Only one person has ever won a state title in wrestling from
Gilroy High, and none of the current Mustangs competing at Rabobank
Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. today and tomorrow at the CIF State
Championships were there to see it. If they were, it’s time someone
took a look at their birth certificates.
Only one person has ever won a state title in wrestling from Gilroy High, and none of the current Mustangs competing at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif. today and tomorrow at the CIF State Championships were there to see it.
If they were, it’s time someone took a look at their birth certificates.
Over twenty years have passed since Kordell Baker accomplished the feat, taking the title in the 138-pound division in 1987.
While several people have come close since, including a couple current wrestlers, Gilroy has a rare opportunity this season to add another person to that lonely list of one. Maybe even two, or even, three.
That’s because the Mustangs have “The big three.”
Jesse Delgado (114 pounds), Martin Gonzalez (121) and Hunter Collins (173) all enter the state tournament ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. If all three were able to win a championship, it would go a long way in pushing Gilroy High towards its first team title at state. But rankings rarely equate to results in the most competitive tournament of the year.
“When you get to state, there’s no buys, there’s no easy matches,” Gilroy assistant coach Mike Koester said.
As Collins was quick to admit after winning his fourth Central Coast Section title last weekend, helping the Mustangs win a sixth-straight title as a team at CCS, “State is where the most people get upset.”
Every win is worth a gallon of blood, sweat and tears shed over the course of a season.
“It’s a whole new ballgame,” Gonzalez said. “Just placing would be quite an accomplishment, but getting to the finals would be the perfect season.”
After finishing seventh last year, it’s possible Gonzalez, a CCS champ this season, could meet No. 2 ranked Thomas Williams of South Hills in the finals, a wrestler he split matches with this season.
Delgado and Collins were both a win away from the finals last season, with Delgado rebounding from a first-round defeat to take third and Collins winning a finals consolation match to also finish third. This year, all eyes will be on whether Collins can win his first state title in his last high school season, and if Delgado, only a sophomore, is ready to stake his claim as the best lightweight in California with two years to go.
Minutes after Delgado won his second CCS title Saturday, his attention had already turned to the next task at hand.
“Right now I’m just trying to win state,” he said. “That’s all I’m looking at. I think it’s possible but there’s people trying to stop me.
“I just have to stop them.”
If The Big Three do accomplish their goals of state titles, it will be on those facing the rest of Gilroy’s nine state qualifiers to deny the Mustangs the team title.
“It’s possible with the nine guys. If our three number one’s could live up to that, that’s a lot of points,” Koester said. “You’re talking about those three guys generating 80-90 points right there by themselves.
“I figure it will take 110 up to 120 points to win state. That means the rest of the guys have to win matches, they have to do their part.”
The fourth most likely member of Gilroy’s team to place is 215-pounder Jesse Rogers, according to Koester.
While Ethan Ogle received an honorable mention in the 160-pound state rankings, he will have one of the toughest roads of all Gilroy wrestlers. If he wins his first match, Ogle will likely face Jose Ramirez of Bakersfield High.
“[Ramirez] is not only the best 160-pounder in the state,” Koester said, “he’s the best in the nation. So that’s going to be a real tough match.”
Tim Ibanez will face the No. 1 wrestler form the Southern Section in his first match, 127-pounder Angel Garcia of San Dimas, while Vincent Aboytes (142 pounds) and Travis Sakamoto (147 pounds) will both be wrestling in what are often times the most competitive weight classes on a yearly basis. Luis Barragan, the fourth Mustang to win a CCS title this season, will also have serious challenges in each match, according to coaches.
“It all depends on where they win and how they win,” Koester said. “This is what they’ve been waiting for all year. Everything they’ve done before now was to prepare them for this moment.”
