K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune Daniel Kwittken, who wrestles at 140 pounds for Torrey Pines High School, is ranked first in the San Diego Section and fourth in the state. This season, Kwittken has finished first in three tournaments and second and fourth in two others.

Except in wrestling, which is something Daniel Kwittken wants to change.

The senior is part of a recent rise in the Torrey Pines wrestling program. The school has sent four wrestlers to the state tournament in the past three years. But the Falcons have never had an individual section masters champion – another thing Kwittken, a 140-pounder, is hoping to alter.

“It would be really special to be the first,” said Kwittken, who's ranked first in the San Diego Section and fourth in the state. “I think we've really started to raise the profile of the program on campus, and people are starting to take notice.”

It's hard not to notice Kwittken. He first made a splash with a second-place finish at masters his sophomore year, punching his ticket to the state meet. But a stacked weight class last season left him on the outside of the state tournament, finishing one spot shy of qualifying.

This year, he's motivated to return to the annual meet in Bakersfield and bring some hardware back to Torrey Pines.

K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune Daniel Kwittken practiced his techniques on a fellow wrestler. "I think the strongest thing about him is that he can learn a technique and apply it the same day," coach Jesse Mindlin said.

“My goal is to finish in the top three,” he said. “Of course I would love to win it. That would be awesome. But I'm setting my goal at top three.”

His coach is a believer. Jesse Mindlin has seen Kwittken mature from an unsure 103-pounder to a confident, technically proficient competitor who sets the tone of a match and wrestles on his terms.

“I think the strongest thing about him is that he can learn a technique and apply it the same day,” Mindlin said. “That's a very difficult thing to do, but he's able to grasp it and then turn it around on his opponent.”

This season Kwittken has finished first in three tournaments and second and fourth in two others. The team opted not to travel to last weekend's Five Counties Invitational, where many of the top wrestlers in California converge in what has become a precursor to the state meet.

“I think he's exactly where he needs to be right now,” Mindlin said. “He's wrestling very well. He's healthy. He's strong. We didn't see a need to go up there this year. Most of the state-ranked wrestlers in his weight class (weren't) going to be there.”

That's fine with Kwittken. He still knows the target is on his back because of his state ranking. That pressure is what pushes him.

“I used to get really nervous before I wrestled,” he said. “But the higher I move up in the rankings, the more confident I get. It actually drives me. It makes me feel like I belong, so I don't see it as more pressure. I see it as a good thing.”

Already a two-time masters placer, Kwittken also could become the first Torrey Pines wrestler to win a medal three times in the section masters meet, which will be Feb. 22-23 at Mission Hills High.

 Kevin Gemmell: (619) 718-5304; kevin.gemmell@uniontrib.com