WRESTLING: MARTINEZ WINS ROSEMEAD.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Two-time City Section champion Edwin Martinez, one of the top area performers at the 2005 State wrestling championships, is off to a fast start in his senior season at Chatsworth High.

Martinez, wrestling for a third season in the 103-pound weight class after winning three State matches last season, successfully defended his tournament title at the Rosemead West Coast Classic, going 4-0 with a 10-9 title-match win over Covina's previously undefeated Nick Outumuro, who finished eighth at Junior Nationals.

Martinez opened his season by stepping up to 112 pounds at the Newbury Park invitational and going 3-0 with three pins.

The two titles left Martinez 15-0 in his past two outings at the Newbory Park and West Coast tournaments.

--Tigers look sharp: Second-ranked San Fernando finished third with 171 points in the Gold Coast Classic at Camarillo, behind St. John Bosco (196.5) and Righetti (176.5), and advanced five wrestlers to weight-class finals.

Eddie Uribe (145) and freshman Rashaad Reynolds (135) - brother of two-time Daily News Wrestler of the Year Raphael Reynolds - won their weights, Reynolds with four consecutive pins.

Ruben Saenz (140), Michael Solis (152) and heavyweight Santos Delgadillo took seconds for the Tigers, who could get a rematch with St. John Bosco in two weeks.

San Fernando, bidding for a City Section-record 11th title this season, will stage its annual Sam De John Tournament on Jan. 21. St. John Bosco won the Sam De John in 2004 and finished second to Highland last season.

--Getting warmer: No. 3 Crespi, which took a No. 1 Southern Section ranking into last year's Div. VI dual-meet championships but lost in the quarterfinals, is starting to warm up after beginning a second consecutive season without some of its best wrestlers.

Sione Fua, an NCAA Division I football prospect and starting two-way lineman on two straight Div. X football champions at Crespi, has won two of his first three tournaments after another late arrival.

Fua, a Masters Meet qualifier as a heavyweight last season, won at the Gold Coast and Bishop Amat tournaments in December and was fourth in the Black Watch at Upland.

Last season, Fua and fellow Celt football star Martin Ciccolini - the area's interception leader, who joined Fua on 2004-05 Daily News All-Area teams in football and wrestling - were delayed in joining the wrestling team because of the school's football success, then helped Crespi go 17-1 in wrestling.

Crespi gets another top football player-wrestler this season: senior running back Josh Morgan. Morgan, who missed wrestling with a broken leg last season, won the Mission League title at 125 pounds as a sophomore.

Lamar Reed, a Crespi senior who didn't play football so he could concentrate on wrestling, has won at 152 at the Bishop Amat and Black Watch tournaments - posting one of his school's best wins at the Black Watch. Reed in the title-match beat two-time Florida state runner-up Keith Kozeil of powerhouse Brandon, which is ranked 11th nationally and placed wrestlers in eight weight-class finals at the event.

Dave Shelburne, [phone]

dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

TOP 10

1. Royal

2. San Fernando

3. Crespi

4. Highland

5. Simi Valley 

6. Thousand Oaks 

7. Moorpark

8. Calabasas

9. Lancaster

10. Littlerock

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TOP 10 (see text)