Gurich places fourth; Zabala takes sixth; Two more victims of
one-point losses.
STOCKTON – After dominating the Tri-County Athletic League and then the Central Coast Section, six Gilroy High wrestlers took their show on the road to the CIF State Championships at the Spano Center on the University of Pacific campus in Stockton.
Each grappler took a different path at the states with two bringing home state medals, three falling short of the medal rounds on day-two, and one bowing out before tournament action because of not making weight. But all six Mustang matmen experienced what the state meet is all about and five of six will return next year to help defend the team’s league and section titles.
“You prepare them all year, but until you get here and you wrestle this tournament you just have no idea until you’re on the mat and you’re feeling your opponent and you realize how tough they really are,” said head coach Armondo Gonzalez, who now has five state placers in his four-year coaching career at Gilroy High. “And next year we may get five in one year because we’re really coming along quickly.”
A pair of juniors – 103-pounder John Gurich (fourth in state) and 171-pounder Mark Zabala (sixth in state) – were added to the school’s elite list of medalist along with two-time state placer Brandon Bautista as well as Raul Alvarez, who were both under the tutelage of Coach Gonzalez.
“I’m really happy for Johnny and for Mark. They were the only two CCS placers we had last year and it’s just funny how things work – you have to suffer, you have to lose before you can win,” Coach Gonzalez said. “Some of our other kids got in here on their first try and so they weren’t rewarded yet and these two kids, Johnny and Mark, have battled and suffered and their receiving their rewards.
“But they are both returning next year and the other three will come in next year and also have this under their belt and they’ll have suffered and, hopefully, I can get five placers next year. So our future looks great.”
Gurich, Zabala, and junior 130-pounder Chad Haygood along with freshmen Armondo Gonzalez, at 119s, and Adin Duenas, at 112s, will be back in Mustang blue-and-gold next year, while senior 125-pounder Danny San Juan closed out his scholastic wrestling career with his first state berth.
“It was great. I did almost everything I wanted – I got my CCS title and the team got a CCS Championship,” said San Juan, who transferred over to Gilroy High from Oak Grove for his senior year. “It was great bonding with the team and with the coaches.”
In the 103-pound state bracket, Gurich opened up his first state meet with slim 1-0 nod over junior Travis Patterson, of Ayala representing the South Section. Following a 3-0 win over sophomore Angel Olea, of Farmersville representing the Central Section, Gurich dropped his first state bout – falling 4-3 to sophomore Mick Ruiz, of Poway, in the quarterfinals.
“Day one was pretty good. I came out a little sluggish my first match – making weight and what not. Second match, I wrestled pretty good,” Gurich said. “My quarterfinals match I wrestled great. It was a close one, 4-3. I almost had a takedown at the end, but that’s just the way it goes. So I had to come back and wrestleback for a medal.”
Although the road got even tougher – Gurich had to win one more without losing to be guaranteed top-8 and a state medal – the garlic grappler hung tough on day-two. Opening against Elk Grove sophomore Andre Phillips, Gurich worked takedowns in the second and third periods en route to a 4-1 victory.
“It feels great. You just work so hard all season for this, so now I’ve got to come back and try taking third,” said Gurich, looking ahead to his clash with Firebaugh sophomore Paul Ruiz. “I’ve got to wrestle the number one guy in the state next. He got upset so we’ll see what happens. I’m going to just go for it. I got my medal so I’m going to just leave it all on the mat.”
Gurich left it all on the mat against Ruiz – winning a tight 1-0 decision to move into the top-6 in his weight class. The only point in the consolation semis was a second-period escape by Gurich.
“That’s state. That’s all that is. You can win by one or 20, it doesn’t matter it’s still a win and nobody is going to say anything at state. A lot of overtime, double-overtime matches,” Gurich said. “I wanted to win the quarters. That’s guaranteed a top-six, but I lost in the quarters so I knew this was do-or-die.”
