Gilroy High School

GILROY—On paper, there are a lot question marks surrounding Gilroy’s squad heading into the season. It graduated seven seniors and really only has one big man on the roster. It’s a young team, made up of mostly juniors and sophomores. But there’s an abundance of things you don't see on paper—and the Mustangs are more than happy to surprise their opponents.

Revolving door. Fountain of youth. Tradition. Good genes. Conveyor belt. Somehow, year in and year out, the Gilroy High wrestling team is rejuvenated. This season is no different. And as January creeps along – with Mid-Cals and the Tri-County Athletic League and Central Coast Section meets on the horizon, it’s about to get serious inside the Mustangs practice room at South Valley Middle School.

Gilroy

SALINAS—A year ago, Monica Ruelas was melancholic as she left Toro Park, having run a subpar race by her standards.

The Gilroy wrestling team maintained its shining reputation, taking on top programs from not only California, but Colorado, Washington and Utah Friday and Saturday at the Doc Buchanan Invitational at Clovis High School. The Mustangs walked away with four medalists — including two champions — out of the 10 wrestlers they brought. The team finished seventh overall. Christopher also competed at the meet, having only two wrestlers — Felipe Duenas (106) and Jimmie Lopez (113) — picking up a win. The Cougars JV team, however, finished first.   Nikko Villarreal and Paul Fox both walked away with first place finishes for the Mustangs after the grueling two-day meet.  Villarreal (145) picked up his third Doc B Championship, but it was no easy feat. He ran into trouble in the quarterfinals, falling behind in the third round which led to him having to come back with four points for the victory. Villarreal picked up a 5-0 win in the semis before taking on No. 2 ranked Chris Garcia (Clovis West) in the finals. It was another easy bout for the senior state and Central Coast Section champ, who won 5-0 to walk away on top. "One of Nikko's goals going into the season was to win his third cowboy hat (Doc B title)," Gilroy coach Greg Varela said via email. "It means a lot to Nikko to do well at what is called the best preview to the state meet."    Fox, wrestling at 152, entered the invitational on a two tournament win streak. The senior breezed through his competition, going undefeated in the tournament and beating each opponent 4-0 until facing No. 2 ranked Tyler Zimmer (Clovis West) in the finals. Fox scored three takedowns and an escape to capture his first Doc B title by a score of 7-2.  "This title means a lot to Paul because he finally gets the coveted cowboy hat (Doc B title) each winner receives for winning Doc B," Varela said. "Now he can put it on the mantle next to the one his older brother Willie (Fox) won a few years back on his way to a state title." Also taking home medals from the meet are twin brothers Matt and Mark Penyachek, who took third and fifth respectively. Matt (170) was pinned in the quarterfinals by No. 3 ranked Austin Flores (Clovis North). He went on to win three straight matches to set up a rematch with Flores in the third place bout. After three rounds the wrestlers were tied at 1-1. The match went into triple overtime, finally being decided by a reverse by Matt on Flores in the fourth sudden death OT in which he gained two points for the victory to claim third.  "This was by far the best tournament Matt has ever wrestled in his life," Varela said. "I couldn't be more proud of him for this performance. This year Matt has beaten state ranked wrestlers, but Flores is the most decorated athlete Matt has beaten this year." Mark (182) made it to the consolation quarterfinals after losing to the No. 2 state ranked wrestler. It was here he met AJ Nevillis (Clovis), who is ranked No. 5 in the state. Mark was taken down right away, but scrambled to score a reversal and nearfall to gain a two-point lead. He went on to score three more points to win 7-3. He then faced a nationally ranked opponent from Ponderosa, Colo. who pinned him in the second round, sending him to the fifth-sixth place match. He took on No.7 Young Wu An (Buchanan) who he would eventually pin for the win.  "As a coach I'm very pleased with the effort and composure the team displayed during those gut wrenching matches that got intense as the matches carried on," Varela said. "When you see your team raise themselves to a higher level to compete at such an elite level, I get excited for these guys because I see them starting to believe in themselves and grow as young men. In the end, that's what wrestling is about." The Cougars JV team walked away with a first place team finish in addition to Keanu Calimpong (132) taking first individually. Dean Agustin (106) and Tobias Mendoza (145) finished second, while Justin Garza (113) was third and Ray Tapia (195) and heavyweight Collins Orokow placed fourth.  Gilroy will compete at a dual meet against No. 4 Buchanan and No. 26 De La Selle at De La Selle Saturday. Christopher will compete at North Salinas at 6 p.m. Wednesday.  GIRLS BASKETBALL

Emmanuel Cruz had two goals and one assist, and Andres Jimenez tallied one goal and one assist to lead Gilroy High’s boys soccer team to a 5-0 rout of visiting Christopher on Thursday at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.

The Gilroy High field hockey program has been one of the Central Coast Section’s most consistent for the better part of two decades.  Year in, year out, the Mustangs reach the playoffs and contend or win league championships. After a CCS quarterfinal appearance last year,...

SALINAS—Christopher’s Teresa Guerra and Gilroy’s Maddy Cox were instrumental to their teams’ successes this season—and the league took notice.

GIRLS GOLF Christopher opens season with a win The Christopher girls golf team won its first match of the season 240-255 over Monte Vista Thursday at Gavilan Golf Course (par 31).  Natalie Gutierrez led the Cougars with a 38 while teammate Nina Velez shot a 42. The medalist of the match was Jessica Fore from Monte Vista who scored a 29.Christopher will play at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at San Benito.  Gilroy's Harrison has good outing as lone Mustang golfer The Gilroy girls golf team kicked off its season Thursday, but only one golfer represented the squad. LaTherian Harrison was the face of Gilroy High, taking on four Notre Dame of Salinas opponents. She shot a 58 on the day to finish in third out the five golfers. Harrison had two bogeys in the match on Hole 5 and 9. Gilroy will play at 3 p.m. Tuesday against Everett Alvarez at Salinas Country Club.  GIRLS WATER POLO Mustangs fall to Monterey Senior Katie Clark had three goals in Gilroy's game against Monterey, but it just wasn't enough. The Mustangs (1-2) lost 15-7 Thursday on the road. Clark led the team in goals, followed by senior Jaci Boyd who had two andAbby Kienle and Kailee Chang who each had one a piece. Gilroy will be back in action at 5 p.m. Monday when it hosts Harbor.  VOLLEYBALL CHS falls to Aptos The Christopher girls volleyball team fell 3-0 to Aptos at home Thursday. The Cougars lost 13-25, 16-25, 8-25. Olivia Tabron and Katelyn Viray both had five kills in the game for CHS. Cheyanne Dela Merced had 14 assists and six digs. Marielle Gomez led the Cougars with 14 digs, while Christa Arroyo had 11. Christopher will be back on the court at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Mount Madonna School. FIELD HOCKEY GHS tops North Salinas The Gilroy field hockey team picked up it's first win of the season Thursday. The Mustangs topped North Salinas 4-2 on the road to improve its record to 2-0-1 on the season.  Gilroy will play at Del Mar at 3:30 p.m. Monday.  

Aptos scored two goals in each half to come away with a 4-0 win at Gilroy Monday.