If some of Gilroy High’s wrestlers come home wearing cowboy hats
this weekend, just know they had to do some wrangling to earn the
country-boy crowns.
If some of Gilroy High’s wrestlers come home wearing cowboy hats this weekend, just know they had to do some wrangling to earn the country-boy crowns.
Competing in the Doc Buchanan Invite at Clovis High School today and tomorrow, the Mustangs enter the 57-team tournament looking to capture individual titles while also earning a top-three finish as a team.
Individual champions are also given a unique prize at the invite, as wrestlers are awarded cowboy hats rather than trophies.
Sophomore Jesse Delgado, one of 11 GHS athletes who were taken to the event, has his sights set on a second cowboy hat after winning the tournament as a freshman last year. His chances of repeating are strong as Delgado enters the event with a No. 1 seed and a No. 1 ranking in the state of California.
“Last year I wore it to school,” Delgado said. “Maybe I’ll wear it (again) the Monday we get back.”
Along with the 112-pound Delgado, Gilroy has several other wrestlers who are hoping to place, if not win their weight class.
Hunter Collins enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 189 pounds, which isn’t surprising considering he is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation in his weight class, according to WIN-magazine.com. He has yet to lose a match this season.
Gilroy’s Martin Gonzalez (119 pounds) and Jesse Rogers (215 pounds) were given No. 2 seeds, which should set them up well for a run to the finals as well.
Rogers has two opponents he hopes to face in particular: Clovis’ Ben Sanchez and Rudy Burtschi from Oakdale.
“They’re both ranked ahead of me in the state, so they should be pretty tough matches,” Rogers said. “And if all goes well, I should have Rudy Burtschi in the semis.”
Getting to the semifinals or better won’t be easy, though. The Doc Buchanan has a reputation for pulling together the top-ten teams in the state of California each year.
“Its a very hard tournament,” said 145-pounder Travis Sakamoto. “There’s a lot of good wrestlers there. It’s just like state, the same wrestlers.”
GHS assistant coach Mike Koester said along with the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Five Counties meet in late January and the CIF State championships, this event will give Gilroy one of its biggest tests this season.
“We figure for us to have a successful tournament, we’re looking for a top-three finish (as a team) and having six placers,” Koester said.
And as for staying focused on the prize, the coach added that won’t be a problem for the Mustangs.
“If you win this tournament, you get a cowboy hat,” Koester said. “So, we plan on coming home with some cowboy hats.”
