Similar to a 500-pound gorilla sitting anywhere it wants, the
South Valley Middle School wrestling team takes section titles when
it desires.
Tuesday night in Gilroy, the Tigers ate up the competition once
again at the Santa Clara County East Sectionals by winning a team
title for the 28th time in 29 years.
GILROY – Similar to a 500-pound gorilla sitting anywhere it wants, the South Valley Middle School wrestling team takes section titles when it desires.
Tuesday night in Gilroy, the Tigers ate up the competition once again at the Santa Clara County East Sectionals by winning a team title for the 28th time in 29 years.
Coach Armando Garcia, who took over the program this year after local wrestling legends Bert Mar and Louie Godinez stepped aside after more than 20 years on the job, said before the meet even started that the season had already gone better than he had hoped.
“They’ve exceeded my expectations,” Garcia said. “Each week, progressively, the hard work has been taking effect.”
South Valley has not lost a dual or tournament all season. Of the nine Tigers that took to the mat in the finals, seven walked away champions.
Jesse Vasquez (75 pounds), Andrew Ortiz (75), Jimmie Lopez (80), Alex Felix-Garcia (100), Victor Olmos (105), Anibal Manzaro (110) and Nicolas Villarreal (115) all won their final matches, while Makaio Duyao (120) and Nick Chacon (175) placed second. All nine advanced to the County meet held Thursday, as did 125-pounder Marcus Aguiniga, who placed third but was given a spot due to a second-place forfeiture.
Results from the County meet were unavailable as of press time.
Villarreal – the No. 1 wrestler in the nation for his age, 12, and weight – lived up to his billing by scoring a pin of Solorsano’s John Jimenez in the finals. The result wasn’t a knock on Jiminez, who lost only twice this season, both to Villarreal.
“[Villarreal] is definitely on a different level,” Solorsano coach Raul Alvarez said. “He could probably wrestle in the 103-pound weight class in high school” and do well.
Villarreal is only in seventh grade, but his goals extend well beyond his recent success.
“I want to wrestle all the way up to college and the Olympics,” he said, adding that a few state titles would be expected along the way.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of South Valley’s team success this season is that the squad will only lose one wrestler to high school.
Gilroy High coach Armando Gonzalez, a mentor of Garcia’s, said the first-year coach deserves much of the credit for continuing to keep the program at the top of the section.
“His leadership skills are unbelievable and his program reflects that,” Gonzalez said.
One school that entered Tuesday’s meet without a track record of success but made history of its own was Brownell.
Heavyweight Izack Lugo won a section title and 135-pounder Jerome Rabena took second. Together, the pair became the first Brownell wrestlers to ever advance to the County meet.
Earlier in the season, Brownell won its first official dual meet since joining the Southern Division several years ago by beating Martin Murphy 49-48. Lugo won the last match with a pin, which was the only way his team could win.
First-year coaches Alexis Lara and Rudy Maldonado, both state qualifiers during their time as GHS wrestlers, were hired by Brownell four days before the season started. The task of turning the program around has been swift. After giving a speech about his wrestling experiences in front of the student body, Lara said the team went from 10 wrestlers to 50.
“It’s been a really good year,” he added.
Correction: The original posting of this article misspelled the names of Jimmie Lopez and Izack Lugo.
