Gurich, Zabala, Gonzalez win titles; seven off to state
SAN JOSE – As the Central Coast Section Championship meet progressed round by round from Friday’s preliminaries to Saturday’s finals, it became more and more glaring how dominant the Gilroy High wrestling team was over the rest of the field.
The reigning section champions, who won last year’s CCS title by a 59 1/2-point spread over their nearest opposition with 213 team points, accumulated 211 team points this season, which was 72 points more than second-place Fremont (139).
With three CCS individual titles, one runner-up, three third-place finishers, and one sixth-place mark, the Mustangs easily secured their second straight section championship.
“We’ve definitely stepped it up this season more than any other season, more than last year and the year before,” said Coach Armando Gonzalez, who was the busiest man in the tournament with multiple wrestlers in each round. “We were going deep, deep into the tournament. I credit a lot to our workout program and tournament schedule we have. … We got stronger as the tournament went on due to our conditioning and grueling practices we had.”
Seniors John Gurich and Mark Zabala, as well as sophomore Armando Gonzalez, all won their respective weight class titles for the second year in a row. Sophomore Adin Duenas took second place and senior Chad Haygood third for the second straight season, while senior Callan Romesberg and freshman Nicolo Naranjo both also placed third to give Gilroy seven state qualifiers. In addition, freshman Rudy Maldonado brought home a sixth-place medal.
“I’m just blown away by how well our team did. Seven state qualifiers in one year, that’s amazing, and it’s nice to go out on top this year,” said Gurich, after completing his final CCS title run. “We have seven seniors on our team, so looks like we get another set of rings, so we’re looking good.”
Gurich, who placed a team-high fourth at last year’s CIF State Finals, won five consecutive bouts to win the 112-pound section championship, after winning the 103-pound division in 2003.
“I’m sure I’m going to miss it when it’s over, but right now I want to get on to the next tournament, the next biggest one. State tournament’s in two weeks, I’ve got to give it all I’ve got,” Gurich said. “This is my last chance. It would be nice to be under the spotlight down there in Bakersfield, so we’ll see what happens.”
The CIF State Finals have moved this year to Centennial Gardens in Bakersfield on March 5-6 after taking place in Stockton at the Spano Center on the University of the Pacific campus the last few seasons.
“I’m pretty confident this year. I got all the butterflies out, walking out there for the first time last year,” Gurich said. “I think this year everybody is going to be a little nervous. It’s in a new place, so nobody is going to know what to expect, so I think that could play into my favor.”
In his championship match, Gurich won a 5-1 decision over Bellarmine sophomore Daniel Summers, who he had beaten several times already during this season.
“I think it makes for a more boring match, because I know what he’s got good and he knows what I’ve got good, and we’re both watching out for that and not worrying about our offense, going back and forth,” Gurich said.
After a scoreless first period, Gurich chose the bottom position, escaped to his feet for one point, and took down Summers for two points to take a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period. In the final two minutes, Summers escaped to close the gap to 3-1, but Gurich got the takedown to seal the victory.
Zabala’s championship repeat also consisted of five-bout winning streak, including two by pinfall to get into the 171-pound finals against Mount Pleasant junior Julian Carbajal.
“The competition is a lot more tougher than last year,” said Zabala, following his 8-3 second-round victory over Mitty’s Michael Jappe. “I was expecting the opposite, but guys are stepping it up.”
A 10-5 semifinal victory over Gunn’s Will Keller put Zabala into the finals, where he took care of Carbajal with an 11-3 championship nod.
“I was just wrestling for a lot more things (this season) like it’s my senior year. … It means a lot. I have a baby coming and stuff, so I kind of wanted to do it for that,” said Zabala, who placed sixth at state last year. “I’ve got to train harder than I’ve ever trained before and just stick everything out there because this is it.”
After winning a section title in his freshman season at 119s, Gonzalez went up one weight class to 125s with no problem, making it two-for-two at CCS. With his father coaching him all the way, Gonzalez poured it on with a run into the finals that included two pins and one technical fall.
