Gurich finishes fourth despite vicious head-butt
BAKERSFIELD – Senior John Gurich sat on the floor against a wall of Centennial Gardens on Saturday with the blood barely beginning to clot on his split lower lip. One of his front teeth was smashed in and out of place with bruising around the tooth on his upper gums.
An accidental head-butt by his semifinal opponent, Hughson junior Corey Borges, had inflicted severe damage to the garlic grappler’s mouth. But the pain and future dental work were not even on Gurich’s mind.
“I can’t even describe it,” Gurich said.
All he could think about was the match that got away, a 1-0 semifinal loss that prevented him from reaching the 112-pound finals of the 2004 CIF State Championships in Bakersfield.
“I knew he was going come out like that, a little crazy and everything, but I didn’t think it was going to be like that,” said Gurich, as his coach and father talked about his match. “Things like that happen. If he meant to do that on purpose, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, but it happened, so you’ve just got to wrestle through it. That’s what I tried to do.”
The blow came only 14 seconds into the biggest match of Gurich’s storied wrestling career at Gilroy High School, which up to that point included two consecutive section titles and one fourth-place state medal. The referee immediately stopped the match, so the Gilroy coaches and the trainers could tend to him. After a couple of minutes, Gurich was back in the center circle ready to restart his match against Borges.
“I had to wear that stupid thing in my mouth. I kind of felt it in there, but it didn’t really affect me,” said Gurich, who was up against the same opponent who pinned him at the Reno Tournament of Champions back in December. “He caught me right at the end of the period with that crazy move (in Reno). It was 0-0 going into that. This time around I’ll make sure I don’t let anything like that happen.”
Familiar with Borges’ style, Gurich had a game-plan going into Saturday’s semifinals, but nothing could prepare him for the opening head-butt. Nonetheless, he battled on.
Following a scoreless first period, Gurich chose the bottom position, hoping to get at least a one-point escape to take the lead. But each time Gurich rose to his feet, Borges used a vine technique to keep him from getting away. The two tangled out of bounds and stalemates several times, having to restart back at the center circle.
“Same thing he did last time I wrestled him. Ref never called a stalling on him,” Gurich said. “I moved to my feet every time. He threw the vines in and things like that. I got called with a few stalemates when I thought I was still working to get position.”
At one point of the second period, Gurich was on his feet with Borges wrapped around his body up side down. Just as Gurich pealed off Borges’ leg lock, working for the escape, the referee whistled a stalemate.
“I thought it was one (point) right there for sure, maybe two, and he stopped it,” said Gurich, who at one point during the second period looked up at the referee to make the stalling call. “I was just thinking what match are you watching? I don’t know how many times a guy can do that and get away with it.”
Still scoreless after two periods, Borges picked the bottom position and broke out to his feet for a one-point escape to break the scoreless tie. The two wrestlers grappled on their feet for the remainder of the period with no points issued either way, leaving Gurich one point short.
“I thought to myself I’d ride him for about a minute. If nothing happens, then cut him and go for the takedown. It just didn’t work out,” Gurich said. “I thought I had two on the edge off of his shot. I didn’t think I was out of bounds, but they called it.”
Despite the disappointment of losing out on his dream of winning a state title and the pain from the head-butt, Gurich knew all he could do was move on because his first of two consolation rounds was coming right up.
“I hate that, especially coming off a loss like that,” said Gurich, still sitting in the same spot on the floor. “Two more matches, I’ve got to come away with a third. That’s the least that I deserve, so I’ve got to come back hard and not let this match affect me.”
Braving it out, Gurich returned to mat and his winning form, defeating Escalon senior Curtis Schurkamp, who took third at states last year, to advance into the consolation finals for third/fourth place.
“I was pretty down after that loss in the semis. I’ve been working for six years to get into the state finals and had the opportunity, but I just couldn’t come through,” Gurich said. “People can blame it on the ref. … but you’ve got to not let the refs take a part in your match. You’ve got to decide it yourself. I let it stay too close and that’s what happened.”
“I just said to myself, ‘I’ve got to come back and take third. You’ve got to prove to everybody that I should have been in the finals,’ ” he added.
With at least fourth place locked up, Gurich had only one wrestling match remaining to put an end to his scholastic career, and it was against a hometown Bakersfield boy, sophomore Brett Land.
“Me and Chad Haygood, we’re staying in a room together and we woke up this morning and we looked at each other and both said, ‘This is the last time we’re going to weigh in with Gilroy wrestling,” said Gurich before resting up for his final match. “It’s kind of sad. You get emotional.”
After another scoreless first period, Gurich chose the bottom position and this time escaped for a one-point lead. But once again a referee’s judgment call went against him and cost him the match. Gurich shot in for a single leg takedown and the two grappled on the mat. At one point, Land rolled on top of Gurich, putting him on his back. The referee gave Land two points for the takedown and another three point for the near fall.
“It wasn’t two or anything. I was still in on his ankles. He was still in on mine. The ref gave him two and three. I didn’t even know it until it was over. … It totally turned the tide of the match,” Gurich said. “I was in pretty deep on that single and he countered it pretty good. I don’t know if it was two and three, but that’s what the ref called.”
Trailing 5-1 in a matter of seconds, Gurich went right after Land, who chose neutral to start the third period. Gurich finally got a takedown with 30 seconds left to cut the gap to 5-3, but he could not score any additional points.
“Too little, too late, I guess. Even if I cut him that makes it 3-6 and another takedown’s only 6-5 so I had to try to turn him,” Gurich said. “I felt I left everything out there so that’s something good. I don’t want to come off the mat knowing I could have done this or I should have done that.”
Seven grueling matches in the state meet, and Gurich was in the same standing as he was one year ago in the 103-pound division, taking fourth place again at 112s.
“I’m done. It would have been nice to go out with a win, the last one, but two fourths at state, I’m not going to complain with that,” said Gurich, who had not let yet let it sink that that was all folks. “Not yet, I’m sure tonight when I’m lying in bed, it will all come back. No more Mid-Cals. No more Coast Classics. No more CCS. This was it.”
Gurich, who was Gilroy’s only state placer this season and the team’s top state placer last season, does not want to completely leave the sport that has helped mold him into the champion he is today.
“I want to stay involved if I can. Come back from school and work out with some guys, if Mando wants me to do something like that,” Gurich said. “I want to stay around at least until Little Mando (Gonzalez) and Adin (Duenas) are gone, because last year that was my work-out partners right there. This year, me and Little Mando threw down. We went to college matches, took notes, everything we could, knowing this was our chance, or at least for me this was my last chance.
“Me and Mando have been working out real hard. I think it really paid off,” he added. “We both showed that we were supposed to be here. It’s a big step from last year, so it feels good.”
