SVJH wrestling takes title in first annual tournament
GILROY – The first annual Junior Mid Cals Wrestling Tournament brought out plenty of stiff competition in the 16-team open field – but the host South Valley Junior High Tigers still took home the top prize.
The local grapplers amassed 13 place-winners, including four weight class champions, to edge the Bakersfield Golden Hawks by a slim 273.5 to 271 margin on the Gilroy High mats.
“We were neck and neck with Bakersfield going into the finals,” said head coach Bert Mar, who is in his 27th season at South Valley. “It was really exciting because the level of competition in the finals. It’s only going to get better.”
The Tigers needed 105-pounder Frankie Gonzalez to win his championship bout against a Bakersfield opponent to clinch the tournament title and he came through in the clutch – taking a 9-2 decision.
“He won and we won the tournament by one point,” said Mar, who worked with Gilroy High varsity head coach Armando Gonzalez to put on the first-ever tournament. “It used to be the Tiger Classic, but we were not getting enough teams so we changed the name. We want to make it an annual thing.”
The junior-version of the varsity team’s annual Mid Cals held Jan. 23-24, 2004 at Gilroy High was formed to bring out more top junior high wrestlers, leaving it open to individuals as well as teams. The Bakersfield squad was an All-Star club team made up the top wrestlers from that area.
Along with Gonzalez, 120-pounder Mike Penyacsek, 167-pounder Hunter Collins and heavyweight Jeremy Sabla all won weight class championships. South Valley’s 70-pounder Justin Ochoa and 127-pounder Jason Romesberg both placed second, while 80-pounder Rodney Balajadia took third.
Also contributing to the Tigers’ championship cause were: 75-pounder Lucas Alessi, 85-pounder Jon Ramirez and 177-pounder Fabain Loredo in fourth; 147-pounder Nick Vargas and 157-pounder Steven Galtman in fifth; and 90-pounder Jon Hultsman in sixth. South Valley 130-pounder Jacob Dexter notched two victories and female grappler Maia Guerrera competed in the 110-pound weight class.
Despite injuries to returning county champion Martin Gonzalez (finger) and 145-pounder Damian Rodriguez (collarbone), the Tigers opened their dual meet season with a 76-18 victory over Leyva School. The perennial junior high powers then went on to win the Mavrick Wrestling Tournament on Nov. 1 at Buscher Middle School in San Jose.
In the 14-school invitational – which pits teams head to head in elimination format – the Tigers won four dual meets to get into the championship match against the Fischer School in Los Gatos.
“It came down to the last two matches,” said Mar, whose squad trailed by three team points with two wrestlers left on each side.
Loredo, a first-year wrestler, stepped on the mat for South Valley in the 175-pound bout. The eighth-grader fought off his back in the third period and later turned the tables – using a reverse to stick his opponent for the win with 15 seconds left.
“The place went crazy,” said Mar, who is assisted by coaches Armando Garcia and Louie Godinez.
Although the six-point pinfall put the Tigers ahead by three, they still needed a win from eighth-grade heavyweight Jeremy Sabla – who pinned his opponent in the first period to clinch the team victory over Fischer.
“We knew that they had a solid team, but we knew we were tougher in the lighter weights,’ Mar said. “We knew we had to stick them in the lighter weights and get the pins. We came out like gang-busters.”
The South Valley wrestling program was 30-0 in dual meets before losing to Martin Murphy in 1997. Following the streak-breaking loss, the Tigers have gone on to win six straight league, section and county titles.
This season, 82 kids came out for the first day of practice. The section finals are at Andrew Hill High School on Dec. 9 and county finals are at the same location on Dec. 11.
