After losing his second match of Day 1 at last weekend’s Mid Cals Invitational, Gilroy High freshman 106-pounder Jesse Vasquez won eight straight encounters – the eighth gave him a third-place showing. Vasquez, currently ranked No. 3 in the Central Coast Section, according to ccsrank.com, backed up that performance, increased his unbeaten streak to 13 with a 5-0 mark and took home one of five individual titles for the Mustangs at the 48th annual Overfelt Classic on Saturday in San Jose.
GHS won the team championship with 211 points, on the heals of its team crown at the Mid Cals. St. Francis (176.5) finished second and James Logan (164.5) third.
“The boys are looking good,” GHS head coach Greg Varela said. “All the questions are being answered and I’m feeling good about where we are headed.”
Victor Olmos (128), Paul Fox (134), Nikko Villarreal (140) and Willie Fox (147) also placed first and Jose Lara (287) took second. It was Olmos’, Paul Fox’s and Willie Fox’s second tournament championship in a row.
“Victor is really coming into his own,” Varela said of Olmos, who beat Daniel Polanco of St. Francis by major decision, 9-0, in the finals. “He is taking it to the next level.”
Paul Fox faced arguably the toughest semifinals and finals matchups, displacing the state’s No. 7-ranked 138-pounder Patrick Phaysamone of Clovis East by fall in the semis and Newark Memorial’s Jake Smith, No. 7 in the state at 126, 4-2, in overtime.
“Paul just continues to have grinders,” Varela said. “He had a huge weekend.”
Villarreal won by technical fall, 18-2, over Jacob Pratt of Newark Memorial for his championship. Willie Fox pinned Trevor Hubby of Newark Memorial in the second period for his gold.
With two weeks before the Tri-County Athletic League championships and with 26 days until the CCS meet, the nine-time section champs, will retain their No. 1-CCS ranking when the latest polls are released Wednesday. The Mustangs should also maintain their No. 4-state billing.
After a TCAL dual meet with rival San Benito on Wednesday night, the Mustangs, who were named The California Wrestler’s Team of the Week, will have the next two weekends off in preparation for the final three-week push of the season, which culminates with the CIF State Championship March 2-3 in Bakersfield.
“We will be fine-tuning and tweaking the last little things we need to take care of,” Varela said.
He added that the Mustangs will send out their full first-string lineup for Wednesday’s dual with the Balers, which will also serve as Alumni Night at Gilroy High. Among the 30 to 50 former GHS grapplers expected to attend is the program’s first state champion, Kordell Baker, who won California’s top prize in 1987. He finished runner-up the previous season as a junior.
“We are so excited to have Kordell there,” Varela said. “It’s a real treat.”
Wrestling will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the junior varsity matches. The alumni will be honored prior to the start of the varsity matches.
Back at Overfelt, Christopher High’s Stevie White (287) grabbed the bronze and Raul Meza medaled in sixth for the Cougars, who finished in 12th.
Finals results
108: Jesse Vasquez (Gilroy) over Jonathan Robles-Rials (Live Oak) 22-5, Fr. (Dec 8-2).
115: Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak) 32-0, So. over Alexis Arciga (Overfelt) 30-4, Sr. (Maj 20-9).
122: Paul Rodriguez (Oak Grove) 28-1, Sr. over Nam Nguyen (Overfelt) 30-5, Sr. (Maj 11-1).
128: Victor Olmos (Gilroy) over Daniel Polanco (St. Francis) 19-5, Sr. (Maj 9-0).
134: Paul Fox (Gilroy), over Jake Smith (Newark Memorial) 12-1, Sr. (OT 4-2).
140: Nikko Villareal (Gilroy), over Jacob Pratt (Newark Memorial) 27-5, Sr. (TF 18-2).
147: Willie Fox (Gilroy), over Trevor Hubby (Newark Memorial) 20-4, Sr. (Pin 2:48).
154: Jorge Barajas (St. Francis) 26-3, Sr. over Kyle Perreault (Clovis East) 26-5, Jr. (Dec 3-2).
162: Sam Hopkins (St. Francis) 35-1, Sr. over Charlie Guittari (Burlingame) 30-1, Sr. (Maj 9-1).
172: Joe Else (Aptos) 26-6, Sr. over Arthur Georgiyev (So. San Francisco) 21-10, Jr. (Dec 7-2).
184: Ryan Sarmiento (Palma) 5-0, Sr. over Conner Campbell (Santa Teresa) 21-4, Sr. (Pin 2:50).
197: Riggs Powell (Aptos) 17-5, Sr. over Juan Diaz (Del Mar) 19-8, Sr. (Pin 1:34).
222: Ben Landauer (San Lorenzo Valley) 23-4, Sr. over Tim Glauninger (Junipero Serra) 22-7, Sr. (Pin 5:24).
287: Hildelv Manzur (Palma) 27-2, Jr. over Jose Lara (Gilroy), (2-OT 3-2).
Top-10 teams
1. Gilroy 211.0
2. St. Francis 176.5
3. James Logan 164.5
4. Newark Memorial 159.5
5. Palma 152.0
6. Clovis East 138.5
7. Overfelt 116.5
8. Live Oak 114.0
9. Aptos 108.5
10. Sacred Heart Cathedral 96.0
