DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Sometimes dreams grow incrementally, progress measured tangibly over the course of several seasons, as once-inexperienced aspirants climb to the heights of glory.

And then there is Scott Lineback.

The Corona del Mar High senior wrestler dreams of winning his CIF Southern Section division title at 189 pounds, then qualifying for the CIF state tournament and finishing in the top eight this season.

Missing from this script are fully developed opening acts, such as the one in which he captures a league title, only to fall short at the Southern Section division tournament. Also nowhere to be found is an image or tale of his rising onto the medal stand at a CIF division meet, only to miss advancing to the state preliminaries.

Lineback, in fact, has not wrestled in the postseason in either of his first two years in the sport, in which he began as a sophomore.

But, left with just one season in which to maximize his impressive potential, Lineback elected to hold nothing back, beginning with formulating his goals.

To that end, he committed his spring, summer and fall to training, dieting and, well, dreaming. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week followed that up with a 16-1 start, including nine pins, and he has begun to open eyes outside the Sea Kings’ wrestling room.

“Why not?” Lineback said to those who may cringe at the lofty goals upon which he arrived. “I’ve always been confident in my abilities. After last season, I figured I would come back my senior year and work as hard as I possibly could and just let that take me wherever it was going to take me.”

That path, his first two seasons, led mostly to frustration.

As a sophomore newcomer, having traded football, which he played as a freshman, for the more individual endeavor on the mat, he said he became familiar with losing.

“I definitely got beat up a little,” Lineback said of his initial season, which did not include participation in the postseason treadmill that begins with league championships.

Still, his humbling initiation served only to strengthen his growing passion for the sport.

“I liked the hard work, the intensity, and that it was one-on-one,” he said. “It is a sport where you can show all your abilities and techniques and show all your hard work in your actions.”

Lineback’s labor helped him shed about 25 pounds in his first year in the sport. He began quoting wrestling legend Dan Gable — “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else is easy,” Lineback attributed to the former NCAA and Olympic champion whose already formidable legend grew when he coached Iowa to 15 NCAA titles. Lineback even swore off soda and potato chips, at one point making a failed attempt to drop to the 171-pound class.

But his obsession ultimately had a cost, as his studies slipped enough during his junior year to render him ineligible for the 2007 postseason.

“I didn’t concentrate on school,” he said. “I was focusing on wrestling a little too much. It was my own fault that I didn’t get the grades.”

Still, he remained driven to succeed, carrying a B-plus average this semester along with those lofty wrestling goals.

“He showed glimpses of brilliance [last year],” said Corona del Mar Coach Gary Almquist, who refuses to scoff at Lineback’s goals.

“It’s no surprise what he has done so far,” Almquist said. “He worked extremely hard in the spring and the summer and he has kept that up. He’s a bully who has learned how to wrestle. Some of his matches this year have been clinics. You can literally hear people watching saying ‘Whoa, that’s how it is supposed to be done.’ ”

Lineback, who can win with quickness or strength, both of which are enhanced by a high fitness level generated by relentless conditioning, said he embraces every challenge he can.

“I want to wrestle guys who are better than the ones I’m pinning in the first period,” he said. “I like the competition. I wrestle [Almquist] in practice, and he always beats me. But I’m happy with that, because I know it’s making me better.”

Lineback said his objective in every match is to get the first takedown. He smiled at the notion that Almquist considers him a bully.

“If I could, I would pin everyone in the first round and punish them a little bit,” Lineback said. “That’s what I’m going for every time.”

He simply wants to keep going and going, knocking off opponents and crossing off the goals that only he holds for himself. He even wants to wrestle in college, perhaps at Cal State Fullerton.

The only people who can prove him wrong, after all, are his opponents.

Why not? indeed.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.