BAKERSFIELD – Nikko Villarreal said one of his goals is to be the best wrestler to come out of Gilroy High.
The junior 138-pounder took another step in that direction Saturday night.
Villarreal won his second straight California Interscholastic Federation state title with a thrilling 3-1 decision over Archbishop Riordan senior Elijah Davis in the 138-pound CIF state final in front of a near-capacity crowd at Rabobank Arena.
“A goal of mine is to be the best wrestler to come out of Gilroy. So far it looks pretty good,” said Villarreal, who won a state title at 132 pounds last year.
Villarreal used a takedown in the final seconds of the third period to grab a 3-1 lead on Davis. Moments later, he was celebrating his state title with a back flip on the mat.
“I’m trained to score from any position. It’s what I train 12 months a year for,” Villarreal said of the late takedown.
Rather than stalling in hopes of overtime, Villarreal attacked Davis’ legs in the final seconds. The move paid off with him becoming only the second two-time state champion in Gilroy history, joining Martin Gonzalez, who won at 119 in 2008 and 125 in 2009.
“When he got the legs, I knew we were pretty good,” Gilroy coach Greg Varela said. “The key on (Davis) is to be able to get both legs. He’s so long and good at scrambling, if you get him by a single leg, he’s probably going to stalemate you out. We were working a lot on getting both legs.”
It was Villarreal’s second victory over Davis in a span of a week. The rivals met in the Central Coast Section final Feb. 23, with Villarreal winning a 3-2, triple-overtime decision at Independence High in San Jose.
Villarreal has a flair for winning dramatic matches. Last year, he used a late throw to win a 5-3 decision and stun Selma’s Alex Cisneros in the 132-pound state final, preventing Cisneros from becoming only the second four-time CIF state champion.
Now, Villarreal finds himself one state title away from being Gilroy’s first three-time state champion.
“It’s really special,” said Jason Villarreal, Nikko’s father and a Gilroy assistant coach. “It’s always harder to repeat. You’re no longer the hunter; you’re the hunted now, and I told him that. You’ve got a big target on your back. People are going to wrestle you just to get by, and people are adjusting to your style.
“A year ago, he was winning high-scoring matches. Now they’re starting to dwindle down and get a lot closer. He needs to stay hungry.”
Nikko Villarreal won his semifinal with an 8-4 decision over Santiago junior Mike Longo.
Villarreal said he’s far from satisfied.
“I want to open up my offense way more. Next year, I’m going to take it to a different approach,” Villarreal said. “I’m the guy to beat now, and it feels pretty good, but you’ve got to keep going hard. Once you’re on top, you’ve got to fight to stay on top.”
Varela added: “His goals for the long term (are), he wants to go to college and win an NCAA title, and he wants to go to the Olympics. Those are milestones he wants to reach.”
Gilroy junior Paul Fox enjoyed a memorable run to the 132-pound state final before losing a 14-4 major decision to undefeated St. John Bosco freshman Aaron Pico.
“I think I had a pretty good tournament,” Fox said. “I think this is my best tournament this year.
“This tournament I was prepared and ready, and I wrestled well.”
Fox won his semifinal with a 3-1 decision over Kingsburg senior Javier Gasca III.
“For (Fox) to come and have a state tournament like he did, it’s a testament to how tough he is and how hard he works,” Varela said.
Pico, who capped his freshman season 42-0, is considered by some to be the top pound-for-pound wrestler in the nation.
“Aaron Pico is ranked No. 1 in the nation. He’s a beast,” Varela said. “It would have been nice to wrestle him earlier in the year, at least to make adjustments, but hat’s off to Aaron. He’s a beast, and he really took us out of our game.”
Gilroy finished 11th in team scoring with 68 points.
“I just want to thank all the parents and all the alumni who come out,” Varela said. “They travel all over the state to support us. That means a lot to the kids, and it means a lot to me.”
FORMER GILROY HAWK LOCSIN SUFFERS CONTROVERSIAL LOSS IN FINAL
BAKERSFIELD – Live Oak High junior Isaiah Locsin suffered a controversial loss in the 120-pound final of the California Interscholastic Federation state meet Saturday night, dropping a 5-3 overtime decision to Porterville junior Mason Pengilly at Rabobank Arena.
Locsin used a two-point takedown to take a 3-1 lead midway through the third period, but was hit with a controversial one-point technical violation before Pengilly scored a one-point escape to tie the match, 3-3. Pengilly then used a takedown – also a controversial call – with less than 15 seconds left in overtime to win a 5-3 overtime thriller over Locsin for the second time this year.
“He won the match. I should have finished takedowns and wrestled better,” Locsin said. “It sucks, but I’m going to use this for motivation.”
The bout was followed with boos from the near-capacity crowd. Live Oak’s coaches were visibly upset during and after the match.
“This is agonizing. It’s incredibly hard to swallow when officials step into the match and decide it for the wrestlers,” Acorns co-coach Armando Gonzalez said. “That official got booed for 2 solid minutes, and the head official came and let me know that they reprimanded him on a terrible job done, but they were powerless to change any of the calls.”
Gonzalez echoed Locsin’s sentiment that the loss will fuel him next year.
Locsin capped a 51-0 sophomore season with a state title at 113 last season.
“Absolutely, Isaiah’s a champion,” Gonzalez said. “He’s going to bounce back even stronger and continue on his path, and continue to exceed our expectations and reach all of his goals.”
Locsin won his semifinal with a 4-2 decision over North Torrance senior Jordan Gurrola.
“Isaiah wrestled a great tournament all day,” Gonzalez said. “He was definitely the best wrestler in our weight.”
Pengilly, who also won a 5-3 overtime decision over Locsin in the Doc Buchanan Invitational in January, finished the season 41-0.
