrestler and Highland's Kyle Burnett (112) was outstanding lower-weight wrestler in the Rebel Classic at Quartz Hill.

--Notable: Kenji Porter of Harvard-Westlake, dropping to 189 as a senior after qualifying for state at 215 last year, has reached the finals of four tournaments at the lower weight, including last week's Tournament of Champions. He won the Camarillo tournament in December.

Staff writer Louis Brewster contributed to this report

Dave Shelburne, [phone]

dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) MOLE

(2) TALLEY