Gilroy Sports Editor Josh Koehn followed the Gilroy High School
wrestling team to the state championships Saturday and documented
the wrestlers’ hunt for – and in two cases, capture of – the first
state titles in 21 years. The team also took second at the
tournament, marking its best finish in history. Below is the
article in Tuesday’s March 3 edition followed by the entries Koehn
made over the course of Saturday.
The greatest season in Gilroy High wrestling history was matched by two individuals, and set by by a team Saturday.
Martin Gonzalez (121 pounds) and Hunter Collins (173) both won CIF state titles in their respective divisions at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif., twenty-one years after a 138-pound Kordell Baker became the first and only Gilroy wrestler to win a state title.
For the nine individuals that competed at state for GHS this weekend, win or lose, each could away knowing they contributed to something special: The greatest performance at state ever put on by an already prolific Gilroy High program.
The Mustangs finished in second place with a score of 113, just 5.5 points behind first-place Clovis and four points ahead of third-place Central Catholic Modesto.
“This is the best team in Gilroy history,” coach Armando Gonzalez said without hesitation about the team’s legacy. “As you asked last week, now it’s here.”
Had Martin Gonzalez and Collins not won their final matches, however, the Mustangs would have finished in third. The highest placing a team from Gilroy had accomplished previously was fourth in 2006.
Martin Gonzalez, a junior, won a grind-it-out 3-1 decision over Brandon Rocha of Lemoore, scoring a takedown with just 23 seconds left to break a 1-1 tie. Rocha was a familiar opponent Martin has “wrestled all his life,” said coach Gonzalez, only made harder by the fact that Martin had been suffering from the flu all week as well as a torn ligament in his toe.
“I got through a very tough day,” Martin said. “My toe’s killing me but when you’re wrestling you don’t feel nothing because of the adrenaline.”
Collins’ match was even more tense, as the senior entered overtime deadlocked 0-0 with Jake Meredith of Temecula Valley. Collins capped off his career in style by using a “Ukrainian Series,” a move that requires lifting the left arm while grabbing the right leg and driving through. Meredith fell flat on his back as Collins sealed the match with a pin, giving him victories in all of his matches by fall.
The technique used to win was taught to Collins the summer before his sophomore year when he and coach Gonzalez’ other son, Armando Jr., traveled to the Ukraine to train. He hadn’t used the maneuver in a match since.
Asked about how much it meant to him to have his son Martin and Hunter, treated like a son by the Gonzalez family, win titles, the eyes of Gilroy’s coach welled up.
“I’m just so shocked right now, it’s hard to put into words,” coach Gonzalez said. “I’m so happy I can’t believe it.”
Jesse Delgado, the third of “The Big Three,” bounced back from a semifinal defeat by winning the consolation championship. The victory was good for third place and came through a pin of Northview’s Steven Salinas.
Leading 3-0 at the time, Delgado used a variation of an “Iranian,” a move that allows someone to be pinned while the person on top has their back to the opponent.
“I shot and he kind of tilted and rolled on his back,” Delgado said. Delgado pulled Salinas’ arm while pressing his back against the chest, allowing the Gilroy sophomore to lock up third place for the second year in a row.
While no one else placed for Gilroy, everyone made contributions in some shape or form.
Tim Ibanez (127 pounds) lost his first match but was able to score points for Gilroy by beating Daniel Horcasitas of M.L. King in his first consolation match 5-4. Vincent Aboytes (142) lost his first-round match as well, but rebounded to score a couple wins in the consolation bracket. Travis Sakamoto (147) lost both of his matches, the second by a very small margin, while Ethan Ogle (162) won a consolation match after losing to eventual state champion Jason Welch of Las Lomas in the first round.
Jesse Rogers (217) was crucial to the team’s success with a 3-2 record but missed placing by one match, being eliminated by St. Francis’ Drew Meulman.
Luis Barragan (287) was also an integral part to Gilroy’s second-place finish as he went 2-2.
Gilroy Sports Editor Josh Koehn followed the Gilroy High School wrestling team to the state championships Saturday and documented the wrestlers’ hunt for – and in two cases, capture of – the first state titles in 21 years.
11:05 p.m.
