GILROY — Heading into Friday’s opening day of the 2014 Mid-California Wrestling Tournament Nikko Villarreal was undefeated and had yet to be taken down. At the end of Day 1, nothing had changed.
The No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state and in the Central Coast Section picked up wins by fall against Roman Reich (El Camino) and Colby Langford (Pitman) after his first round bye.
Villarreal, wrestling at 147 lbs., said his intensity this year is magnified by his determination to prove his multiple state titles are not a fluke.
“I haven’t been taken down once,” the defending state champ said. “I want to keep that and show that there’s no one in the state that’s going to be able to beat me.
“Last year, I wanted won by a little bit. The year before that, they said I was lucky. This year is just the year to dominate and show that I deserve those three state titles.”
Villarreal was just one of the Mustangs’ nine undefeated wrestlers at the end of day one.
No. 1 (154) Paul Fox stayed perfect after besting Angel Vasquez (Alvarez B) in round two and Dustin Jesson from Enterprise in round three. The top-ranked wrestler received a first round bye.
Victor Olmos, who is ranked No. 1 in CCS, picked up wins by fall over Fabian Gaona (Turlock B) and Victor Leal (Los Banos B) in the second and third rounds, respectively. It was a long day of waiting for the 128 lb. wrestler who received a first-round bye.
“I just wanted to go out there and break a sweat and show them why I’m No. 1,” Olmos said.“It’s good competition, it’s like CCS almost. If you do good here, you’re going to do good at CCS.”
Lupe Jimenez (140) and Jesse Vasquez (122) were also 3-0 for Gilroy receiving first round byes before topping their opponents from Pioneer Valley (Isac Estrada) and Castro Valley (Keano Calderon) and Monterey (Andreas Dorio) and Dos Palos (Adrian Marrufo), respectively.
Victor Daza (115), Matt Penycsek (172), Mark Penycsek (184) and Gavin Melendez (108) were all 3-0 at the end of Day 1. Melendez was the lone 3-0 Mustang who didn’t have a bye in the first round.
“I like to start off with a win, at first, and work my way up each step at a time,” Melendez said following his 14-2 major decision over Central’s Felix Reimedo in Round 1. “I have to have the right mindset and just work through the pain.”
But the hosts weren’t the only ones have success.
Christopher’s Jimmie Lopez (115) and Alex Garcia both found themselves sitting pretty at 3-0 at the end of the opening day.
After both receiving first round byes, Garcia and Lopez were itching to get on the mat and wrestle. Lopez, who beat Alisal’s Enrique Zavala in Round 2 by fall and Moses Barajas (Overfelt) by tech fall in Round 3, said that all the waiting around to wrestle was “nerve-wracking.”
Garcia (154 lbs.), on the other hand, said the extra time allowed him to get his mindset right for his second round bout with Frontier’s Parker Garten.
“I thought I fought hard,” Garcia said. “I was just focusing on what I needed to get done and improve on my weaknesses. Other than that it was good match, decent match — a good warm up.”
The Cougars’ standout freshman, 108 lb. Felipe Duenas, lost his opening round lost after leading most of the match. Duenas was taken down and pinned by Matt Sanchez, the No. 3 seed, from Central.
“He was strong and fast, but I should’ve defended — that was my fault,” Duenas said following his Round 1 match. “He scored off of my mistake.”
Christopher assistant coach Armando Gonzalez said he was surprised that Duenas was unseeded entering the tournament given his recent success — including a first place finish at the Bert Mar Invitational at Christopher High last weekend.
But, Gonzalez said, the challenge just made Duenas’ success all that more impressive.
“It’s not really a big deal, he’s won two in a row and he’s wrestled his way back now,” the Cougars assistant said. “He’ll prove to him that he should’ve been seeded higher.”
Sobrato’s Brandon LeFore, wrestling at 162 lb., was the lone Bulldog to walk away 3-0 Friday.
LeFore received a first round bye before winning by fall over Antonio Martinez (Morro Bay) just a minute into his Round 2 bout. He went on to beat John Galindo (Dos Palos) 4-1.
“It was a good first round match to help warm me up for the rest of the tournament,” LeFore said after his match with Martinez. “I just always want to go out there and wrestle my own match.”
Marcus Valcorcel (162) picked up the first win of the tournament Sobrato, but almost ended his season in the process. The Bulldogs’ wrestler injured his knee in the third round but was able to pull out the 4-3 decision in Round 1.
“I just went out there and tried to do everything we do at practice. The kid was a little bit stronger than me, but I had him by technique,” he said. “I hurt my knee, but I was able to push through it.”
Valcorcel lost his next two matches to finish the day 1-2. He lost by fall to Dray Payne (Ukiah) in Round 2 and by injury default to Thomas Blocker of Monta Vista Christian in Round 3.
The tournament continues Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Gilroy High School. The finals are slated to start at 5 p.m.
For a full list of team by team results, click here.