“It’s been going good. I want to try to repeat from last year, but there are some tough guys in my weight class,” said Gonzalez, following his quarterfinal pin of Monte Vista’s Brandon Greenwood.
In his championship bout, Gonzalez gave up only one escape to Mitty senior Juaquin Carlos, while scoring a takedown in each period for an impressive 6-1 triumph.
“It feels good,” said Gonzalez, who wants a top six finish at state after going 1-2 as a freshman. “I had an easier time in the preliminary rounds, but in the finals, it was just as tough as it was last year,”
Duenas wrestled at 119s for a majority of the season, but moved up to the 130-pound division, starting at the T-CAL Finals where he won the weight class title. Up against the best in the section, the unseeded sophomore used skill to combat some bigger opponents.
“It actually helped me, I think, because I was cutting too much weight for 19s and now that I’m at 30s, I can eat healthy and I feel stronger. I think it’s good for me,” said Duenas after his quarterfinal pin of Leigh’s Eric Nakagawa. “Also I have a lot of fire behind me because my brothers didn’t believe me that I can do well at 30s and I just wanted to show them that I could.”
With a commanding 10-4 victory over Fremont’s Joseph Seo, Duenas was once again in his weight class championship match, this time against Adan Marquez, of Aptos.
“(Seo) was much bigger than I was, but size doesn’t matter that much if you have the skill,” Duenas said. “I knew if I bumped up a couple of weights, I’d feel much better and stronger, and I think it showed.”
But in the finals, Duenas came up short, falling by only a 7-4 decision to the top seed at 130s. Following a scoreless first period, Duenas escaped for a one-point edge before Marquez scored a two-point takedown at the end of the second period. Marquez escaped to begin the third period and then brought Duenas down to his back for a four-point move. Duenas never gave up, registering an escape and then a takedown to close the gap to three by the final buzzer.
Naranjo’s first CCS experience was full of excitement as the 103-pound phenom made his way into the semifinals with three straight victories, including one pin and two technical falls.
“It was going good up until the semis,” said Naranjo, who dropped a tight 4-3 decision to Terra Nova’s Parker Sha to fall into the consolation bracket. “I think probably Five Counties was a little tougher.”
The soft-spoken freshman rebounded from the semifinal loss with a 7-0 shutout victory over South San Francisco’s Sergio Valdez and then earned a state bid with a 4-2 third-place win over Evergreen’s Andre Gonzalez.
“Nico, he had a hurt neck that may have affected him. He didn’t wrestle to his potential in the semis, but that’s what happens when you’re a freshman. It’s a long season,” Coach Gonzalez said. “That’s how it works in life and wrestling. You have to pay your dues. You have to lose before you can win.”
In the 145-pound division, Romesberg was vying for his first section title and state spot with three straight pins to get into the semifinals.
“I just want to be on track because I’ve been daydreaming about this day for years and, hopefully, my dream will come true,” said Romesberg after his second-round pin of Serra’s Jorge Cuevas. “So far there’s no one really good yet, but my next match and tomorrow is going to be tough.”
In the semis, Romesberg squared off against North Monterey County’s Ricky Torculas, who ended the garlic grappler’s run with a 4-2 decision in overtime. After falling behind 2-0, Romesberg used two escapes to tie the score and send the match into overtime.
“The match I had against Torculas, I felt like he was stalling a little bit because his wind wasn’t as strong as it should be,” Romesberg said. “So I felt like I’m the one who really deserved it because I felt I worked a lot harder than he did. I just felt like he was stalling the whole way.”
Despite not reaching the finals, Romesberg still was in the hunt for a chance to go to his first state meet. The senior rebounded just fine, defeated Bellarmine’s Patrick Gillick by a 7-3 margin before pinning James Lick’s Daniel Gutierrez to finish in third place.
“It wasn’t necessarily my dream, but I feel better being able to get back on the mat again and wrestle my way back up,” said Romesberg, who sported Gilroy’s new white singlet for his medal match. “I’m pretty excited for the next two weeks of hard work (for state). I just had to do something good in this singlet because you can’t lose in this singlet.”
