GHS grapplers finish second as team at Scotts Valley
SCOTTS VALLEY – The Mustang matmen placed second as a team in the Coast Classic at Scotts Valley High, coming away with three weight class champions, one third-place and two fourth-place finishers.
Gilroy, the reigning Central Coast Section Champions, tallied 177 points behind only Madera, the defending Central Section Champion, with 187.50 points in the final team standings. The 44-team field also included strong showings from third-place Los Gatos (166), fourth-place Del Oro (165) and fifth-place Carson (146).
Seniors John Gurich, at 112 pounds, and Mark Zabala, at 171 pounds, as well as sophomore Armando Gonzalez, at 130 pounds, all picked up where they left off last season by winning their respective weight classes.
Gurich finished with a 5-0 tournament record, pinning four straight opponents to make his way into the finals. He then shut down Oak Grove’s Sergio Hernandez, 5-0, for his first tournament title.
Zabala was perfect in five matches as well, flattening four in a row before winning a tight 4-3 decision over Carson’s Joe Romas in the 171-pound championship bout.
Gonzalez won all five of his bouts, registering one pin, two major decisions, one technical fall, and a 9-4 victory over Terra Nova’s Vincent Naquishbendi in the 130-pound finals.
Freshman 103-pounder Nicolo Naranjo took third place with a 4-1 record in his first varsity tournament. The three-time junior high county champ at South Valley opened with a pin and a technical fall before losing to eventual champion Paul Ruiz, of Firebaugh. In wrestlebacks,
Senior Callan Romesberg placed fourth in the 152-pound weight division, finishing with a 3-2 tournament record. Romesberg opened with a 16-1 victory and then pinned his opponent in :45 before falling to Madera’s Eric Sanchez in the semifinals. In wrestlebacks, he won his first match by a 7-2 margin and went on to lost to Del Oro’s Josh Summers in the third-place bout.
Sophomore 125-pounder Adin Duenas also claimed fourth in his division, registering a pin, a 19-1 technical fall, a 5-4 decision over Oak Grove’s Eric Hernandez, before his run ended with a 8-4 loss to Brandon Hayes in the semifinals. Duenas wrestled back with a 10-3 win over Madera’s Sabi Masuta before losing his third-place bout.
Junior 135-pounder Joseph Serrano (1-2 record), senior 160-pounder Miguel Maldonado (1-2), senior 189-pounder Erik Lara (2-2) all were knocked out of their winner’s brackets by the eventual tournament champions.
In addition, senior 215-pounder Jose Albarron went 1-2; heavyweight Luis Chavez finished 2-2; sophomore Austin Gabrud went 1-2; and freshman 119-pounder Rudy Maldonado lost his first two matches.
