Gilroy wrestling squad has 11.50 point lead over Bellarmine Prep
after first day of CCS tourney
Before he knew it, Luis Chavez was losing 7-0 in the first round of his second match of the day at the Central Coast Section wrestling championships.
The No. 3 seed in the 275-pound weight class didn’t give up, eventually tying the score against unseeded Ray Baldonado of Serra at 9-9 with 14 seconds left to wrestle. But as the final seconds ticked down, West Catholic Athletic League champion Baldonado escaped from Chavez to get away with the 10-9 win.
It was a blow to Chavez, a senior, who was hoping for a CCS title in his last year. The loss knocked him into the consolation bracket.
“After the loss, I didn’t really feel like wrestling anymore. It was my goal to be a CCS champion,” Chavez said.
However, Chavez still wrestled like he had a shot at the championship. He pinned his next two opponents to finish 3-1 after the first day of the CCS meet and is one of 11 Gilroy wrestlers still in the hunt for a medal.
In all, 10 Mustangs start today in the championship bracket. Martin Gonzalez (103 pounds), Nico Naranjo (112), Rudy Maldonado (125), Chris Krough (130), Adin Dueñas (135), Armando Gonzalez (140), Austin Gubrud (152), Hunter Collins (171), Andres Barragan (18?) and Daniel Gamez (215) all finished Friday 2-0 and have shots at individual titles. As a team, Gilroy goes into today’s action in first place with 87.00 points. Bellarmine is in second place with 75.50 points and Fremont is in third with 64.00. Gilroy earned 46 of its points in the first round, where the Mustangs had 11 pins.
But today’s performance is the one which will determine whether Gilroy will end up with its fourth consecutive CCS title.
“Our team is looking good,” said senior Armando Gonzalez Friday. “Tomorrow is the day we really have to come through, but I think our team is ready.”
On Friday, freshman Julian Gomez was knocked out of the tournament. But assistant coach Greg Varela was impressed with Gomez’s effort, especially in a buzzer-beating loss to Cupertino’s Paul Kim in the 160-pound consolations. With two seconds left, Gomez tied the score at 3-3 with an escape. Kim eventually won 5-3 in sudden-death overtime with a takedown.
“(Kim) pinned him in 20 seconds three weeks ago,” Varela said. “For a freshman, he wants to win. He understands how important it is to us.”
Krough, wrestling as a No. 1 seed for the first time ever, overcame a huge personal obstacle by beating Santa Clara’s Chris Raudes 4-3 in the championship bracket. Raudes, who wrestled for Gilroy last year before his family moved to Santa Clara, used to have the upper hand over Krough when both were Mustangs.
“(Raudes) used to beat him all the time,” Varela said. “So it was a big thing for (Krough).”
Friday’s outcome sets up the potential for some intriguing Saturday matches:
– At 103 pounds, freshman Martin Gonzalez could face the state’s best 103-pounder Boris Novachkov of Fremont in the finals.
– At 112 pounds, top-seeded junior Naranjo will likely meet Kiyoshi Kawano of Gunn in the finals. Kawano is undefeated this season.
– At 140 pounds, senior Armando Gonzalez will wrestle Fremont’s Kurtis Ogasawara if both win their first matches of the day. Gonzalez forfeited a match against Ogasawara at the Reno Tournament of Champions back in December after he injured his neck in the previous match. Dad and coach Armando Gonzalez threw in the towel when he saw his son struggling in pain. “We’ve had this circled on our calendar,” said the elder Gonzalez about the rematch.
– At 152 pounds, junior Austin Gubrud will wrestle Spencer Sevilla of Saratoga in his first match today. Gubrud, seeded fifth, will try to avenge a previous loss to the fourth-seeded Sevilla this season.
– At 275 pounds, third-seeded Chavez could meet up with No. 1 seed Sergio Montenegro of Overfelt in a match for a medal. Both wrestlers were upset on Friday and will have to work their way up to the third-place match.
The first session begins at 10am at Overfelt. The finals will begin at 7:30pm.
Team Standings After Day 1
1. Gilroy 87.00
2. Bellarmine Prep 75.50
3. Fremont 64.00
4. Saint Francis 56.50
5. Los Gatos 52.00
