Four Gilroy High wrestlers notched No. 1 seeds and four others
were slotted in the top-three for the 2010 Central Coast Section
Championships, which take place Friday and Saturday at Independence
High School in San Jose.
Four Gilroy High wrestlers notched No. 1 seeds and four others were slotted in the top-three for the 2010 Central Coast Section Championships, which take place Friday and Saturday at Independence High School in San Jose.
The Mustangs are after an unprecedented eighth straight title, cruising into the playoffs after victories at the Mid-Cal Classic, Overfelt Classic and the Tri-County Athletic League championship tournament.
The longest CCS championship streak next to Gilroy’s is a four-year run from 1983-86 by Oceana High School. Fremont, who won the first three CCS championships back in the late 60s, Overfelt (1989-91) and Independence (1995-97), are the only other schools to have three consecutive titles.
Three-time individual CCS champs, Jesse Delgado (127) and Dominic Kastl (162), received No. 1 seeds in their weight class as they attempt to become the fifth and sixth wrestlers in CCS history to become four-time winners, Mustangs’ head coach Greg Varela said.
“It’s pretty special,” he said.
Dominic’s younger brother Blake (137) and Vicente Aboytes (154) also garnered No. 1 seeds.
“I think we basically knew how the seeds would play out ahead of time,” Varela said. “They are pretty straight forward. I was happy with them.”
Freshman Leif Dominguez is seeded third at 105 pounds.
“It’s up to him. He has a chance to get to the finals as a freshman,” Varela said.
Willie Fox, who finished runner-up last year at 119, is seeded second at 132 this season. And if the brackets play out as predicted, Fox should have another shot at Saint Francis’ Jorge Barajas, who dealt Fox a 10-4 decision loss in last year’s finals.
Senior Luis Barragan is seeded second in the heavyweight division behind No. 1-ranked Drew Meulman of Saint Francis. Barragan finished second last year.
Rodney Balajadia is seeded second behind San Benito’s Junior Davila, who has defeated the Gilroy senior twice this season. The two dazzled in their TCAL championship match, both aggressively taking leg shots. Davila earned the upper hand in a 7-5 decision victory.
Mike Lucero, Adam Rosso and Andrew Toste will also take the mat for the Mustangs.’
GHS is currently ranked No. 1 in the CCS standings, one spot ahead of rival and last season’s CCS runner-up, Saint Francis. The Mustangs also hold down the No. 3 ranking in the state.
“In a way it’s a healthy relationship,” Varela said of the rivalry between the Lancers and the Mustangs. “We are trying to let the wrestling speak for itself. When we get to state we are definitely working together. The better our section does the more qualifiers we earn.”
The Mustangs haven’t wrestled since the TCAL tournament on Feb 5-6. Almost every other program had its league tournament last weekend. Friday will mark the first time in 13 days that the Mustangs have competed – a slight variation to a rigorous season that sees the Mustangs wrestle nearly every seven days.
The apparent added pressures of continuing the CCS winning streak hasn’t affected the wrestlers one bit, Varela said, bringing about a sense of calm before the storm.
“The two-week lay off is maybe the only concern for us,” Varela said. “We have been keeping them pretty fired up during practice and I think we have them peaking right now.
“As far as worrying about losing…I really don’t,” Varela added. “If Saint Francis beats us, it will be more of them beating us than us losing. The kids have done everything that has been asked of them all season. They have answered all my challenges. If you do that and lose, you can go to bed at night.”
The CCS championships get underway Friday morning at 9 a.m.
The top-four individuals in each weight class qualify for the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield the first weekend in March.