Continuing deeper into the medal rounds, Gurich won another 1-0 decision, this time over Northview freshman Caleb Flores. The win pushed Gurich in into the consolation finals for third place against Turlock senior Jesse Contreras – who ended Gurich’s streak with a 4-0 victory.
“He’s just really hard to wrestle. He’s really tall. I don’t have a lot of experience wrestling guys like that… He just kind of leached on me,” said Gurich, who could not escape the binding technique of Contreras.
“I was just hoping for a medal. I would have been happy with an eighth place medal. I knew I had to make it to the quarters and you just have to win one more. I would have liked to make it to the semis, it’s a guaranteed medal,” said Gurich, after his second day of grappling was finally complete. “But I came back and once I got my medal, I just let it all hang out, went out there and wrestled, and I ended up with a fourth so I’m pretty pleased with that.”
In the 171-pound bracket, Zabala won three straight matches to reach the semifinals – topping Chaparral senior Keylon Hackney, 11-8; then defeating Del Oro senior Jordon Polly, 2-1, in a double-overtime thriller; and disposing of Kennedy senior D. Lee, 11-5, in the quarterfinals to complete day-one action.
“First match is always kind of slow because you’re nervous,” said Zabala, prior to his semifinal match. “Everybody here is tough. If you make it here, you have to be good. I won in double overtime my second match… I took bottom and escaped.”
But Zabala had a familiar foe in the semifinals – the state’s top-ranked 171-pounder in Madera senior William Griffin, who already defeated Zabala twice at the Cupertino Tournament and the Mid-Cals.
“I’m just going to stay basic and try to keep the score close,” said Zabala, before losing 3-0 to Griffin and sliding down to the consolation bracket.
Already guaranteed a top-six, Zabala dropped his next two matches by only point – falling 3-2 in the consolation semis and then 1-0 in the fight for fifth place against Vacaville’s Brandon Thomson.
“I always wish I could do better than that. But placing is placing. I’m just glad to be up here representing Gilroy,” said Zabala, after finishing as the state’s sixth best wrestler at 171s. “The competition was there. Every match was a close match starting from the first one.”
Day-one proved to be just as tough for three more Gilroy High state qualifiers. While Duenas failed to make weight for the weekend tournament, Gonzalez, San Juan, and Haygood all got their first state wrestling experience.
“My son Armondo, the little freshman, he lost by one point to Kasey Fischer from Beyer who he had beaten this year 10-1 and Fischer now placed. That’s how close it is,” Coach Gonzalez said. “Danny San Juan lost by a point to a kid named (Tony) Fracchia from Vacaville and now Fracchia is a placer so it just shows one-point difference and Danny and Mando would have both placed, too.
“That’s how close it is from the glory to the agony of defeat.”
Gonzalez – the CCS champ at 119s – finished his first state meet in his first varsity season with a 1-2 mark, winning his opening bout 12-1 over Valencia junior David Moller.
“It was pretty nerve-racking because of all the people. But once you start wrestling, you’re fine. Once you begin that first match, you’re OK,” the freshman standout said. “They were real tough. I have a lot of work to do over the summer. I’ll be ready for next year.”
After winning his first bout, Gonzalez lost 3-2 to Fischer to drop into the consolation bracket and then took another tough-luck loss to Lassen’s Warren Jones, 1-0.
“My son lost a couple of one-point matches to be eliminated and he says, ‘I don’t know what was wrong with me. I just didn’t feel good. My body, I struggled,'” Coach Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t so much that he struggled it was his opponents were just so tough. It takes a lot of hard work.”
San Juan also finished up with a 1-2 state record – opening with a 13-8 decision over Dana Hills senior Evan Melgares. The CCS Champ then fell 3-2 to Fracchia in the second round and 10-2 to junior Matt Monahan, of La Costa Cyn.
Haygood faltered in his first match to Tulare Union senior Jacob Aguilar and then fell 6-4 to Livermore junior Nexi Delgado in his consolation match.