For the second straight season, Haygood, who won his first bout, but was then upset 5-1 by Alisal’s Miguel Garcia in the second round, took the tough road to placing third at CCS.
“I guess I kind of laid an egg. I made so many mistakes. I got tired. I just didn’t wrestle well at all,” said Haygood of losing to Garcia. “That’s what I had to do last year when I lost and had to wrestle back to third. There’s a lot of times where I lose early and I have to wrestle my way back. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. I just like more matches I guess.”
Haygood re-established his form in the consolation bracket, winning five straight matches to move into the third/fourth place match with a state spot on the line.
“I feel all right. I’ve got to go get some fluids and food, and I’m sure I’ll feel a lot better,” said Haygood after defeating Terra Nova’s Martin Nofziger in the consolation semifinals. “It’s been a long tournament. That’s my sixth match already.”
The senior, who got a late start to the season due to a collarbone injury, saved his best for last, pinning Fremont’s Kurtie Ogasawara in the third period to end his final CCS run in third place.
“I knew when I was on my feet, I could get him. So in the third round, (Coach Gonzalez) let me choose what I wanted. I chose standing. I knew if he shot in, I’d throw him for sure,” Haygood said. “In a way, it’s good. In a way, it’s still disappointing because I wanted to be in the finals so badly, but I still get to go to state.”
With Duenas abandoning the 119-pound division, Maldonado got a golden opportunity to compete in CCS after placing second in the league finals. The undersized freshman, a regular 112-pounder, battled his way into the quarterfinals with back-to-back victories.
“That’s the most experience I ever had. My coach said to me one day, ‘You can’t buy this kind of experience,'” Maldonado said. “They said that even me placing here as a freshman will help my rankings for next year.”
After losing to top seed Daniel Mendoza, of King City, in the quarters, Maldonado won two straight in the consolation bracket to secure his first CCS medal of sixth place.
“It means a lot. I’m proud of myself for being able to wrestle here and not afraid of anybody even though I’m lighter and they’re stronger and older,” said Maldonado, after losing to Half Moon Bay’s Joey Wilson in his last match. “Every guy I wrestled here was stronger than me and heavier than me, but that didn’t stop me. I still got sixth place.”
Fourteen Mustang matmen competed in the CCS Finals and helped Gilroy achieve a second consecutive championship, including: senior Miguel Maldonado (4-2 at 152s); senior Jose Albarron (3-2 at 215s); senior Erik Lara (1-2 at 189s); sophomore Daniel Gamez (0-2 at heavyweight); junior Joe Delgado (0-2 at 160s); and freshman Austin Gubrud (0-2 at 140s).
“We were very, very busy coaches,” Coach Gonzalez said. “Last year, we had six state qualifiers and this year, we have seven. That’s amazing.”
Behind Gilroy in first and Fremont in second were third-place Los Gatos with 129.50 team points, fourth-place San Benito with 126 team points, and fifth-place Bellarmine with 122 team points.
“One of things in years past is we would do really well on day-one, but by day-two when we would get to better wrestlers, we would falter. This year, we were winning by technical falls and pins, where those guys were starting to tire, our guys getting stronger,” Coach Gonzalez said. “This year, we were in first place going into day-two so we knew were going to have a great second day.”
In two weeks, seven garlic grapplers are looking to place as a team in the top 10 at states. Gilroy High has produced one state champion, Kordell Baker, and one three-time state placer, Sergio Mar.
“Now, we’re looking to get Johnny and Mark to become two-time state placers,” Coach Gonzalez said. “We have three wrestlers who are legitimate contenders: Johnny is ranked fourth in state; Mando is ranked seventh; Mark is eighth. They are right there with best.
“I’m hoping, again these are lofty goals, that we place top 10 in state (as a team) with three medalists,” he added. “And that’s not to say that Nico, Chad, Adin, and Callan don’t have legitimate chances. It depends on the draw. All seven of our state qualifiers have experience, can win matches at state, and at that tournament, that atmosphere anything can happen.”