Complete list of individual seeds below:
103 pounds — 1. Daniel Polanco, sophomore, St. Francis; 2. Nam Nguyen, sophomore, Overfelt; 3. Leif Dominguez, freshman, Gilroy; 4. Johnny Alonzo, junior, Alisal; 5. Abram Ross, freshman, Oak Grove; 6. Manny Borrego, freshman, Terra Nova. 112 pounds — 1. Kaelob Obien, junior, Independence; 2. Johnnie Nguyen, senior, Andrew Hill; 3. Duy Nguyen, senior, Wilcox; 4. Alexis Arciga, sophomore, Overfelt; 5. Edwardo Lopez, sophomore, Alisal; 6. Jeremiah Ramirez, senior, King City. 119 pounds — 1. Adolpho Davila, senior, San Benito; 2. Rodney Balajadia, senior, Gilroy; 3. Brian Ha, junior, El Camino; 4. Tanner Heath, junior, Aptos; 5. Cassidy Octavio, junior, Bellarmine; 6. Franks Escajadillo, senior, Oceana. 125 pounds — 1. Jesse Delgado, senior, Gilroy; 2. John Claitor, junior, Half Moon Bay; 3. Alex Howard, junior, Los Gatos; 4. Arturo Morado, junior, Alisal; 5. Nick Bernardo, freshman, Oak Grove; 6. Alfred Murabito, sophomore, Saratoga. 130 pounds — 1. Jorge Barajas, sophomore, St. Francis; 2. Willie Fox, sophomore, Gilroy; 3. Anthonie Linares, junior, Oak Grove; 4. Andy Kreidle, senior, Los Gatos; 5. Zack Rodriguez, junior, San Benito; 6. Jack Sakai, senior, Palo Alto. 135 pounds — 1. Blake Kastl, sophomore, Gilroy; 2. Nick Cano, junior, St. Francis; 3. Scott Chessin, senior, Los Gatos; 4. Ethan Ruby, senior, Bellarmine; 5. Garun Arustamov, junior, Cupertino; 6. Johnny Mercado, senior, Oak Grove. 140 pounds — 1. Stefan Weidermann, junior, Gunn; 2. Ryan Schott, senior, St. Francis; 3. Jon McCarthy, senior, Archbishop Mitty; 4. Joe Johnson, senior, Fremont; 5. Omri Rahmil, senior, Los Gatos; 6. Victory Saldana, senior, Overfelt. 145 pounds — 1. Cody Rodebaugh, senior, San Lorenzo Valley; 2. Adam Pilkington, senior, Bellarmine; 3. Casey Johnson, senior, Fremont; 4. Jonathan Gonzalez, junior, Santa Teresa; 5. Luis Mitre, senior, Overfelt; 6. Ian Messaros, junior, Cupertino. 152 pounds — 1. Vicente Aboytes, senior, Gilroy; 2. Michael Ciccarelli, senior, King City; 3. Gurmukh Singh, senior, Cupertino; 4. Sean McVannel, senior, Salinas; 5. Max Simon, senior, Palo Alto; 6. Sam Hopkins, sophomore, St. Francis. 160 pounds — 1. Dominic Kastl, senior, Gilroy; 2. Jeremy Mitchell, senior, Bellarmine; 3. Kyle Venell, senior, Prospect; 4. Alex Rankin, senior, St. Francis; 5. Mike Sarmiento, senior, Palma; 6. Marty Rayburn, senior, Aptos. 171 pounds — 1. Tyler Edwards, senior, Monterey; 2. Sebastien Chene, senior, Leigh; 3. Eric Ochoa, senior, King City; 4. Jeff Tran, senior, Milpitas; 5. Cesar Fernandez, senior, Oak Grove; 6. Trevor Perrigo, senior, Harbor. 189 pounds — 1. Ismael Sanchez, junior, Silver Creek; 2. Logan Kellogg, junior, San Lorenzo Valley; 3. John Velez, senior, Aptos; 4. Danny Chaid, sophomore, Bellarmine; 5. Robert Nessier, senior, St. Francis; 6. Josh Castillo, junior, Watsonville. 215 pounds — 1. Juniel Morales, senior, Oak Grove; 2. Scot Basil, junior, Mount Pleasant; 3. Joey Lopez, senior, Serra; 4. Dylan Johns, senior, Los Gatos; 5. Justin Sagote, senior, Wilcox; 6. Joey Walker, senior, Archbishop Mitty. 285 pounds — 1. Drew Meulman, senior, St. Francis; 2. Luis Barragan, senior, Gilroy; 3. Max Lohr, senior, Pacific Grove; 4. Brian Newell, senior, Sequoia; 5. Charlie Hohenschuh, senior, Burlingame; 6. Brandon Pulealii, junior, Palma.