Kordell Baker just got some company when it comes to having the best season in Gilroy High wrestling history.
Martin Gonzalez (121 pounds) and Hunter Collins (173) both won CIF state titles in their respective divisions Saturday at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. Twenty-one years had passed since Baker became the first and only Gilroy wrestler to win a state title.
For the nine individuals that competed at state for Gilroy this weekend, win or lose, each could walk away knowing they contributed to accomplishing something special. The Mustangs finished in second place with a score of 113, just 5.5 points behind first-place Clovis and four points ahead of third-place Central Catholic Modesto.
“This is the best team in Gilroy history,” coach Armando Gonzalez said without hesitation. “As you asked last week, now it’s here.”
Had Martin Gonzalez and Collins not won their final matches, however, the Mustangs would have finished in third. The highest placing a team from Gilroy had accomplished previously was fourth in 2006.
Martin Gonzalez, a junior, won a grind-it-out 3-1 decision over Brandon Rocha of Lemoore, scoring a takedown with just 23 seconds left to break a 1-1 tie. Collins’ match was even more tense, as the senior entered overtime deadlocked 0-0 with Jake Meredith of Temecula Valley. Collins capped off his career in style by using a “Ukranian Series,” a move that requires lifting the left arm while grabbing the right leg and driving through. Meredith fell flat on his back as Collins sealed the match with a pin.
Collins won all of his seven matches by fall.
5:15 p.m.
Gilroy High has two individuals, Martin Gonzalez (119 pounds) and Hunter Collins (171), who will be wrestling in the finals of tonight’s CIF State Championships at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. (See below for a post from earlier today that details the matchups.)
As a team, Gilroy will not be able to win a state title. The Mustangs have scored 103 points so far and can only achieve 115 points maximum if Gonzalez and Collins were to each win their matches by pin.
Clovis is currently sitting in first with 118.5 points and has one wrestler in the finals. Poway is second with 106 points, but has no wrestlers in the finals. Gilroy is in a tie for third with Central Catholic of Modesto, which has three wrestlers in the finals and si the only team with a chance of catching Clovis.
Despite trailing Poway and being outmanned in the finals by Central Catholic, Gilroy coach Armando Gonzalez thinks his team could pull ahead in the end.
“We look like we’re in a very strong position to take second,” he said. “[Central Catholic has] three in the finals and we think they can only win one of the three. And we think we can win two of ours. If we win one match, we’re going to pass Poway.
Second or third would be the highest finish Gilroy has ever had at the state tournament. The previous best was fourth in 2006.
“The thought of it just makes me giddy,” coach Gonzalez said. “We’ve been ranked third in the state all year but we didn’t have our full lineup out there. We really thought we were the sixth best team in the state.
“That’s outperforming a lot of great programs in the toughest tournament of the year.”
Gilroy is guaranteed three state placers with Martin Gonzalez and Collins finishing first or second, and Jesse Delgado having already secured third place in the 112-pound weight division.
Results of both of Gilroy’s finals matches will be posted after all championship matches are complete.
