First, the good news.
Gilroy is considered a preseason favorite, ranked No. 1 in the
Central Coast Section.
Now the bad news, if you can call it that.
Gilroy
First, the good news.
Gilroy is considered a preseason favorite, ranked No. 1 in the Central Coast Section.
Now the bad news, if you can call it that.
Every opponent will be giving the Mustangs their best shot in hopes of beating the best.
It’s a dilemma just about every wrestling squad would like to have.
“Our goal is always a state title,” GHS coach Armando Gonzalez said Thursday, “but I’m happy with a top-four finish because that brings home some hardware.”
On the way to a state championship, Gilroy hopes to add its sixth straight CCS team title. Last year’s fifth consecutive CCS championship is a section record.
Gonzalez was willing to go as far as saying this is one of the most talented teams ever assembled in GHS history. He credits a youth system that prepares wrestlers at an early age, the Gilroy Hawks, as well as his athlete’s work ethic.
“It’s a year-round commitment,” Gonzalez said.
Strength and conditioning coach Dan Locsin has been working with the team during the offseason, using a system he created several years ago and has taught to several USC football and San Francisco 49ers players.
“We’ve done a lot of the basic core training, but we’ve also been blending a lot of balance and strength training together to supplement the sport of wrestling,” Locsin said. “In terms of work ethic, I may be biased, but these guys have to cover everything. We coach like college-level teams and I would say the same thing about the top five (high school) teams in the state.
“And we are a top-five team,” he added.
While the 2007-08 team isn’t exceptionally deep, which could make it vulnerable if injuries occur, coach Gonzalez thinks he has wrestlers that can accumulate enough points in a meet to be the best in California, starting with potential state finalists Jesse Delgado, Martin Gonzalez and Hunter Collins.
“It’s our goal, and we can do it if those three get in the finals,” he said. “We also have state contenders in Jesse Rogers, Timmy Ibanez and Ethan Ogle. And we have a couple others that could medal too, in Vincent Aboytes and Travis Sakamoto.”
Of the 14 wrestlers who will fill weight classes ranging from 103 pounds to the heavyweight division, 10 are currently ranked as top-four wrestlers in the section.
Teams that could push Gilroy for a Tri-County Athletic League crown are Palma and San Benito.
Several wrestlers are already got the best of those two schools earlier in the year, but on the gridiron rather than on the mat. Ogle and 135-pounder Danny Contreras, who has been out of the sport for several years but had an impressive wrestling resume coming into high school, each played pivotal roles in helping the Mustangs win an outright TCAL title in football for the first time in 25 years. According to Gonzalez, several underclassmen were encouraged by football coach Rich Hammond to stay active this offseason by donning a smaller form of headgear.
“We’re working hand in hand, supporting each other’s programs,” coach Gonzalez said. “We got just enough kids to fill two squads. We’ve got enough numbers now to fill a respectable varsity and [junior varsity] lineup. And that’s a credit to coach Hammond for supporting us, and pushing his kids to come out and wrestle.”
If the wrestling team exceeds the success of GHS football this season, it will be nothing but good news for Gilroy.
