I was told yesterday that former Gilroy High wrestler Jesse Delgado, who, while in high school, won four Central Coast Section titles and placed no worse than fourth at the CIF state championships, winning it all in 2009, transferred from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to the University of Illinois. I looked him up on the Illinois athletic website and, sure enough, there he was.
Wrestling as a redshirt freshman, Delgado is 9-1 this year for the seventh-ranked Fighting Illini. One of those match victories came on Dec. 2 against top-ranked University of Iowa and the country’s No.1 wrestler at 125-pounds, Matt McDonough. Delgado pulled off a takedown in overtime for an 11-7 victory. Though Iowa went on to win the dual meet, tt was McDonough’s first career dual loss.
Delgado was a standup guy during his time at GHS and never let the success get to him. Congrats, Jesse. Keep it up.
– The Tri-County Athletic League and Monterey Bay League as we have known them no longer exist.
The first steps in formation of the new equity league began last week with the placing of football, girls volleyball and cross-county teams into the two divisions that make up the shiny new Monterey Bay League. An article explaining the alignment ran in Friday’s Dispatch sports section.
To be clear once more: Gabilan Division (no that isn’t a typo) is the upper ‘A’ division while the Pacific is the lower ‘B’ division.
I like the two-division – seven teams in each – scheme. It gives teams in the lower extra incentive to strive for a spot in the upper. And for teams already there, motivation to stay.Â
– Big-money contracts. Trade disputes. An overly nosy commissioner. Greed. Flippant championship guarantees.Â
Anyone else stoked for the Dec. 25 start of the NBA season? I am.Â