2008 CIF State Championship
Team Score
After 3RD THRU 7TH PLACES
Rank – School – Finalists – State Placers – Score
1 Clovis (CS) 1 7 118.5
2 Poway (SD) 0 4 106.0
3 Central Catholic (SJ) 3 4 103.0
3 Gilroy (CC) 2 3 103.0
5 Buchanan (CS) 2 3 94.5
6 Clovis West (CS) 2 3 85.5
7 Vacaville (SJ) 1 3 82.0
8 Selma (CS) 0 3 79.5
9 Lemoore (CS) 1 4 78.0
10 Temecula Valley (SS) 1 3 76.0
11 Northview (SS) 0 2 58.5
12 Calvary Chapel/SA (SS) 0 3 56.5
13 Vista (SD) 1 2 53.0
14 Bakersfield (CS) 1 2 52.5
15 Oakdale (SJ) 1 1 49.0
16 La Costa Canyon (SD) 0 1 44.5
17 Hesperia (SS) 0 3 44.0
18 Liberty (NC) 1 1 40.5
18 St. John Bosco (SS) 0 2 40.5
20 Red Bluff (NS) 0 2 38.0
21 South Hills (SS) 0 1 37.5
22 Natomas (SJ) 1 2 37.0
23 Washington Union (CS) 1 1 36.0
24 Santa Fe (SS) 0 1 35.5
25 San Benito (CC) 0 1 35.0
26 De La Salle (NC) 0 2 34.5
27 El Diamante (CS) 1 1 33.0
28 Oak Ridge (SJ) 1 1 32.5
29 Las Lomas (NC) 1 1 28.5
30 Liberty (CS) 0 0 28.0
30 Laguna Hills (SS) 0 0 28.0
30 Coalinga (CS) 1 1 28.0
33 Hogan (SJ) 0 0 26.0
33 Del Norte (NC) 1 1 26.0
35 San Dimas (SS) 1 1 25.0
35 East Bakersfield (CS) 0 1 25.0
35 El Modena (SS) 1 1 25.0
35 Irvine (SS) 0 1 25.0
39 Ponderosa (SJ) 0 1 24.5
40 Modoc (NS) 0 1 23.5
41 Del Oro (SJ) 0 1 23.0
41 Granite Bay (SJ) 0 1 23.0
43 Bella Vista (SJ) 0 0 22.0
43 Sutter (NS) 0 0 22.0
43 San Leandro (NC) 1 1 22.0
43 Bullard (CS) 1 1 22.0
43 Los Gatos (CC) 0 1 22.0
43 Jesse Bethel (SJ) 0 1 22.0
49 Torrey Pines (SD) 0 1 21.5
49 Foothill (Pc) (NS) 0 1 21.5
2:18 p.m.
Jesse Delgado bounced back from a semifinal defeat at the CIF State Championships Saturday by winning the consolation championship. The victory was good for third place and came through a pin of Northview’s Steven Salinas.
Leading 3-0 at the time, Delgado used a variation of an “Iranian,” a move that allows someone to be pinned while the person on top has their back to the opponent.
“I shot and he kind of tilted and rolled on his back,” Delgado said. Delgado pulled Salinas’ while pressing his back against the chest, allowing the Gilroy sophomore to lock up third place for the second year in a row.
Entering the tournament as the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state at 112 pounds, Delgado was less than thrilled.
“It was an okay performance, but it really doesn’t matter if I’m not a champion,” he said.
Gilroy coaches certainly disagreed, as the victory gave the team important points as well as Delgado a strong finish to the tournament.
“They were just telling me they’re proud of me,” Delgado said.
There were also four additional points given to Gilroy’s team since the win was by pin.
With two more opportunities at a state title in the future, Delgado will be using the experience as fuel for the fire.
“After a loss there’s always motivation,” he said.
1:15 p.m.
Gilroy High has an outside shot at winning its first state title in wrestling.
The standings entering the consolation semifinals matches had Clovis in first with 106.5 points, Modesto – Central Catholic in second with 98 and Gilroy in third with 94.
Poway and Buchanan are both just behind Gilroy at 92.5 and 87.5 points, respectively.
“This is definitely a team race, a team performance,” Gilroy coach Armando Gonzalez said. “We’re all within 10 points of each other. It’s quite a race and we’re honored just to be among these elite teams.”
Jesse Delgado (112 pounds) came a step closer to capturing third place by beating A.J. Jaramillo 6-0 in the consolation semifinals after losing to David Klingsheim in the championship bracket semifinals.
“Not only did he bounce back, he came back and beat a guy who beat him over the summer, giving his team points,” Gonzalez said.
Jaramillo previously got the best of Delgado in the freestyle 2007 California Junior State Wrestling Championships.
Delgado will now face Steven Salinas of Northview. The points earned from finishing third could be crucial to Gilroy, which is hoping to hold its current position or move up in the standings.
Notes:
Adding some context to Martin Gonzalez’ victory over Marcus Orona in the semifinals, Gonzalez lost to Orona twice last season – at state and at the Five Counties Invitational. On top of the competition he has faced and beaten yesterday and today, Gonzalez has been battling the flu and a torn ligament in his toe.
He now faces Brandon Rocha of Lemoore, an opponent “he has wrestled all his life,” said coach Gonzalez. The two have come up through the ranks, wrestling each other at the club level as kids all the way through high school.
