Gilroy grapplers finish second with 2 champions, 2 runner-ups, 2
thirds, 1 fifth.
GILROY – One by one the spotlight shined down on the Mid-Cal finalists before each weight class championship was decided Saturday night at Gilroy High. Four of the 14 divisions included hometown Mustang matmen vying for a chance to take it all.
The 46-team field (of more than 500 wrestlers) had been thinned from Friday’s opening rounds to Saturday’s semifinals to the top two at every weight class.
For the Mustangs, junior 171-pounder Mark Zabala, junior 103-pounder John Gurich, freshman 119-pounder Armondo Gonzalez, and senior 125-pounder Danny San Juan were all who remained.
“How could you compare this to anything else – at your home school with the spotlight,” Gurich said. “We’ve been preparing for it the whole week and knowing what was going to happen in the finals it was pretty exciting. There was no way I was going to lose in front of the home crowd.”
The Mid-Cal Finals also brought some creativity out of the Gilroy grapplers as three of the four finalists dyed their hair Mustang blue for the special occasion.
“First day, I went yellow. Everybody did it,” Zabala said. “Then, right before the championships in-between break, we went to the store, bought some blue dye, decided to all be unique.”
Zabala, Gurich and San Juan looked like the Smurfs, while Gonzalez opted to keep his hair just the way it was – black.
“After our semi matches, we went down to Longs and bought some blue hair dye and me, Danny and Mark did it,” Gurich said, “and some people seem to like it.”
The first to take center stage was Zabala – who had a tough task ahead of him facing Madera senior William Griffin with his 18-1 season record and 50-7 career mark. The top-seeded Griffin pinned his way to the finals and only one opponent last past the first period.
In the championship showdown, Zabala held his own in the first period as neither grappler scored a point. Following a Griffin escape to open the second period, Zabala took a brief 2-1 edge by spinning behind for a two-point takedown.
“I was just trying to stay basic,” Zabala said. “He was leaning forward, anticipating a shot too much so I kinda snapped him down.”
Griffin, however, tied the match with an escape and then used a double-leg takedown to score a two-point takedown as well as three back points on Zabala – who lasted through the second. But in the final period, Griffin registered a pin with 56 seconds left to win the championship.
“There’s some areas where I thought I could have done a little bit better, but it gives me more incentive to just come back and try harder,” said Zabala, who settled for second on this night.
Next up was Gurich – who looked across the mat and saw Bellarmine’s Daniel Summers. True to his words, Gurich won a tight 3-0 decision over Summers – getting a crucial two-point takedown before the end of the first period and an escape in the third period.
“I had wrestled him in junior high and I’d beaten him then and I knew he’d gotten a lot better. He placed in a lot of top tournaments,” said Gurich, who won his third tournament title of the season. “I just knew coming in that he has that nice little single. I felt I could defend it, so he wasn’t able to take me down.”
With one Mustang champion already crowned, Gonzalez stepped on the mat against Soquel senior Joey Webster. In another low-scoring clash, Gonzalez scored a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal for a 4-0 championship victory.
“I’m real upset I couldn’t get away at the end there,” said Gonzalez, a perfectionist who wanted to get an escape in the third. “He was holding me down. He wasn’t really trying to turn me. He was just keeping me there.”
San Juan’s 125-pound championship bout followed against Turlock’s Lewis Gonzalez – who had beaten San Juan in an earlier encounter two weeks ago. San Juan dug deep into his repertoire, but could not score more than an escape on Gonzalez – dropping an 8-1 decision.
“Last time, I was just doing the basic stuff. This time, I tried some more of my funkier stuff. He’s real good defensively,” said San Juan, still satisfied with second place. “I’m happy… It was great how the whole crowd was cheering.”
Four finalists – two champions – along with two thirds and a fifth place allowed the host Mustangs to take second place as a team behind only champion Madera.
In his first Mid-Cals experience, freshman 112-pounder Adin Duenas finished with a 5-1 record. Duenas was handed third place when his opponent Wilcox’s Michael Ybarra – who knocked Duenas out of the championship bracket – pulled out with an injury.
“I lost to him last match of the first day yesterday and it was a tough match, but I thought I could beat him this time. Supposedly, he got hurt,” said Duenas, who is 2-2 against Ybarra this season. “I’m happy with third place. It was pretty tough competition at every single weight.”
Junior 130-pounder Chad Haygood also wrestled third place – finishing with a 5-1 tournament record. Haygood took out Ronny Jonathan, of James Logan, in his consolation finals, 13-5.
“I wrestled that kid before. I beat him once and he beat me once. Coach told me to go upper-body with him because I’m better at throwing. That was our game plan,” Haygood said. “I’m happy. I wanted first, but I’ll take it.”
Haygood – who placed for the first time in three Mid-Cals – knows how hard it is even to take top-six. “It’s really tough. I didn’t place any of the other two years,” he said. “Last year, I think we only had three placers so this is a tough tournament.”
Junior 140-pounder Callan Romesberg took another step forward in his return from a shoulder injury by placing fifth. Romesberg – who tallied a 6-2 record – finished the tournament with a stingy 4-3 nod over Shasta’s Lenny Marandino.
“We were right along with each other, but I pulled it off in the end. Once I got that Iranian, that’s when I felt the match turn around,” said Romesberg, who fell behind 3-1 before tying the score in the second and escaping in the third for the lead.
“I’m halfway satisfied. I’m getting more and more mat-time. The more I get the better.”
The Mustang matmen return to dual meet action Thursday, Jan. 30 at home against Salinas.
