Gilroy wrestling club tallies four champions, six placers in
state meet
GILROY – The dominance of wrestling in the garlic capital is never-ending, as the Gilroy Hawks club team tallied four weight class champions and six placers at the California State Cadet Championships.
“Overall, we’re just going along in the same direction as the high school program has,” said Armando Gonzalez, head coach of the Hawks as well as the two-time reigning section champion Gilroy High wrestling team. “This summer, the freestyle season has been tremendous.”
At the San Jose Convention Center in early May, sophomore Armando Gonzalez Jr., sixth-grader Jesse Delgado, seventh-grader Martin Gonzalez, and eighth-grader Hunter Collins all won their divisions, which are broken up by age and weight.
Also placing for the Hawks against the top wrestlers in the state were freshman Andres Barragan, sophomore Adin Duenas, freshman Nicolo Naranjo, sixth-grader Louis Barragan, sixth-grader Vincent Aboytes, and fourth-grader Daniel Grayton.
“I couldn’t be any happier as a coach than what these kids have accomplished,” said Gonzalez, whose Hawks have picked up where his Mustangs left off.
“Who knows what kind of CCS run we are going to put together,” he added. “Every year, kids from our free-style club team join our high school team. We’ll get three or four next year who will all be CCS contenders and state qualifiers.”
While the high school season ended with a second straight section title for Gilroy High, along with one state placer (senior John Gurich took fourth) and seven other state qualifiers, the accolades have continued in the free-style season.
Gonzalez Jr., 15, won his sixth state title by winning 11 consecutive matches in a two-day span in the 130-pound division for ages 15-16.
“My goal was to take first since I took second last year,” said the two-time CCS champion and after finishing Thursday’s work-out with the Hawks. “I was back in the same age group so I knew I had a good chance at winning.”
He dominated, winning three matches on the first day and then eight more in a row on the second day. His 130-pound class had 62 of the toughest wrestlers in California.
“I’ve never been so sore in my life,” said Gonzalez Jr., who won a national title at the Reno Folkstyle Nationals already this year.
In the championship bout, Gonzalez Jr. – who lost 4-1 in the state cadet finals last year – beat Elijah Nacita, out of the defending CIF State Champion Bakersfield High program. After building an 8-0 lead, Gonzalez Jr. was taken down by Nacita and tilted twice on his back in the final 20 seconds. But the Gilroy High product still came out on top, 8-6.
“I dominated. I was in control for the most part,” said Gonzalez Jr., who was even happier for his Hawks teammates. “Adin (Duenas) took third in my same weight class and my brother won his second straight title.”
His younger brother, 13-year-old Martin, took the 90-pound weight class championship in the School Boy age division. Just as dominant, Martin Gonzalez won eight straight matches, seven ending in the first period.
“I either tech’d or pinned everybody in the first round except in the finals,” said Martin, who is a multiple county champion at South Valley Jr. High. “I knew it was a tough tournament. I just wrestled my hardest.”
“It feels good, but my brother is a six-time champions,” he added.
Fourteen-year-old Hunter Collins, who won a national title this year in the Iowa Folkstyle Nationals, won eight straight matches in the 165-pound division to claim his second state cadet title.
“I just go in always expecting to win. … I knew there was going to be some tough guys and it was not going to be easy,” Collins said. “I wasn’t as worried because I knew my hard work would all pay off in the end.”
Collins, who was a county champ for South Valley this season, is now preparing for another national competition in Idaho, where he plans on bringing home the top prize once again.
“I think all I have to do is wrestle and I think I can win,” he said.
Jesse Delgado, 11, a sixth grader at South Valley, was the fourth weight class champion for the Hawks, winning the 80-pound division for his third state title.
Nicolo Naranjo, who place second in CCS and was a state qualifier as a freshman on the Gilroy High varsity squad, placed second at the Cadet States in the 105-pound weight class.
“I was pretty happy (with second), just because the fact that I lost to a guy I beat before in the finals,” said Naranjo, who lost to Jordan Matthews, of Porterville, after beating him at the high school state this season. “I’m just trying to get ready for high school state next year.”
Vincent Aboytes, 12, a sixth grader at South Valley, compiled a 5-1 record to place a personal-best second in four go-arounds at the free-style states.
“I wanted to make the finals this year. Only the semis and finals were hard,” said the fifth-year Hawk wrestler, whose 100-pound division included four state placers and the defending champion. “It was exciting.”
Sophomore Adin Duenas, a two-time CCS runner-up and state qualifier with the Mustangs, went 8-1 in the free-style state tournament. Duenas reached the semifinals of the 130-pound class before falling to Nacita 10-7.
“I had to prove myself,” Duenas said. “I just wanted to prove to myself that I could wrestle with these guys. I wanted to prove I was one of the top in the state.”
He did.
Freshman Andres Barragan took fourth place in the 215-pound division with a 10-2 tournament record. Barragan did it the hard way, winning four matches in overtime.
“Coach Mando prepared all of us. We practiced every day and everything that happened in my matches we practiced here,” Barragan said. “This was one of the hardest tournaments I’ve ever been to. It felt good coming home with a medal.”
His younger brother, Louis, placed sixth in the 205-pound weight class, winning three matches.
“I just came in a lot stronger and more physical. My brother would drill on me. That helped me a lot,” said Louis, who lost in two matches last year. “It made me feel kind of special because I’ve only been wrestling for two years.
Daniel Grayton, the youngest Hawk to place as a fourth grader, took home a fourth-place medal in the 60-pound division.
“We won the Junior High TOCs. At the Reno Nationals, we had success. We had national placers in Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan,” Coach Gonzalez said. “We continue to train together as a team.”
And the Hawks are not done yet.
On June 4-5 in Ontario, Calif, five Hawks will compete in the Association Duals. Gonzalez Jr., Naranjo, Duenas, and seniors John Gurich and Chad Haygood are all on the Santa Clara Valley team, which will go up against other section teams from California.
In addition, Gonzalez Jr., Duenas, and Naranjo will wrestle for the state dual meet team that will battle other states’ squads June 20-27 for a chance to make the Cadet National Dual Meet Team. The same three will also compete at the Cadet Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Gilroy Hawks wrestling club is a non-profit organization, which welcomes donations and sponsors to help fund its wrestlers’ travels. They have a tax ID number. Any interested parties can contact Coach Armando Gonzalez at 847-7292.
“Our goal is to get 14 state qualifiers (at the high school level) and win the state title,” the coach said.
