GILROY—Alex Garcia etched his name into the Christopher record books last season when he became the first wrestler in school history to medal at state. This year, he’s looking to further cement his legacy and become the first Cougar to bring home a California Interscholastic Federation state title.
“My expectations are to take first in state and dominate anyone I wrestle,” Garcia said, wiping sweat from a tough practice off his forehead. “(I’m excited for) all the wrestling and to end things off with a bang. I want to leave a statement at this school.”
The senior is ranked No.1 in the state and in the Central Coast Section after finishing sixth at the CIF meet and second at CCS. Garcia will wrestle in the 160-pound weight class this year, up from 152 last season.
But he’s not the only Cougar looking to bring home some hardware this season.
Sophomore Felipe Duenas (113) is ranked No. 1 in the CCS preseason polls and No. 26 in the state. He earned a fourth place finish at CCS last season. Senior Jacob Myers is also looking to do big things and is ranked No. 4 in the section after a 2-2 finish at the CCS tournament last year.
“I want to place Top 3 in CCS and go to state this year,” Myers said. “(The key will be) maintaining strength and keeping it up.”
Christopher graduated several key pieces last season—including CCS champ Jimmie Lopez—but have added a slew of talented underclassmen. Freshman Riley Saison joins the team at 106 and is ranked No. 12 in CCS heading into the season. He’s joined by standout sophomores Adam Mena (145) and Keanu Calimpong (132)—both of which are expected to do big things for the team. Mena is ranked No.6 in the preseason, following a Top 8 finish at CCS last year.
“This year, compared to the other years, we have more year round wrestlers, whereas in the previous years we had more seasonal wrestlers,” Christopher coach Alecxis Lara said. “The only thing is they’re young. They’re still young and still lacking experience, but they have been training year round. I think that’s really going to help the program and take the program to another level.”
The Cougars have been hard at work in the offseason, attending several clinics to strengthen their skills. Even during practice they don’t hold back. Each wrestler was drenched in sweat as they sparred with their partner in the school’s wrestling room Monday.
“We’re being more aggressive on our drills,” assistant coach Jose Lara said. “We’re drilling a lot harder, better, faster. We’re working a lot more on our cardio on the track. The track has helped us do a lot of running exercises, so that’s good.”
Alecxis said the team is keeping its goals realistic this year—especially given how young the team is. Christopher is aiming for a Top 3 finish at the Monterey Bay League Finals and Top 5 at CCS.
As for Garcia, he’s not settling for anything less than a state title.
“(Competing at state last year), it’s going to help a lot,” he said. “It’s hard and intense right off the bat. I need to prepare myself for that this year.”
Christopher kicked off its season at the MBL Novice Tournament Wednesday at Watsonville High, though results weren’t available by presstime. It will compete at the Dos Palos Tournament today and Saturday in Dos Palos.
