Gilroy’s goals go beyond the individual, creating the strength
and unity needed for a CCS team title, something the Mustangs are
hoping to achieve for a sixth-straight season.
It would be one thing if Gilroy High wrestling entered this weekend’s Central Coast Section Championships the heavy favorite for the first time.
But for the 13 Mustangs hitting the mat this morning at Independence High School, the pressure to win is lessened considering that’s all they’ve ever known.
Success, at least for the last five years, has not bred complacency. If anything, it’s created a calm, quiet confidence in those who’ve made their way through the ranks.
“All of the older guys have been here before so they know how to do it,” Gilroy assistant coach Greg Varela said. “Our big three (Jesse Delgado, Martin Gonzalez and Hunter Collins) expect to win. It does put a lot of pressure on them when we say, ‘You should take first.’ But they’re experienced enough to handle it. … Seeing Hunter, seeing Martin relax, that really helps the younger guys.”
Individually, no one will be able to offer a helping hand to another on the mat. But understanding that Gilroy’s goals go beyond the individual is what creates the strength and unity needed for a CCS team title, something the Mustangs are hoping to achieve for a sixth-straight season. No other school has won it five times in a row.
“Last week (in training), we just concentrated on each other because it’s like a family – ’cause everybody is against us,” said Gonzalez, a junior captain. “It’s not the gym versus you, or everybody versus you. It’s them versus us, and we just gotta stick together as a family and we’ll be okay.”
Gilroy has 10 wrestlers seeded, with four ranked at the top of their division – Delgado (114 pounds), Gonzalez (121), Collins (173) and Luis Barragan (287). Delgado and Gonzalez will each be looking to win their second CCS title while Collins is trying to become only the fourth wrestler in CCS history to win the tournament all four years, a list which includes Gilroy’s Armando Gonzales Jr.
Los Gatos High enters the tournament ranked second in the section, and is expected to offer the closest thing to a challenge to Gilroy’s supremacy. Since 2002, the last time Gilroy didn’t win as a team, finishing 14th overall, the Mustangs have won by an average of 65.3 points. The pinnacle came in 2006 when Gilroy set a CCS record with 274.5 points.
To come close to that mark, something no one on Gilroy’s team is guaranteeing, those unseeded or with lower seeds will need to overcome the CCS committee’s expectations. David Siha (105 pounds), Adam Rosso (137) and Tim Caspary (154) will have the toughest roads to placing, but Varela thinks each has a unique opportunity. Siha and Rosso were both pulled up from the junior varsity level – Rosso coming in the middle of the season – while Caspary, a senior that missed CCS last year with a knee injury, has put in his time over the years to seize the moment.
“Whatever (Rosso) does is a bonus,” Varela said. “He’s not nervous and that’s going to help him fulfill his potential. … (Caspary) forces people to wrestle his style of match. If he wrestles with confidence, which he has lately, he can beat anyone.”
Vincent Aboytes (142 pounds) and Travis Sakamoto (147) are both seeded third in their divisions, while Rodney Balajadia (132), Tim Ibanez (127) and Ethan Ogle (162) are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in their weight classes.
Aboytes has been battling sickness the past week but coaches have been impressed with his confidence level after a tough third-place finish at the Tri-County Athletic League tournament. Sakamoto has one of the “toughest weight classes in CCS,” according to Varela, as the defending 145-pound champ, Dominic Kastl of St. Francis, enters as a second seed. Balajadia has been wrestling two divisions above his actual weight all season, but has an excellent shot at moving on to state.
Ogle actually moved down a division for the TCAL championships after wrestling at 171 pounds all season. The decision to drop Ogle a weight class was caused by the team coming to a unanimous vote to have Collins drop down a division and wrestle at 173 pounds, thereby giving Collins and the team a better shot at a state title. The result will be no rematch at the state championships between Collins and Modesto Central Catholic’s 189-pounder Luis Bland.
“I didn’t want to go down to 171’s but then the team voted (unanimously) and the team is more important than personal goals,” Collins said. “I’ve only wrestled a couple 171-pounders, but I noticed they feel nowhere near as strong as the 189-pounders.”
The same advantage in strength should be true for Ogle, who would have received a higher seeding had he wrestled more people at his new weight. The person who was affected most by this decision was Mike Penyacsek, who wrestled at 160 pounds this season but gave his CCS spot to Ogle. Penyacsek will have an opportunity at sections next season as a senior, according to coaches.
Jesse Rogers will have a very challenging road at 217 pounds, with Gilroy native Drew Meulman of St. Francis expected to meet him in the finals.
“If they do meet that will be a good match,” Varela said. “They know each other’s styles real well.”
Barragan, only a sophomore, will have the toughest challenge of Gilroy’s top seeds, partly due to his weight class. Most of the heavyweight division is made up of experienced upperclassmen, and matches of such brute strength are often decided by one false step. Delgado, Gonzalez and Collins have mowed through local competition this season, and should continue to so on the way to state.
How Gilroy performs at the state level, however, will be decided by how many advance from this weekend. Today’s matches will begin at 10 a.m. at Independence in San Jose, while Saturday’s championship matches will be held at Overfelt High.
