Gilroy wins Mid-Cal Classic for first time since 1991; Five
wrestlers take top individual honors
As five Gilroy wrestlers took their turns climbing up to the first-place spot on the podium of the Mid-Cal wrestling championships Saturday, it was hard to believe that a month ago they were feeling so down.
“We were pretty depressed after the performance we had at the Reno Tournament of Champions,” said senior Adin Dueñas.
It was there that everything seemed to go wrong. The Mustangs underperformed. Senior captain Armando Gonzalez was injured and put out of comission for the first time in his long wrestling career.
In a sense, for the first time, everything was as it should be Saturday.
Gilroy (307 points) scored over 300 points for the second time in a week to run away with the team title, its first at Mid-Cals since 1991. Five wrestlers – Nico Naranjo (112 pounds), Tim Ibañez (119), Dueñas (138), Armando Gonzalez (143) and Hunter Collins (171) – took first place. Three others – Martin Gonzalez (2nd, 103), Andres Barragan (2nd, 189) and Chris Krough (3rd, 130) – took top three. In all, 11 Gilroy wrestlers placed. That’s four more than the Mustangs had ever placed at Mid-Cals.
“Every one of our wrestlers wrestled at their potential or higher,” said Gilroy head coach Armando Gonzalez. “No one placed lower than they were seeded and that’s exciting for us.”
In the main event atmosphere of the finals, seven Gilroy wrestlers took center stage under the spotlight, used just for the finals. In the most dominating performances, Naranjo aggressively took control of his match against Randall Watts of El Diamante while Collins, who was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the upper weights, pinned Chris Rey of Half Moon Bay.
After scoring on a takedown in the first period, Naranjo scored on an escape to go up 3-1 early in the second period. The junior then had another takedown on Watts, whom he then rolled onto his back for near-fall points. That put the Gilroy wrestler ahead with a comfortable 8-1 lead. He eventually won 12-4.
“I think I kind of gassed him out a little bit,” Naranjo said.
In his championship match, sophomore Collins showed why he’s the second-ranked 171-pounder in the state.
Collins had Rey scrambling and on the defensive from he start, taking a 5-0 lead on a takedown and a near fall in the first 1:20. The sophomore went up 9-2 after two rounds, scoring on a reversal and another takedown. Collins sealed the match a minute into the third round with a crushing pin that made the crowd give its biggest cheer of the evening.
Ibañez held on in the 119-pound championship for a 6-4 win. The CCS top-ranked 138-pounder Dueñas, who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the middle weights, took a 10-4 decision over No. 2 in CCS Daniel Summers of Bellarmine. Armando Gonzalez, wrestling in his first tournament since the Reno TOC, won a 7-4 decision over Kenny Licon of Fresno. The Fresno State-bound senior showed little ill-effects of a month without competition.
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel. I thought I might be a little rusty or get a little tired because I haven’t been on the mat for a little while. But I was better than I thought I was going to be,” the younger Gonzalez said. “I just wanted to come back. I’m glad my teammates were so helpful about it. They were real supportive throughout the whole thing.”
How they Finished
(Gilroy wrestlers that placed at Mid-Cal Classic)
class name place
– 103 pounds Martin Gonzalez Second
– 112 pounds Nico Naranjo First
– 119 pounds tim Ibanez First
– 125 pounds Rudy Malodonado Fourth
– 130 pounds Chris Krough Third
– 135 pounds Adin duenas first
– 140 pounds armando gonzalez first
– 171 pounds hunter collins first
– 189 pounds Andres barragan second
– 215 pounds Daniel Gamez Fifth
– heavyweight Luis Chavez Fourth
