Mustangs Drive Full Speed Ahead for Fourth Title
All season long, three little letters have been on the minds of the Gilroy wrestlers: CCS.
Over the past month and a half, the Mustangs have gone to prestigious tournaments, continually adding impressive team and individual titles to the season resume. All the while, they had their eyes on the goal of becoming only the second team in CCS history to win four consecutive section titles. Finally, that quest begins today at 10 am at Independence High in San Jose.
“We want to make history,” said senior 135-pounder Adin Dueñas, who enters today’s CCS championships as a No. 1 seed. “There’s only been one other team who has done it. And who knows how long ago that was.”
It was before any of the Mustangs were born. Oceana four-peated as CCS champs 1983-1986. Twenty years later, Gilroy will try to do the same thing for the first time in the program’s history. The Mustangs will also be aiming to qualify an unprecedented 10 wrestlers for the state tournament. A top-four individual CCS finish guarantees a berth in next weekend’s California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Championships in Bakersfield.
Five Gilroy wrestlers – Nico Naranjo (112 pounds), Chris Krough (130), Dueñas (135), Armando Gonzalez (140) and Hunter Collins (171) – are No. 1 seeds in the CCS meet. Naranjo, Dueñas, Gonzalez and Collins all won CCS titles last year.
Even though the Mustangs have proved themselves to be the most powerful team in the CCS this season, especially with an impressive 300 point-plus first-place score at the Overfelt Tournament in January, fourth-seeded Daniel Gamez (215 pounds) feels the team needs to have a good showing at the CCS meet to get respect for state.
“We’ve still got to prove to the team and ourselves that we belong up there,” he said. “We look forward to winning (CCS) and making it into the top four for state. It’s a dream and we want to make it come true.”
Some of the top matchups that could occur in the Saturday’s finals involve Gilroy wrestlers. In the 103-pound division, freshman and No. 2 seed Martin Gonzalez could meet up with defending state champion Boris Novachkov of Fremont. The two have never wrestled each other, but Gonzalez calls Novachkov “head and shoulders” above every one else.
Another match to watch for would be between No. 1 seed Eddie Ngo of Overfelt and No. 2 seed Rudy Maldonado in the 125-pound finals. Ngo took the title at the Gilroy-hosted Mid Cals at the end of January, with Maldonado finishing fourth.
But it is the performances of the lower-seeded wrestlers, like Gamez and 275-pounder Luis Chavez (No. 3 seed) that will make or break Gilroy’s success as a team at the section meet and at state. The Mustangs need to qualify as many wrestlers as they can to do better than last year’s sixth-place finish at state.
Chavez has a record of 1-1 against top-seeded 275-pounder Sergio Montenegro of Overfelt. Chavez beat Montenegro at the Zinkin Classic, but Montenegro returned the favor at the Overfelt Classic.
“If I wrestle my best, I think I could pull off an upset,” Chavez said. “(Today) is pretty much the day everyone has been waiting for.”
Second-day action begins at Overfelt at 10am Saturday, with the finals starting at 7:30pm.