CCS Wrestling Championships
n 103 Pounds
1. Joshua Go – Overfelt
2. Nathan Nguyen – Saratoga
3. Michael Lim – El Camino
4. Jack Hogan – Los Gatos
5. Jose Ruiz – Watsonville
6. David Bazan – San Benito
Unseeded: David Siha – Gilroy
n 112 Pounds
1. Jesse Delgado – Gilroy
2. Junior Davilla – San Benito
3. Corwin Learned – Half Moon Bay
4. Nick Mazza – Riordan
5. Bacilio Monterroso – Lincoln
6. Jarron Ramirez – Palma
Alternate seed: Ryan Block – Salinas
n 119 Pounds
1. Martin Gonzalez – Gilroy
2. Al Quenga – Overfelt
3. Nick Cano – St. Francis
4. Raymond Angeles – Silver Creek
5. Tyler Naman – Harbor
6. Rey Mendoza – Watsonville
Alternate seed: Jesus Trujillo – Greenfield
n 125 Pounds
1. Michael Rodriguez – Independence
2. Arthur Olivares – Oak Grove
3. Robin Miranda – Watsonville
4. Rey Tanada – SSF
5. Tim Ibanez – Gilroy
6. Jairo Rodriquez – Salinas
Alternate seed: Marcel Schwager – Los Gatos
n 130 Pounds
1. Emmanuel Lanuza – Watsonville
2. La Quintin Cathey – Fremont
3. Paddy McFall – Scotts Valley
4. Rodney Balajadia – Gilroy
5. Erik Martinez – Bellarmine
6. Abe Matsui – Westmont
Alternate seed: Chris Torres – Gonzales
n 135 Pounds
1. Cody Rodebaugh – SLV
2. Calvin Hawkes – Los Gatos
3. Chris Sutton – Westmont
4. Cooper Newby – Palo Alto
5. Kris Swartzbaugh – El Camino
6. Kirby Haraguchi – Cupertino
Unseeded: Adam Rosso – Gilroy
n 140 Pounds
1. Dane Stevens – Scotts Valley
2. Evan Crockett – Silver Creek
3. Vincent Aboytes – Gilroy
4. John Maschio – Monterey
5. Logan Kellogg – SLV
6. Henry Ma – Piedmont Hills
Alternate seed: Robbie Nakata – Los Gatos
n 145 Pounds
1. Josh Ramirez – San Benito
2. Dominic Kastl – St. Francis
3. Travis Sakamoto – Gilroy
4. Eric Lopez – Harbor
5. Michael Ciccarelli – King City
6. Jasper Loren – Saratoga
Alternate seed: Victor Gonzalez – Los Gatos
n 152 Pounds
1. Geoff Doss – Los Gatos
2. Fernando Lucatero – San Benito
3. Tyler Edwards – Monterey
4. Eli Sanchez – Bellarmine
5. Daniel Linares – Del Mar
6. Matthew Thalin – Kings Academy
Unseeded: Tim Caspary – Gilroy
n 160 Pounds
1. Isaiah Jimenez – Palma
2. Nic Giaccia – Gunn
3. Alex Kellogg – SLV
4. Eric Tilbury – Del Mar
5. Sean Goodison – Los Gatos
6. Ethan Ogle – Gilroy
Alternate seed: Enrique Lucatero – San Benito
n 171 Pounds
1. Hunter Collins – Gilroy
2. Drew Toney – St. Francis
3. Justin Orozco – Soledad
4. Wade Vance – Hillsdale
5. Charlie Galaviz – Valley Christian
6. Jermiah Lopez – Monterey
Alternate seed: Manny Tovar – San Benito
n 189 Pounds
1. Hanna Malak – Serra
2. Zach Jimenez – Palma
3. Matt Sell – Los Altos
4. Maisson Davis – Hillsdale
5. Alan Yen – Saratoga
6. Gurbaksh Sohal – Los Gatos
Alternate seed: Kevin Hall – Palo Alto
n 215 Pounds
1. Drew Meulman – St. Francis
2. Jesse Rogers – Gilroy
3. Nick Kalpin – Los Gatos
4. Travis Johnson – Kings Academy
5. Hunter Baird – Palma
6. Buddy Barraza – San Benito
Alternate seed: Peipe James – Valley Christian
n 285 Pounds
1. Luis Barragan – Gilroy
2. Evan Swenson – Palma
3. Chris Tozer – Valley Christian
4. Richard Segovia – Silver Creek
5. Kevin McKenna – SLV
6. Max Lohr – Pacific Grove
Alternate seed: Graham Paterson – Monta Vista
numbers game
n 103 – David Siha
n 112 – Jesse Delgado
n 119 – Martin Gonzalez
n 125 – Tim Ibanez
n 130 – Rodney Balajadia
n 135 – Adam Rosso
n 140 – Vincent Aboytes
n 145 – Travis Sakamoto
n 152 – Tim Caspary
n 160 – Ethan Ogle
n 171 – Hunter Collins
n 215 – Jesse Rogers
n 285 – Luis Barragan
Los Gatos – 14 wrestlers
San Benito – 13
Gilroy – 13
Palma – 13
Fremont – 11
Salinas – 11
St. Francis – 11
Serra – 11
Monterey – 11
Alisal, Bellarmine, Gunn, King City, Prospect, Silver Creek, Sobrato – 9
