GILROY — Gilroy coach Greg Varela has always trained his wrestlers to beat the No. 1 ranked opponent.
But to Varela and the Mustangs, being No. 1 is meaningless.
Three Mustangs — Nikko Villarreal, Paul Fox and Isaiah Locsin — are the top ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes and Gilroy as a team is ranked No. 2 overall in the preseason. These Gilroy wrestlers have taken down the No. 1 wrestlers time and time again, so they know that ranking doesn’t mean you’re invincible. In fact, it just means that your opponent is training even harder to take you down, Varela said.
“With the level of success that we’ve had, there’s a lot of teams that are gunning for us and their goal is to beat us,” the Gilroy coach said. “When teams make that their goal, we have to focus and be aware of teams coming after us. The pressure and the obstacles aren’t really worrying about what other people are doing, but more so keeping these guys on track and getting the most out of them at all times. It’s a tough road and it’s a long run.
“Everyone is training like this; everyone is training hard. It’s how you mentally prepare for these matches. If you’re confident, you can take down a guy that supposedly better than you.”
Defending state and Central Coast Section 132 lb. champion Villarreal said he still feels like he has a lot to prove despite his success.
“I expected it to be three levels. The first year, everyone thought it was luck. The second year, they thought it was a decent match and this year, I’m just looking to go in there and dominate,” the senior wrestler said. “I want to show that I’ve earned my state title and I’ve earned to be on top.”
Even though he’s ranked No. 1, Fox expects to be challenged as he moves up to the 152 lb. weight class — a big jump from wrestling in the 130s last season. He said he’s hoping his experience as a CCS champion and runner-up at state will give him an advantage this year.
“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” Fox said. “I’m getting bigger, I’m getting stronger and I’m more experienced than ever. This year I just need to really push for it, really work for it.”
For senior wrestler Courtney Pipkin, this is her last chance to shine. Pipkin took third at last year’s CCS Championships in the 98 lb. weight class. Nerves got the best of her she said, but she’s determined not to let that happen this year as she sets her sights on playing in CCS once again.
“I just want to wrestle for myself and better myself this season,” Pipkin said. “I want to go all out. It’s my last year — go big or go home. I want to just give it my all, that’s all I can really do.”
Individual achievements aside, all the Mustangs agree that their collective goal for this season remains capturing that elusive team state title. Varela said he’s always believed his team had what it take to do so, but this season they’ve started believing it, too.
“It’s no longer a dream, I think they’ve put the work and the preparation in to make it a goal, a plan,” Varela said. “This year, this whole offseason they stopped dreaming about it and started preparing for it, planning for it and expecting it.”
Gilroy opens its season Dec. 13 at the Chukchansi Invitational in Madera.
Top returners: Jimmie Lopez,sr., 113 (2013-CCS champion at 106); Alex Garcia, jr., 145 (2013-3rd in CCS)
Key newcomers: Felipe Duenas, fresh., 106; Adam Mena, fresh., 120
Coach Alecxis Lara’s comments: “We’re going to definitely be a top-five team in CCS. My goal is to be No. 1 or 2.”
Analysis: The Cougars have a slew of new wrestlers entering their program, bringing new talent with them. What they lack, however, is wrestlers in the higher weight classes which will hurt them in duel meets. Christopher still has a lot of depth and talent in the middle weight classes and should be able to make up for its shortcomings with success here.