Hunter Collins and his opponent in the finals, Jake Meredith of Temecula Valley, are also familiar with one another. The two have trained together in the past at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Meredith has been the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state all season while Collins has been ranked first or second in the 189-pound weight class for California all year.
The matchup should be a great one.
11:30 a.m.
Gilroy High wrestling is in the hunt.
The Mustangs were in third place with 70 points after the first day of the CIF State Championships being held at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. Friday and Saturday.
Gilroy trailed only Poway (78.5 points) and Clovis (82.5).
Saturday started with some ups and downs for the Mustangs, as one GHS wrestler’s hopes for a state title were eliminated.
Jesse Delgado (112 pounds) fell a win short of making the finals, losing to Liberty’s David Klingsheim 11-4. It was the first off match of the tournament for Delgado after pinning Clinton McAlester in 15 seconds in the first round, beating Justin Garza of Norwalk 9-1 in the second and breezing by Alfonso Osuna of Brawley 10-0 in the third.
Delgado will now face the winner of a match between McAlester and A.J. Jaramillo of Lemoore in the semifinals of the consolation bracket. If he wins his next two matches, Delgado, a sophomore, will have taken third place at state in each of his first two seasons.
Martin Gonzalez (119) advanced to his first state finals match by beating Marcus Orona of Santa Fe.
Gonzalez was down 1-0 after two rounds but chose to be on bottom to start the third. Escaping with 38 seconds remaining, Gonzalez tied the match while bloodying his nose in the process. After being attended to by the medical staff, Gonzalez treated Orona to a takedown to go up 3-1. Gonzalez held on through several restarts by the referee, letting Orona free with only a second remaining to win 3-2.
Gonzalez will now face Brandon Rocha from Lemoore in the finals. Rocha topped Thomas Williams of South Hills 5-2 in their semifinal match.
Tim Ibanez (127) lost his first match to Angel Garcia 12-3 but was able to score points for Gilroy by beating Daniel Horcasitas of M.L. King in his first consolation match 5-4. Ibanez’ season ended in the next round when he lost 5-0 to Matt Rucireta of Folsom.
Vincent Aboytes (142) lost his first-round match to Matthew Melendez of California 6-2, but rebounded to score a couple wins in the consolation bracket. He topped Demon Jones of Washington 10-2 and Cody Bollinger of Sultana 15-1. Aboytes was pinned a match later by Mitch Newcomer of Laguna Hills.
Travis Sakamoto (147) was pinned by Travis Rasmussen of Bakersfield 1:51 into their first round match. Sakamoto then lost a very close consolation match 2-0 to Nolon Doss of Liberty-Madera.
Ethan Ogle (162) topped Jesus Chavez 4-3 in their first-round match before falling to Las Lomas’ Jason Welch 17-5. Welch is the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in his division, according to Californiawrestler.com.
Ogle scored more points for Gilroy by beating Stan Kelly of La Sierra 4-3 in their consolation match. Ogle was stopped in the next round, however, losing to Matt Moralez of Tulare Union 4-2.
Hunter Collins (173) pinned all five of his opponents to advance to the finals, with only first-round opponent Josh Pearson of South Hills making it to the second round. Collins pinned John Feaster of Vacaville in 41 seconds in his second match, J.T. Baumann of Dublin in 1:46 in his third match, Bryce Wilson of Calvary Chapel in the fourth match in 1:06 and Ian Daube of Poway in 1:06 in the semifinals.
Collins will now face Jake Meredith of Temecula Valley in the championship.
Jesse Rogers (217) won his first match 5-0 over David Travis before falling to Julian Zuniga of Schurr 9-3. Rogers then beat Austin Morehead of Sutter (fall 4:04) and Robert Alcantar (6-3) of Northview to face fellow Gilroy native, but St. Francis wrestler, Drew Meulman. Meulman got the fall in the second round while leading 4-0 at the time.
Luis Barragan (287) pinned Jose Zamora of Sanger in 1:39 before beating Frank Ayala of Wilson HH 9-3. Kasey Cowan of Vista beat Barragan in the next round with a pin in 3:33. Barragan lost his consolation match to Tony Ramirez of Lincoln 4-1.