Gilroy’s CCS Seedings
103 pounds
2. Martin Gonzalez, Gilroy, Fr.
112 pounds
1. Nicolo Naranjo, Gilroy, Jr.
125 pounds
2. Rudy Maldonado, Gilroy, Jr.
130 pounds
1. Chris Krough, Gilroy, Jr.
135 pounds
1. Adin Dueñas, Gilroy, Sr.
140 pounds
1. Armando Gonzalez, Gilroy, Sr.
152 Pounds
5. Austin Gubrud, Gilroy, Jr.
171 pounds
1. Hunter Collins, Gilroy, So.
189 pounds
4. Andres Barragan, Gilroy, Jr.
215 pounds
4. Daniel Gamez, Gilroy, Sr.
275 pounds
3. Luis Chavez, Gilroy, Sr.
CCS Championship Seedings
103 pounds
1. B. Novachkov, Fremont, Jr.
2. Martin Gonzalez, Gilroy, Fr.
3. Rey Mendoza, Wat., So.
4. Al Quenga, Overfelt, Fr.
5. Vincent Le, P. Hills, Jr.
6. S. Erfanian, Cupertino, So.
112 pounds
1. Nicolo Naranjo, Gilroy, Jr.
2. Kiyoshi Kawano, Gunn, Jr.
3. S. Valdez, South SF, Sr.
4. G. Kadokura, M. Vista, Jr.
5. Jesus Trujillo, Greenfield, So.
6. R. DeGuzman, S. Creek, Sr.
119 pounds
1. F. Novachkov, Fremont, Sr.
2. A. Gonzales, S. Creek, Jr.
3. S. Hernandez, Oak Grove
4. N. Bagheri, Los Gatos, Jr.
5. P. Sha, Terra Nova, Sr.
6. C. Mora, San Benito, Sr.
125 pounds
1. Eddy Ngo, Overfelt, Sr.
2. Rudy Maldonado, Gilroy, Jr.
3. D. Rodriguez, Gonzales, Sr.
4. B. Blackwood, St. Fran., Jr.
5. Geoff Doss, Los Gatos, So.
6. M. Guillardo, Sobrato, Jr.
130 pounds
1. Chris Krough, Gilroy, Jr.
2. P. Hoang, Silver Creek, Jr.
3. D. Gavin, Los Gatos, Sr.
4. L. Zendejas, King City, Jr.
5. B. Greenwood, Wilcox, Sr.
6. S. Plotnikov, Cupertino, Sr.
135 pounds
1. Adin Dueñas, Gilroy, Sr.
2. D Summers, Bellarmine, Sr.
3. J. Alva, Los Gatos, Sr.
4. D. Gonzales, Indep., Jr.
5. G. Lara, Mt. Pleasant, Sr.
6. Nic Giaccia, Gunn, So.
140 pounds
1. A. Gonzalez, Gilroy, Sr.
2. J. Wilson, H. Moon Bay, Jr.
3. A. Nudelman, Los Gatos, Sr.
4. K. Ogasawara, Fremont, Sr.
5. Mike Gradone, Aptos, Sr.
6. J. Garcia, Andrew Hill, Jr.
145 pounds
1. C. Minafo, Monterey, Sr.
2. S. Thalin, Kings Academy, Sr.
3. J. Shaw, St. Francis, Sr.
4. W. Gonzales, Alisal, Sr.
5. S. Rodehorst, Bellarmine, Sr.
6. A. Piccolotti, H. Moon Bay, Sr.
152 pounds
1. Aaron Palacios, North Monterey County, Sr.
2. Mikey Rico, Silver Creek, Sr.
3. Markham Bertron, Oak Grove, Sr.
4. Spencer Sevilla, Saratoga, Sr.
5. Austin Gubrud, Gilroy, Jr.
6. David Green, Wilcox, Sr.
160 pounds
1. Greg Crane, Fremont, Sr.
2. Jeff Wysuph, Los Gatos, Sr.
3. Omar Ortiz, Greenfield, Sr.
4. Colton Brown, Monterey, Jr.
5. Zach Wicht, Archbishop Mitty, Sr.
6. Quan Cao, Milpitas, Jr.
171 pounds
1. Hunter Collins, Gilroy, So.
2. Chris Rey, Half Moon Bay, Sr.
3. Davis Wright, Harbor, Sr.
4. Jonathan James, Monterey, Sr.
5. Tony Joyce, Hillsdale, Sr.
6. Peipe James, Valley Christian, Fr.
189 pounds
1. Matt Fultcher, Wilcox, Sr.
2. John Hall, Palo Alto, Jr.
3. Tommy Staats, Fremont, Sr.
4. Andres Barragan, Gilroy, Jr.
5. Ben Talavera, Archbishop Riordan, Sr.
6. Devonte Carr, Oak Grove, Jr.
215 pounds
1. Ryan Dunn, San Benito, Sr.
2. Dustin Black, Scotts Valley, Sr.
3. Mateus Porter, Terra Nova, Sr.
4. Daniel Gamez, Gilroy, Sr.
5. Ryan Gardner, Valley Christian, Jr.
6. Edwin Alvarez, Hillsdale, Sr.
275 pounds
1. Sergio Montenegro, Overfelt, Sr.
2. Derek Milburn, Aptos, Sr.
3. Luis Chavez, Gilroy, Sr.
4. Rafael Sanchez, James Lick, Jr.
5. Genaro Redmond, Sobrato, Jr.
6. Billy Hohenschuh, Burlingame, Jr.
