San Jose
– With the first day of the CCS finals in the book, Gilroy is in
the unexpected position of looking up at a pair of teams in
the standings.
San Jose – With the first day of the CCS finals in the book, Gilroy is in the unexpected position of looking up at a pair of teams in
the standings.
A loss in the lower weights and several more in the upper brackets meant both Los Gatos (83.5 points) and Tri-County Athletic League rival Hollister (68.5) both enter today’s final showdown ahead of the favorites, who finished the preliminaries on 61.0 points.
Nine Mustang wrestlers out of 14 will advance to the second day of the Central Coast Section Championships at San Jose’s Overfelt High, but head coach Armando Gonzalez admitted that an upset of his team could be in the works.
“The points are close enough that it is still a three-team race,” Gonzalez said. “It is still anybody’s game.”
Throughout most of the day Friday, the ‘Stangs were comfortably in second behind the Wildcats, riding on strong performances in the lower weight divisions.
But when their big men faltered in the afternoon session, the door was open for the Haybalers to snatch up second place.
Three wrestlers – Joseph Delgado (147), Daniel Gamez (217) and Jeremy Sabla (277) – dropped their only two matches. As a result, Hollister snatched up enough points to pass Gilroy.
Seven Gilroy wrestlers will begin Day Two in the quarterfinals: Nicolo Naranjo (105), Joseph Serrano (127), Adin Dueñas (132), Armando Gonzalez (137), Austin Gubrud (142), Hunter Collins (162) and Andres Barragan (191). Tim Ibañez (114) is still alive after losing his first-round match and winning three in the consolation bracket, as is Luis Albarron (173).
The Mustangs were hurt by the loss of Travis Sakamoto (121), who broke his arm during his second-round match against Daniel Rodriguez of Gonzalez. According to assistant coach Mike Koester, the arm will require surgery.
In the early matches, where Gilroy landed three of their four No. 1 seeds going into the championships, as well as their lone third seed, the ‘Stangs had a almost effortless time of it.
A few matches were close, however. Gubrud, a TCAL champion who was unseeded going into CCS, needed double overtime to defeat Westmont’s Preston Falbo by a single point, 6-5. In Ibañez’s loss, he misplaced his hands, which allowed him to be pinned. In his final match, the 114-pounder was nearly eliminated from the consolation bracket, just inches away from being pinned. Showing fortitude, Ibañez managed to regain control, flip his opponent over and score the pin fall to advance to competition today.
By comparison, the upper weights struggled. In one of the biggest upsets of the day, Mustang heavyweight Sabla was defeated by Sobrato’s Genaro Redmond in a match that wasn’t even close.
Sabla got a few shots in, but by the end of the duel, he had run out of gas.
Redmond’s win was the only one on the day for a first-year Bulldogs program which sent just four wrestlers to CCS. Sobrato head coach Ray Garza was pleased with the effort his wrestlers put up, despite the losses.
“None of these guys wrestled varsity all year,” Garza said. “None of them cried or complained when I took them to TCALs, and four fought their way to CCS.”
Hollister, which like Gilroy sent all 14 of its wrestlers to CCS, had its biggest success in the upper weight classes.
Only Chris Mora (121) and Luis Boracio (127) made it through to the quarterfinals from the morning session, while big men Evan Rodriguez (154), lone ‘Baler No. 1 seed Ryan Dunn (217) and Jake Mahan (277) still have a shot at overall titles and Alex Diaz (147) and Francisco Avilla (191) are also in contention for points in the consolation brackets.
Live Oak was only able to send one wrestler – Jason Henderson (127) – to the quarters. Hondo Dominguez joins Henderson in wrestling another day, though it will be in the consolation matches.
TCAL No.1 Jon Redmond (173) nearly made it to the second day, but was taken out in his final match by Salinas wrestler Sam Brooks.
“This is the third time this season those two wrestled,” said Acorn head coach Robert Fernandez. “They were 1-1 coming into today, and (Brooks) beat him.”
Today’s consolation and quarterfinal matches start at 9am, with the championship finals scheduled to take place from 7:30pm at Overfelt HS.
TeamStandings
How they stand at the CCS FINALS after DAY ONE
1. Los Gatos 83.50
2. San Benito 68.50
3. Gilroy 61
4. Monterey 50
5. Half Moon Bay 49
6. Fremont 46
7. St. Francis 45
8. Overfelt 44.50
9. Westmont 41
10. Independence 39
11. James Lick 39
12. Bellarmine 38.50
13. Oak Grove 36.50
14. Gunn 34
15. Greenfield 33
16. Salinas 33
17. Watsonville 32
18. NMC 30.50
19. Harbor 29
20. Hillsdale 29
21. Evergreen 27
22. Mitty 26
23. Cupertino 26
24. King City 26
25. Scotts Valley 24.50
26. Silver Creek 24
27. Palo Alto 24
28. Live Oak 22
29. Riordan 22
30. Terra Nova 21
31. Leigh 20.50
32. Wilcox 20
33. Los Altos 20
34. Gonzales 19.50
35. King’s Academy 19.50
36. Mt. Pleasant 17
37. Saratoga 16
38. Branham 15
39. Aragon 15
40. MVC 15
41. Monta Vista 15
42. Seaside 14
43. Aptos 14
44. Val. Christian 13.50
45. N. Salinas 13
