John Gurich places eighth at High School Senior Nationals in
Cleveland, Ohio
GILROY – Senior John Gurich was done with wrestling.
After back-to-back weight class titles in CCS and consecutive fourth-place finishes in the CIF State Finals, the garlic grappler’s scholastic career was over.
“I was burnt out,” said Gurich, who endured a brutal state meet as one of his front teeth was smashed in after taking a head-butt. The warrior had to wrestle three more times in Bakersfield before returning home to get his tooth fixed at the dentist.
But something was not right.
“I just had a bad taste in my mouth from state, that last match for third and fourth,” said Gurich, who lost to Bakersfield’s Brett Land in the consolation finals to fall into fourth place. “I just felt kind of bad about that, like I didn’t wrestle as well as I could have.”
Gurich knew about the High School Senior Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio, but he had originally decided not to compete. Although his love and passion for wrestling still ran deep within, Gurich was ready for college, ready to hang up his singlet for good.
The soon-to-be Gilroy High graduate and freshman at Cal Poly was visiting the campus in San Louis Obispo when he finally changed his mind. His scholastic wrestling career was not done after all. Gurich was going to accept his invitation to compete at the High School Senior Nationals on April 2-4, and he was going to re-write the final chapter.
“I actually had a long talk with my mom and wanted to go out on a good note. That last match wasn’t that good,” Gurich said. “And it was a last chance for me and my dad to go on a last father-and-son kind of thing before I went away to school.”
His parents, John and Maria Gurich, had been with him every step of the way, supporting and encouraging him through good times and bad. He wanted to make one final stand for himself and for his parents. In addition, the trip would give him a chance to visit with his uncle, David Gurich, who lived in Columbus, Ohio.
“I decided the weekend before it. When I came back (from my college visit), I practiced Monday, Tuesday, and I left on Wednesday,” Gurich said. “Definitely, not a lot of time. It was hard to make weight. I waited until the last minute. I was pretty much out of shape, but as the matches went on, I got my wind back.”
Almost a month after medaling in state for the second straight time, Gurich was back at it again, cutting weight and preparing for the next biggest tournament of his career. This time was extra special, too, because his dad, a wrestling official, was on the mat with him as his coach.
Before he left, Gurich made a stop to his dentist to see if he could actually compete and not have to worry about the tooth. Once he got the OK, Gurich was on his way to Cleveland, the same city that hometown quarterback Jeff Garcia had just signed with to play football.
Seeded seventh in the 115-pound weight class, Gurich rebounded from an opening loss to place eighth in the nation and earn the tag of All American. It was the first wrestler out of Gilroy High ever to reach that status.
“I didn’t go all the way to Cleveland to go two and out. You’ve got to live up to your seed. That’s what me and my dad always say,” Gurich said. “I came close to it. Getting a medal was good. My dad and I were happy with that. It would have been nice to get a little higher, but I guess a medal is a medal.”
Gurich was glad he changed his mind, and he even surprised himself by becoming only one of eight 115-pound wrestlers in the nation to be named an All-American.
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t even think I would go, let alone place,” Gurich said. “I didn’t doubt that I should have been there. I just got mad at myself for not preparing for it more. I just wanted to go and have a good time, so I didn’t take it as serious as I should have.”
Not every senior is invited to compete in the national competition. Wrestlers must get invited by placing in their state tournament, and it is different for each state.
“Anybody just can’t go. You have to qualify to go,” Gurich said. “Just to be able to go to that, being able to be invited and qualify for that, is something in itself, let alone going and actually ending up an All-American. I’m glad I went. It was a good experience.”
But it also came at a price.
Gurich’s tooth held up just fine but, in Sunday’s match to guarantee a medal, he suffered a broken nose.
“I really didn’t think it was broken. We were just wrestling and his head kind of hit it in the right angle,” said Gurich, who persevered again and won in double-overtime. “He hit it and the ref knew right away and just stopped it. My hands were covered in blood and my eyes were just watering.”
The All-American’s national run began with a 5-3 loss to the three-time state champion out of Colorado. Gurich said he is never at his best the first match and he was trying to pace himself, knowing there was a very long road ahead of him.
“The thing is you don’t really know anybody, so you don’t know how they wrestle. Even if you don’t know anybody, say you are wrestling a guy from Clovis, you know Clovis’ style, how the coaches coach them, stuff like that,” Gurich said. “Some guys there were four-time state champions and they didn’t even place. They come from weaker states. Some guys place only once in their state and end up placing at this.”
Gurich, a two-time state placer from California, was one of them.
After wrestling only one match on Friday, Gurich returned the next day and rattled off three straight victories to reach the final day of wrestling on Sunday. He was still one loss away from getting eliminated and one win away from placing.
“As the matches wore on, I got my wind back a little more. Towards the last few matches, I wasn’t gassing out or anything,” Gurich said. “I just started feeling it again and got back into it.”
On elimination Sunday, Gurich won his match – when he broke his nose – in double-overtime to secure a national medal. He then lost his second match in double-overtime to slide into the seventh-eighth place bout. In his final bout, Gurich lost in overtime for the second time to the Colorado state champion.
“Even though I wanted to go out with a win, I still wrestled really good and my dad was pleased with everything. I went out with a good note in this,” Gurich said.
When he returned home to Gilroy, the newly labeled All-American had another trophy to add to his collection. In the family room of his home, all of the medals, plaques and trophies he’s won through the years cover a piano. Right up front is stands his national trophy.
“I’m the type of person, I’m not going to say what I’ve done, accomplishments and stuff like that. You can ask anybody,” Gurich said. “I’m not like that at all. I’m not going to say I won this. Most of the time people don’t even know unless they ask me and then I tell them.”
Gurich, a varsity golfer in the spring at Gilroy High, now anxiously anticipates attending Cal Poly-SLO. He is still deciding on a major between business, kineseology, physical therapy, or education. There is also an outside chance he will wrestle there, but if not, he has a lifetime of memories from his scholastic career.
“You look back winning CCS twice, placing in state twice, things like that. I can remember back when I was a freshman and I couldn’t even make the varsity line-up. I was too small,” Gurich said. “I was just thinking to myself I’d be so happy just to be on the varsity team. When you are young, you look up to the older guys, the seniors and juniors. You just want to hang out with them and be on the team with them.”
Gurich surpassed all of his expectations and is now a role model for the younger class of wrestlers. His legacy at Gilroy High will last for generations.
“The last couple of years, the younger kids coming in – little Mando (Gonzalez) and Nico (Naranjo) and Rudy (Maldonado) and all those guys – they look up to you and it’s a good feeling to know that they want to do as well as you’ve done,” Gurich said. “It feels good. I’ve been on both sides.”
