Back at nearly full strength for the first time all season, the
Gilroy wrestling team felt it had something to prove at this
weekend’s Overfelt Classic.
Back at nearly full strength for the first time all season, the Gilroy wrestling team felt it had something to prove at this weekend’s Overfelt Classic.
“We kept hearing Fremont this and Fremont that,” said Gilroy assistant coach Mike Koester, referring to the state’s second-ranked team and the Mustangs’ biggest Central Coast Section opponent. “We were tired of hearing it.”
Apparently, really tired of hearing it.
Gilroy, ranked in the top ten in the state, ran away with the team title Saturday, scoring over twice as many points as Fremont. The Mustangs earned an all-time high 314.5 points and had 13 of 14 wrestlers place.
“It’s very rare to score in the 300’s,” said Gilroy head coach Armando Gonzalez. “For us, never (has it happened).”
Said junior Andres Barragan about the team’s performance, “It felt like we were on top of the world. It was nice. We know where we stand (in CCS).”
Six wrestlers, Martin Gonzalez (103 pounds), Nico Naranjo (112), Tim Ibañez (119), Adin Dueñas (135), Hunter Collins (171) and Daniel Gamez (215), won individual titles.
Additionally, Luis Chavez (Heavyweight) took second and Rudy Maldonado (125) and Barragan (189) had third-place finishes.
“I’m just really happy,” Armando Gonzalez said. “We sent just four kids to Five Counties and a lot of people questioned my decision to do that.”
But it gave the ailing Mustangs a chance to recover from injury and sickness.
“This tournament is an indication that we’re definitely going in the right direction,” the coach added.
In Saturday’s finals, Collins and Naranjo knocked off two of Fremont’s best wrestlers. Naranjo beat junior Boris Novachkov, a three-time national champion who was moved up a weight class to face the Gilroy junior. Naranjo pinned Novachkov in last year’s CCS finals. On Saturday, Naranjo won by a 7-2 margin.
“He didn’t feel a whole lot stronger than last year,” Naranjo said. “I felt pretty good.”
In the 171-pound finals, Collins faced senior Greg Crane who was also moved up a weight class for the tournament. Both wrestlers are ranked second in the state in their weight classes. Collins had a 3-2 advantage going into the third period.
“Greg chose bottom to start the period,” Collins said. “I stepped into a turk and stayed there.”
The move earned the sophomore near fall points for a 6-3 win.
Ibañez, a junior, has been upsetting higher-ranked opponents all season. He continued to have success Saturday, winning the 119 weight class by beating last year’s CCS runner-up.
“I’ve just been working a lot harder to push myself up to the next level, doing everything I can to do better,” Ibañez said.
For Gamez, a second-year varsity wrestler, his 5-1 victory over Valley Christian’s Ryan Gardner in the 215-pound finals gave the senior his first-ever varsity tournament title.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be on the varsity wrestling team,” said Gamez, who was also fighting being sick. “It felt so good to be up there wrestling in the spotlight for the first time.”
The team travels to Sobrato Wednesday to take on the Bulldogs before hosting the much-anticipated Mid-Cals this weekend. The tournament will feature 10 wrestlers who placed in the state tournament last year. It will also mark the return of Gilroy senior Armando Gonzalez, who has been injured since the Reno Tournament of Champions in late December.
Overfelt Classic – Gilroy Results
Weight Wrestler Result
103 pounds Martin Gonzalez 1st place
112 pounds Nico Naranjo 1st place
119 pounds Tim Ibañez 1st place
125 pounds Rudy Maldonado 3rd place
130 pounds Chris Krough 4th place
135 pounds Adin Dueñas 1st place
140 pounds Ethan Ogle 4th place
152 pounds Austin Gubrud 5th place
160 pounds Mike Ayres 4th place
171 pounds Hunter Collins 1st place
189 pounds Andres Barragan 3rd place
215 pounds Daniel Gamez 1st place
Heavyweight Luis Chavez 2nd place
Mustangs Wrestling
Up Next: Gilroy vs. Sobrato
Wednesday, 5:30pm Gilroy H.S
Mid-Cals
Friday-Saturday
TBA Gilroy H.S
