Gilroy-area athletes made it hard to pick and choose the top stories of 2014 because there was so much accomplished this year. From the victorious return of Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero to the Christopher football team’s stellar inaugural season at Don Christopher Sports Complex, there a lot to be excited about this year. Take a look back at some of the top stories with us and share your favorite sports memories with us online at gilroydispatch.com. Here are our top picks, in no particular order:
Guerrero victorious in return to ring after 13-month layoff
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Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero beat Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai by unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 117-111) on June 21 at the StubHub Center in Carson.
It was Guerrero’s first fight since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4, 2013. Critics doubted the Gilroy boxer’s ability to go toe-to-toe with his opponent after such a long hiatus, but he quickly proved them wrong.
Guerrero landed 411 power punches to Kamegai’s 278.
‘The Ghost’ suffered a cut above his eye in Round 6—which quickly started to swell—but fought through it for the victory.
Guerrero’s next fight has not yet been scheduled.
Gavilan softball wins first conference crown in 30 years
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The 2014 Gavilan softball team did something that its predecessors hadn’t for 30 years:win the Coast Conference-South crown.
It was a defensive battle that spanned eight innings and ended with the Rams winning 1-0 over Cabrillo on April 22 in Aptos.
Gavilan’s lone run came in the top of the eighth after Tori Lobato hit a single to start things off. Cristyn Simpson was put in to pinch run for Lobato and stole second before advancing to third on a Samantha Ribeiro bunt. Priscilla Orona brought her home with a base hit for the winning run. The Rams combined for five hits in the game.
The Rams were ousted from the CCCAA Regional playoffs after two straight losses to Ohlone College—10-2 and 9-7, respectively—but finished the season with a 26-11 overall record, 12-4 in conference.
Gilroy’s Fox, Villarreal win state wrestling titles; Mustangs claim 12th straight CCS title
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Gilroy High’s Paul Fox and Nikko Villarreal made a pact that they would end their senior year as champions. On March 8, they did just that.
Villarreal cemented his name into the California high school wrestling books by becoming the 18th wrestler to win three California Interscholastic Federation state titles after beating Clovis West’s Chris Garcia 11-6. He was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament and preserved his undefeated record.
Fox, who finished as the runner-up the previous two years, won his first CIF title with an escape and then takedown of Cardinal Newman’s PJ Klee with 16 seconds remaining in the match.
The week before, Gilroy claimed its 12th straight Central Coast Section title and broke its team record. The Mustangs claimed the title with 277 points and saw eight wrestlers reach the finals—five of whom took home CCS titles.
Cougars win league, Severance Bowl and CCS berth; Moen named league MVP
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The Christopher football team christened its brand new stadium—the Don Christopher Sports Complex—with an outstanding season. The Cougars went 9-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division to claim the league title. Christopher also won its fourth straight Severance Bowl by beating Gilroy 48-10 on Nov. 14 at Gilroy High. All of this led to a CCS playoff berth for Christopher, but its season ended there after falling 28-13 to Wilcox at home.
Even though the season was over, the Cougars’ didn’t stop bringing home the hardware. Senior linebacker and tight end Jacob Moen was named the MBL Pacific’s Most Valuable Player, racking up 154 tackles. He finished his high school career with 498 total tackles—309 of which were solo—as well as 6.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, five fumble recovered and two interceptions. He was also one of seven Cougars to earn First Team All-League honors.
Gilroy boys soccer wins CCS title
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Eighty minutes and two 10-minute overtimes weren’t enough to decide a winner of the Central Coast Section Division II boys soccer match-up between Gilroy and Serra, so both took home the crown.
The two teams tied 2-2 on March 8 in San Jose. It was the Mustangs’ first CCS title since the 2006-2007 season.
Both sides had late goals scored to force or continue overtime. Serra scored with five minutes left in the game to force OT and Gilroy responded to an early goal in extra time to force a second OT.
Gilroy finished its season 16-4-4 overall, 7-3-2 in the MBL Gabilan Division.
Ally Foster takes sixth at state; Christopher girls track team wins back-to-back titles
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Christopher’s Ally Foster had hit 18 feet in the long jump before, but all previous attempts had been scratches. Not this time.
Foster recorded an 18-foot, 11-inch jump to take sixth place and medal in the long jump at the CIF State Track and Field Championships June 7 in Clovis. She also set a new school record in the process.
Foster was an integral part of the Cougar girls team that claimed back-to-back league titles. It won the Pacific Division title in 2013 and, despite moving up to a tougher division, claimed the Gabilan crown this year, too. The Cougars finished 43 points ahead of North Monterey County on May 9 and became the first team in school history to win a title in the Gabilan Division.
Christopher swimming wins back-to-back league titles
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The Christopher swim team claimed its second league title in as many years following a standout performance at the MBL finals on May 3.
The title is awarded to the team which not only performed the best at the championships, but also at the regular season dual meets, too. Both the Cougar boys’ and girls’ teams were crowned the overall champions in the MBL Gabilan Division.
Christopher had claimed the crown in the Pacific Division the year before, too.
Malaya Santos—who was a freshman at the time—shined in the 200-meter individual medley and finished with a time of 2:30.35. Two Cougars girls’ relay teams also took home tip finishes. The 200m freestyle—consisting of Natalie Garcia, Santos, Emma Seery and Ashley DeAbreu—won in 1:48.11 and the 200m medley relay—Garcia, Seery, Santos and Kaela Nguyen—won in 1:57.53.
Aguilar wins two national titles in Fargo
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Even before he ever put on a Mustang uniform, Gilroy wrestler Nicholas Aguilar had already made a name for himself.
The GHS freshman won not one, but two national championships at the Asics/Vaughan Cadet and Junior Nationals tournament July 18-26 in Fargo, N.D.
Aguilar, wrestling at 94 pounds, is the first wrestler to take home titles at this tournament. He claimed the Greco-Roman crown with a 7-2 decision over Brandon Meikel from Utah and won the Freestyle title with a tech fall over Dylan D’Emilio.
Prior to Aguilar’s titles, the best a Gilroy wrestler had ever done was take second at this tournament.
Gilroy girls basketball wins league
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The Gilroy girls basketball team won its first league title since 2011 after beating North Monterey County 61-46 Feb. 20 on the road.
The Mustangs had four players score in double digits. Adina Valencia led the team with 15 points, while Nia Pollard, Maddy Cox and Holly Lam each added
Gilroy needed an Alisal loss to gain sole possession of first place. Everett Alvarez pulled off the stunner with a 64-58 win that same night, giving the Mustangs the title outright.
Garcia takes sixth at state, brings home first CIF medal for Christopher
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Christopher’s Alex Garcia became the first wrestler in school history to bring home a medal on the Golden State’s biggest state.
Garcia took sixth place at the CIF tournament on March 8 in Bakersfield. He was wrestling in the 152-pound weight class.
