Mustang matmen win CCS Championship
SAN JOSE – In one of the most dominating displays of wrestling ever witnessed at the Central Coast Section Finals, the Gilroy High grapplers proved their superiority one final time – winning the CCS Championship with a mammoth 213 team points.
“Unbelievable. This was the best feeling. We worked all year for this and now that it’s finally happened it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s just enormous. It’s huge,” head coach Armondo Gonzalez said. “It’s what we’ve been looking forward to doing since I started coaching here and now we can focus on the next step – going over to state and trying to bring home some medals and some state champions.”
It wasn’t even close, as Gilroy’s closest competitor, second-place Los Gatos finished with 153.50 points edging third-place Silver Creek (147.50) and fourth-place Bellarmine (133.50).
“The average winning point total for a CCS Champ has been about 160-165 points, so for us to score over 200 is just dominant. It’s a huge achievement,” Gonzalez said. “Next year, we’re going to have the same squad back. We have 10 returners from this team to next year and we just hope to repeat this season next year.”
Of the five Mustang finalists, four brought home weight class crowns with one runner-up as well as one third-place finish and one fifth-place finish. The top three in each weight class qualify for state, so Gilroy has a six-pack headed up to Stockton for the CIF State Meet on March 7-8.
“The thing this year that really helped was that the team wasn’t really a team. They were more like a family. All the kids hang out together like a family, not a team. That helped a lot,” assistant coach Mike Koester said. “What we’ve been telling everybody is, ‘you thought we were good this year, wait until next year.'”
With the team title already locked up prior to championship action, Gilroy’s focus shifted to its five finalists – starting off with junior 103-pounder John Gurich in a string of four straight matches involving Mustangs.
Gurich – who was not scored on in four straight matches leading into the finals – dominated once again, beating up on Los Gatos junior Bryan Ceglio, 7-2, for his first CCS title.
“It feels great,” said Gurich, the top seed coming in. “We’ve been working for this all year. Our first goal was to win league and be the first ever T-CAL Champs and our next goal was to win CCS. Hopefully, we get some more champions, but we already have it as a team so that’s all that matters.”
Following a scoreless first period, Gurich (42-1 record) worked a two-point reversal on Ceglio and then tilted him on his back for two more points before the unseeded grappler earned an escape. In the third period, Ceglio escaped again to cut the gap to 4-2 – but Gurich scored a takedown and then was given a stall point to close out the match.
“He was unseeded coming in and he beat the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds so I knew he was tough,” said Gurich, following his championship match. “How can you ask for anything better than this.”
Freshman 112-pounder Adin Duenas stepped on the mat next – reaching the finals in his first varsity season. Overfelt’s Bobby Rivera, a returning state qualifier, was too much for Duenas though, cutting the rookie’s CCS run short with an 11-3 decision.
“I never wrestled him before. I should of beat him,” said Duenas, shaking his head as he looked back on his bout. “I was just kinda going with it. I didn’t know what he was going to do. I just attacked and he wrestled smart. Next time, I’ll beat him. I’m proud with second place.”
The second Gilroy freshman in the finals was 119-pounder Armondo Gonzalez – who was pitted against Seaside junior Beto Gonzales, the defending section champ at 112s. In a tight, low-scoring clash, Armondo Gonzalez rode a first-period takedown and a second-period escape to a 3-0 victory for his first CCS title.
“It was pretty tough. Everybody gets better at the end of the year so I had to work as hard as I can to make sure I was in shape,” said Gonzalez, who gave up only one point the entire tournament. “We both had good defense. It was hard to get on his legs and for him to get to mine so it may have seemed like a defensive match, but we both did try to score.”
While the two freshmen – Duenas and Gonzalez – were major reasons for Gilroy’s CCS title run this year, senior transfer Danny San Juan, via Oak Grove, was just as important a pick-up for the Mustangs.
The 125-pounder was the fourth consecutive Mustang to hit the mat in the championship round – squaring off against Serra senior Rohaum Raji. And San Juan became the third Gilroy individual champion with a 6-3 victory in the finals.
“It feels great. We dominated as a team,” said San Juan, after winning his first ever CCS title. “I’m more than glad (I moved to Gilroy).”
Following a scoreless first period, San Juan went up 3-0 in the second with a reversal and a stall point on Raji. Things got interesting in the third when Raji scored a reversal to come within 3-2 – but San Juan escaped to his feet and then spun behind Raji for a takedown. Raji scored a late point on a San Juan clasp, but the championship was already decided.
“I won’t say he was scared, but he was more worried than I was,” said San Juan of Raji, who he beat for the third time this season.
The Mustangs finally caught a break until their final championship bout – which pitted junior 171-pounder Mark Zabala (38-4) against Soquel’s Luke Rockhold. Zabala maintained a 6-3 lead heading into the final period – where he pulled away for a 14-5 championship win.
“He couldn’t really defend much,” said Zabala of Rockhold. “It feels great. I’m happy for the team. The team came together like a family. It was an awesome year. It was great.”
Junior 130-pounder Chad Haygood placed third in his weight class and will compete along with five other teammates in the state meet. Haygood reached the semifinals before suffering a 5-2 loss to eventual champ Anthony Dariano, of Oak Grove. In the consolation rounds, Haygood kept his cool and won two straight matches over Monterey’s Mike Dausen, 12-8, and then a 3-1 nod over Aptos’ Adam Marquez, a two-time CCS finalist and former section champ.
Senior 135-pounder Gilbert Gutierrez – who finished in fifth place in his final varsity season – also reached the semifinals before falling to eventual champ Ron Raquino, of Santa Teresa, 3-1. Gutierrez then suffered a 2-0 loss to Los Gatos’ Matt Nudelman in his first wrestleback – but retaliated with a pin in 2:56 to close out his CCS run.
