BAKERSFIELD—Out of the 13 South County wrestlers who made the trip to the California Interscholastic Federation state meet, just four live to see another day.
Gilroy senior Matt Penyacsek (195), along with freshman teammate Alex Felix (132) are the only two to leave the Rabobank Arena with untarnished records after Day 1 and remain in contention for a state title. Christopher’s Alex Garcia (160) as well as the Mustangs’ Mark Penyacsek (170) also advance to Saturday competition, but will need to wrestle back to find themselves on the podium.
Matt Penyacsek punched his ticket to the semifinals with an 8-2 decision over Wooan Young from Buchanan in the quarters. He was dominant for Gilroy on Day 1, winning his first match by fall at 1:36 over Eric Saavedra of Highland. He then shutout Samuel Aguilar, Granite Hills, 11-0 for a major decision win in Round 2. Matt also notched a 9-2 victory over Michael Bulkin of Del Notre.
Matt Penyacsek will vy for a spot in the finals when he takes on Austin Flores from Clovis in the semifinals.
Felix secured his spot in Saturday’s semifinals, edging out Clovis’ Brandon Martino 8-7. He rolled through his first two opponents, starting with Etienne Armijo of Centennial by an 11-1 major decision in the first round. The Mustang then topped Escondido’s Andrew Villanueva by a 12-1 major decision, but his next ‘W’ didn’t come as easily. Johnny Knowles, of Calvary Chapel, took Felix to overtime in his third match of the day. The Mustang bested his opponent, however, to notch a 4-2 decision.
Felix will square off with Jaden Enriquez of Misson in the semifinals for a spot in the 132-pound championship.
Mark Penyacsek, made easy work of his competition too, winning by wide margins before running into Oakdale’s Able Garcia. Able handed Mark his first loss, a crushing 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals. The senior opened with a 3-0 win over Cameron Gorman of Marina and followed up with a 7-3 decision over Irvine’s Armon Fayyazi. He also beat Michael Wright II, Dinuba, by a stellar 8-2 margin.
Alex Garcia was the lone Cougar to survive Day 1—and he almost got out unscathed. His lone loss came in the third round, falling to Kenneth Moore by a heartbreaking 1-0 decision. Alex opened the day by pinning Anthony Medley of Mission Oaks. He then rolled Luke Matheny with a 14-4 major decision and notched a 6-2 win over Edgar Rivera from Lindhurst. The Christopher standout finished the day with an 8-3 win over Aaron Padilla from San Marino.
Live Oak’s Adam Mito was one match away from Saturday competition, but was ousted by Rosario Sanchez from Sanger. Sanchez bested Mito 2-0, giving him a 3-2 record at state. He had an early scare, falling to Alex Hernandez 5-3 in his first match of the day. But the Acorn quickly recovered, winning 2-0 over Carson Sperber from Elk Grove in the consolation bracket. He then beat El Dorado’s Steven Castillo by a 7-2 decision. Mito closed out the day with a 3-1 win over Kimball’s Reese Chew.
Gilroy’s Noe Garcia also finished his trip to state with a 3-2 record. After losing his first match to Shane Torre, Calaveras, by a 6-5 mark, Noe won his next three straight. He beat O’Connell’s Daniel Paredes 8-2, David Field of San Leandro 8-2, and Drew Garcia from Southwest 7-6. Unfortunately for Noe, Steve Ahumada ended his streak with a 3-1-decision loss in the fourth round of consolations.
Freshman Mustang Nick Aguilar (106) was ousted in the fourth round of consolations, losing by pin in the third period to Dinuba’s Isaiah Perez. Aguilar started strong, opening the competition with a fall in the second period to beat Sanger’s Anthony Pacheco. He was bested 9-6 by Liam Cronin of Servite in the next round, but rebounded with a 3-1 decision over Bryan Sanchez from Olympian. Aguilar went 2-2 in the tournament.
Gilroy’s Jesse Vasquez finished with a 2-2 mark in the state meet. He lost his first match by fall to Andres Hooper of Northview in the second period. He returned the favor, pinning his next two opponents—Ethan Ramos of Shafter and Nathan Ho from Oakland—at 2:28 and 22 seconds, respectively. Unfortunately for Vasquez, Tony Mendoza from Selma ousted him 6-4.
Teammate Tony Andrade (182) also finished 2-2, losing to Trevor Ervin from Buchanan by a 7-4 mark. He began with a 4-2 win over Stone Escobedo from Fountain Valley, but lost 5-4 to Roman Romero of McNair in the next round. The Mustang wrestler rebounded with a 9-7 win over Nick Perillo from Fallbrook. He
Christopher’s Jacob Myers (152) had similar luck, losing his first match by pin to John Leal from Chico. He rebounded with a 9-2 decision over Emmanuel Zepedagavidi and a forfeit win over Lavelle Johnson from Galileo. Adam Young cut Myers’ time at state short, handing him a tech fall loss in the third round of consolations.
His teammate, freshman Riley Siason (106), finished 1-2. His lone win came in the first round when he beat Sutter’s Cole Shelton 4-2.
Gilroy’s Joe Delgado (113) and teammate Gavin Melendez (120) also went 1-2. Delgado’s only state victory came over Ethan Stimpel from Exeter, whom he beat 7-4. Melendez recorded his ‘W’ with a 7-5 decision over Jacob Delgado from El Diamante in the first round of consolations.
The state meet resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Follow @DispatchERed on Twitter from updates from the tournament.
