Tag: greg varela

Nic Aguilar jumped into his father’s arms in a jubilant celebration, a long embrace that was overflowing with emotion. “I love you,” Damien Aguilar said...

How's that for a sweet 16? Gilroy High School won its unprecedented 16th straight Central Coast Section Wrestling Championship last Saturday at Independence High School...

For nearly two decades, Gilroy High has been the premier wrestling program in the Central Coast Section, collecting an unrivaled 15 consecutive Central Coast...

GILROY—As Bert Mar walked the grounds at South Valley Middle School, he was met with big smiles and warm greetings at every turn. Cars that whizzed by the school turned around when they saw him, the drivers eager to say hello. Mar recognized each instantly and answered them with a bright smile, a wave and a unique nickname he’d undoubtedly given them several years ago. He’s a familiar face in Gilroy—and for good reason.

Let’s start with a couple of Super Positives … First, the Gilroy High wrestling machine. We ought to have a Decade of Dominance banner downtown noting the 10 straight Central Coast Section Division team championships – and get the team a spot on a flatbed for the upcoming Memorial Day Parade. Think about what an absolutely awesome accomplishment that is. Imagine 10 football or 10 basketball or 10 CCS soccer or field hockey titles in a row. Even though the competition has become fiercer, Gilroy High has remained steadfast at the top, this despite every team gunning to take them down (pun intended). Loved reading Sports Editor Josh Weaver’s stories about the state championships online over the weekend as the drama unfolded in Bakersfield. Two GHS state champions emerged, Willie Fox and Nikko Villareal. Both are great stories – Nikko in his last-chance match beating a “shoe-in” favorite, three-time state champion Alex Cisneros from Selma, in the waning seconds of the final period and Willie, frustrated for two years at the CCS and state levels, erasing both demons  and dashing off with the state title in dominating fashion. More important than the winning is the spirit Coach Greg Varela and the supporters of GHS wrestling have developed in the young men. They displayed that collective graciousness and class at a recent school board meeting when they showed up to rally around the cause of creating a respectable wrestling practice facility at GHS. They were focused, yet humble and so appreciative. They deservedly won the hearts and minds of the trustees, performing in life as they do on the mat. At the state meet, GHS Principal Marco Sanchez, a former Olympic wrestler, was overcome with emotion. He knows what it takes – the practice time, the pain, the mental toughness to be one-on-one under the spotlight, the discipline to get it done. From the Gilroy Hawks to the state title, it just continues to be a story of triumph about a program that is the stuff of legends. Now there’s a screenplay idea ...