Mustangs manhandle Acorns in dominant 54-21 home victory
GILROY – When it was time for his 125-pound bout, freshman Armondo Gonzalez stepped onto the mat, threw his opponent to the ground and put him on his back. Shortly after, Gonzalez used a three-quarter nelson to finish off Live Oak’s Ismael Mariscian in the first period.
“Last year, I didn’t like the way they treated my dad,” said Gonzalez, son of head coach Armondo Gonzalez. “That’s why I was all over him.”
Last season, Live Oak stole a one-point dual-meet victory from the Mustangs due to the costly ejection of Coach Gonzalez – whose squad was deducted two team points, the difference in the match. Afterwards, the Gilroy grapplers did not appreciate the heckling from the Live Oak side.
This year, it was a different story altogether as the top-ranked Mustang matmen disposed of the Acorns with an impressive 54-21 home victory.
“Last year’s loss wasn’t a true loss. Had the ref not deducted two team points and had it out for me, we would have beat them,” Coach Gonzalez said. “And this coach (Brian Allen) is not Mike Fredenburg so I have no ill feelings towards this gentleman. He’s a nice man and a good sport. Had Coach Fredenburg been out there I would have enjoyed it a lot more.”
But Gilroy has 10 returning wrestlers – all quite aware of what transpired last year and how it felt to walk away empty-handed.
“We’ve gotta defend our coach. Last year, they rubbed it in our face,” said junior Gilbert Gutierrez, following his 7-1 decision over Live Oak’s Matt Henderson. “We wanted to win, but do it with respect, with no bad attitude. We’re all out there training hard so I respect them. They deserved to be on the mat with us.”
Even though the Mustangs were not at full strength for Wednesday’s dual meet, they took care of their neighboring rivals and avenged a lingering loss from last season.
“We bumped everybody up and we put three, four JV guys in there. We kinda figured they’d win about four matches and that’s what they won. So yeah, I’m pretty pleased with that,” Coach Gonzalez said. “I didn’t want to make all the kids make weight again this week when they have to make it again on Saturday (for the Cupertino Tournament).”
Gilroy (1-0 in T-CAL) fell behind early though with losses by heavyweight Jose Albarron – normally a 215-pounder – and 103-pounder Spencer Silva – who was getting his first varsity action.
“It was hard to breathe when I was on the bottom. I had to use all my strength to get him off me,” said Albarron of Live Oak’s true heavyweight Mike Gomez. “They were cautioning me so I saw the single leg but I guess I wasn’t fast enough.”
Albarron was ahead 1-0 with 40 seconds left in the final period when he shot in for a single-leg takedown. Gomez countered and turned it into a two-point takedown for him – resulting in the 2-1 final score.
Silva worked hard against Live Oak’s Hondo Dominguez – but was put on his back with 23 seconds left in the second period to make the score 9-0 in the Acorns’ favor.
After junior John Gurich – Gilroy’s regular 103-pounder – received a forfeit win in the 112-pound weight class, 119-pounder Christian Javier recorded a first-period pin of Live Oak’s Peter Ngyun with only three ticks left.
“I didn’t even know what the time was,” said Javier, who worked a half-nelson and cradled up his opponent for the pin. “I heard the coaches saying to go for it and saw it was there.”
Javier’s six-point pin gave the Mustangs their first lead at 12-9 and they never looked back.
“I’m exceptionally happy with Christian Javier because he’s a JV 12-pounder, we brought him in for varsity 19s, and he went out there and pinned his opponent,” Coach Gonzalez said. “He did a great job.”
Following Gonzalez’s first-period pin at 125s, senior Danny San Juan and junior Chad Haygood both received forfeit victories to boost the team score to 30-9. In high school wrestling, a team gets six points for a pin, technical fall, or forfeit; three points for a decision; and four points for a major decision.
“We haven’t wrestled since Sierra Nevadas,” said Coach Gonzalez, whose squad won the 89-team Sierra Nevada Classic prior to the New Year. “It’s been eight, 10 days so it is pretty good to get them on the mat right now.”
After Gutierrez notched his 7-1 victory at 140s, senior Andrew Rauss – in his first match back from a hyper-extended elbow – registered an 8-2 decision over Live Oak’s Matt Melert to stretch the team score to 36-9.
“Being out for the past month, I wanted to come back and come back strong. What better way to do it than beat a team that beat us last year,” Rauss said. “(My elbow) didn’t bother me at all. It feels good to be back.”
Gilroy grapplers Callan Romesberg and Miguel Maldonado are both still nursing shoulder strains – but are expected to return for the long-awaited Jan. 15 grudge match against Hollister, the defending section champions.
In the 152-pound weight class, senior Martin Serrano rolled Live Oak’s Dan Bervenevento on his back and recorded the pin with 53 seconds left in the second period.
“Right when we rolled, I knew if I didn’t get my hips out I was in trouble,” Serrano said. “I was looking at the ref, waiting for him to put his hand down.”
The Mustangs’ eight bout winning streak came to an end in the 160-pound weight class as junior Nick Fortino was pinned in the second period by Live Oak’s Danny Wahl – who used a double-leg takedown into a half nelson to put Fortino on his back.
In the 171-pound weight class, Gilroy’s Vincent Sanchez was overmatched by Chris Horner and, eventually, pinned in the second period to put the team score at 42-21 for Gilroy.
But the Mustangs finished strong as junior 189-pounder Mark Zabala and senior 215-pounder Ryan Reynaud both registered first-period pins.
“He was pretty strong,” said Zabala of opponent Gabe Sedberry. “I got him with an outside fireman’s. He was just off balance.”
Reynaud – in his first varsity wrestling season – put Live Oak’s P.J. Parks on his back with 45 ticks remaining in the first period to close out the night.
“He’s a new wrestler. He’s off the football program and he’s learning as you can see,” said Coach Gonzalez of Reynaud. “He went out there and did a lot of good things and was able to pin his opponent.”
The Mustangs will compete in the Cupertino Tournament this weekend and then it’s the premier match-up of the T-CAL season as they travel to Hollister on Wednesday.
