GILROY — The wrestling careers of five Mustangs won’t end when they graduate this spring.
Gilroy’s Nikko Villarreal, Victor Olmos, Paul Fox, Isaiah Locsin and Lupe Jimenez all signed their letters of intent to wrestle at their respective colleges next season Wednesday. The Gilroy High library was packed with family, friends, teammates and the Gilroy Hawks youth wrestlers all watching as the five Mustangs formally committed to their new schools.
“When I came in five years ago they were eighth graders. To see them sign to their next step in life and head off to some great universities and colleges is amazing,” Gilroy principal and assistant wrestling coach Marco Sanchez said.
Olmos, Fox and Locsin will all remain teammates, attending Stanford University in the fall.
“It’s got the best academics, the best athletics and it’s close to home so it’s awesome,” Fox said.
All three are standouts academically, but their accomplishments aren’t limited to the classroom. Locsin is a state champion and All-American wrestler, while Fox won his first state title on March 8 in Bakersfield. Olmos was awarded the Sportsmanship honor at the state tournament.
All three are Central Coast Section champions, with Fox winning his fourth title and Olmos his third this year.
“We always try to reach for the best,” Locsin said. “We all work hard. We’re shooting for the stars.”
Three-time state champion Villarreal will head to the desert, wrestling for the Sun Devils of Arizona State University. Since Stanford and ASU are both in the Pac-12, he’ll be seeing his Mustang teammates next year, just in a different capacity.
“We’ll still cheer him on,” Olmos said with a smile.
“Hopefully we don’t wrestle the same weight — that’d be kind of weird,” Villarreal added with a laugh. ”We’re always going to have that connection; we’re still going to hang out. It’s cool.”
Though he’ll be far from home, Villarreal will see a familiar face in ASU assistant coach Lee Pritts who he has known since he was 10-years-old and was one of the main reasons he chose to head to Tempe.
“I just feel like they can take me to the next level — I can win an NCAA title just from going there,” Villarreal said. “It’s bittersweet knowing that high school is coming to an end, but I’ll be going to college finally. …That college experience something I’ve always dreamed about.”
Jimenez will head east, receiving a full ride to wrestle for the Panthers at York College in York, Neb.
Jimenez was a runner-up at CCS this season and is excited to wrestle for the York program, which is ranked 16th in the nation.
“I feel satisfied with all my hard work. I feel excited that I finally signed off to college,” Jimenez said. “I’m actually excited about the wrestling more than ever. This time I’ll be competing at a college level.”
Gilroy may have one more senior signing his letter of intent as they await word on whether or not Julian Carbajal will join Jimenez at York. Jimenez said he’s keeping his fingers crossed that he’ll have some company in the MidWest.
The Mustangs have already produced one NCAA Division I champion in Jesse Delgado and with four wrestlers going DI, Sanchez has no doubt that they’ll have more.
“I only wish I was as good as some of these guys are when I was at their point in their career as a high schooler,” he said. “They’re light-years ahead of me. They’re going to do some great things.”
Lupe Jimenez — York College, Neb.
Paul Fox — Stanford University
Isaiah Locsin — Stanford University
Victor Olmos — Stanford University
Nikko Villarreal — Arizona State University
