By the numbers, this year’s edition of Gilroy High wrestling is
the second-best team ever assembled in school history. The Mustangs
continued their dominance over the Central Coast Section by winning
a sixth-consecutive team title with a score of 249.5 at Overfelt
High School Saturday. The next closest competitor was San Benito,
which came in second with a score of 151.
By the numbers, this year’s edition of Gilroy High wrestling is the second-best team ever assembled in school history.
The Mustangs continued their dominance over the Central Coast Section by winning a sixth-consecutive team title with a score of 249.5 at Overfelt High School Saturday. The next closest competitor was San Benito, which came in second with a score of 151.
The Mustangs had six wrestlers in the finals – four of whom became champions, nine individuals qualify for the state tournament next weekend in Bakersfield, Calif. and 10 CCS placers.
Having six individuals (Jesse Delgado, Martin Gonzalez, Vincent Aboytes, Ethan Ogle, Hunter Collins and Luis Barragan) in the finals ties a school record, while having nine go to state (those mentioned above, Jesse Rogers, Tim Ibanez and Travis Sakamoto) and ten placers (all above and Rodney Balajadia) are both new school records.
“It just means everything to me,” Gilroy coach Armando Gonzalez said. “It’s a huge accomplishment. … We try to keep raising the bar and setting new goals for ourselves. We have a saying, ‘To continue improving we have to keep sharpening the saw.’ And in order to improve, we have to keep measuring ourselves against ourselves.
“People don’t know how hard it is to continue to dominate and stay on top. It gets harder every year.”
Hunter Collins became only the fourth person in CCS history, and the second from Gilroy, to win his weight class at the section championships all four years of high school. The first Mustang to do so was Armando Gonzalez Jr. in 2006.
“It feels awesome getting to join my (former) teammate ‘Mondo, and those other great champions,” Collins said.
Delgado (114 pounds) won his second title in as many years with a third-round pin of San Benito’s Junior Davila, while fellow GHS sophomore Luis Barragan won his first title in the heavyweight division, pinning Max Lohr of Pacific Grove in the third round. Junior Martin Gonzalez got over the hump in his third try at CCS, winning the 119-pound division with a 19-2 major decision over St. Francis’ Nick Cano after taking second place the two previous seasons.
“Martin Gonzalez was definitely the most dominant performer,” coach Gonzalez said. “Obviously Jesse and Hunter were incredible, but [Martin] brought on a whole new level of intensity, and frankly, he was brutal against his opponents.”
Ogle (162 pounds) and Aboytes (142) both took second, Ibanez (127) and Sakamoto (147) both took third, Rogers (217) finished fourth and Balajadia (132) placed fifth.
Senior Tim Caspary (152 pounds) and sophomore Adam Rosso (135) both scored points by going 1-2 in their three matches while David Siha (103), brought up from junior varsity just before CCS, lost to both of his opponents.
Balajadia was the lone Mustang to place who didn’t qualify for state, as only the top four from each weight class advance to the final tournament of the year being held at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif., Friday and Saturday. Wrestling two divisions above his ideal weight, Balajadia was singled out by Coach Gonzalez for sacrificing his chances of moving on to help the team score valuable points.
“My hat’s off to him for being the ultimate team player,” coach Gonzalez said.
Mike Penyacsek could also be included in that sentiment. His 160-pound slot was given to Ogle after the team came to a unanimous decision to have Ogle and Collins both move down a weight class to help the team’s chances at earning CCS and state titles.
The move also benefited wrestlers outside of Gilroy.
“You want to know who the two happiest guys are in this gym right now,” Gilroy assistant coach Mike Koester said in jest, pointing to the two individuals in the 189-pound finals match.
The team’s focus now shifts to state, where Gilroy enters with three legitimate state title contenders in Delgado, Martin Gonzalez and Collins, and six others who could place, or at the very least score points.
With a strong finish, this year’s squad could start a debate as to whether this year’s team is better than the 2006 Mustangs, considered the best to ever to grace Gilroy’s mats after winning CCS with a record 274.5 points and five individual champions. This year’s point total of 249.5 is the third-highest trailing only the 2006 Mustangs and the 1996 Independence team that scored 269.5 points and had seven champions.
Coach Gonzalez said he would place this year’s team as the second best he’s seen at Gilroy, but all that could change with a strong showing this weekend.
“That team took fourth in the state, this team in ranked third,” he said. “So, we’ll see at the end of state.”
