The Garlic City’s Top 10 Sports Stories of 2005
The Garlic City’s Top 10 Sports Stories of 2005
staff reports
STORY OF THE YEAR
On Top of the World
Before the Chicago White Sox, there was the Gilroy Little League All-Star team.
Manager Dennis Castro said he felt like George Steinbrenner when it came to picking the 12- and 13-year-old team that would make the magical run to the World Series in Portland in August.
He wasn’t kidding.
In perhaps the most exciting Gilroy sporting event of the year, the Garlic Girls beat the Pendleton (Ore.) team 10-9 in the West Regional final that went four extra innings. Down 7-9 in the 10th inning with two outs and two strikes against them, the Gilroy girls pulled off an improbable rally behind hits from Michelle Sosa, Brenna O’Neill, Lindsay Holt, Melanie Morelos and Adrianna Osuna to win the game and punch their ticket to the World Series. Representing the West, Gilroy went 2-3 against the world’s best teams, defeating Europe (Brzeg, Poland) and the Central (Louisville, Ky.). After the 22-day whirlwind road trip from the Western Regional to the World Series, the team was welcomed home to Gilroy with a parade through downtown.
STORY 2
Victory in the Valley
The 2004-05 season was one to remember for the Gilroy wrestling team. The Mustangs took 6th as a team at the California Interscholastic Federation Wrestling State Championships in Bakersfield in March. Four Mustangs placed in the top ten: freshman Hunter Collins (160 pounds), junior Adin Duenas (130), sophomore Nico Naranjo (103) and junior Armando Gonzalez (135). With a 5-1 record at the tournament, Gonzalez was the highest Gilroy state finisher since Gilroy legends Luke Corona and Sergio Mar both took third in 1993. Collins made some history of his own, becoming the heaviest freshman ever to place in the state tournament. He was also the first Gilroy rookie ever to win a state medal.
STORY 3
Yafai Resigns: Darren Yafai Hangs up His Coaching Whistle
After seven seasons at the helm of Gilroy High football, head coach Darren Yafai is stepping down.
Yafai made the decision early in the season and shared it with his assistant coaches, but made it official Tuesday when he told the team.
The 37-year old father said it’s time for him to take a break and spend time with his family. He and his wife, Andrea, have two young children, 7-year-old Darrien and 4-year-old Vanessa.
STORY 4
Second Tier No More
Would it finally be the year that the Gilroy field hockey team would break into the tight circle of the Central Coast Section’s elite? With a double-overtime win in the CCS playoffs over Los Gatos that came down to penalty strokes, Gilroy answered with a resounding “yes.” One year after the Mustangs fell 5-1 to the Wildcats in the playoffs, it was Gilroy advancing to the final four for the first time in 20 years. Led by senior midfielder Karlie Sandoval and junior goalie Stephanie Glenn, who were both named to the All-CCS first team, Gilroy finished 17-2-3. Oh, and did we mention co-head coaches Adam and Erin Gemar welcomed their first child the night before the first playoff game against Del Mar? Hours after Kai Gemar was born Adam was on the sidelines giving play-by-play to Erin who was still at the hospital. Yep, it was definitely a ground-breaking season.
STORY 5
Alfonso Goes Big Time
Alfonso Motagalvan originally entered Gilroy High thinking he was going to be the next big thing on the basketball court. But he ended up becoming a ground-breaking soccer player for the Mustangs instead. As a senior, the midfielder was named an All-American and the Central Coast Section’s Player of the Year. To top it all off, Motagalvan became the first Gilroy High boys soccer player to sign with a Division I program when he signed on to continue his career with nationally-ranked UCSB.
STORY 6
Ghost Busted: Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero is Defeated for First Time in His Career
As Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was introduced before his fight against Gamaliel Diaz at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, his theme music from the band Los Lonely Boys blasted through the venue, asking “How Far is Heaven?”
Turned out, it wasn’t very close Friday night.
Diaz, who came into the fight the No. 7 World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight without a loss in five years, gave the unbeaten Guerrero his first loss and became the new North American Boxing Federation (NABF) featherweight champ. Diaz (11-5-2) upset The Ghost (16-1-1), who came into the fight the WBC’s No. 2 featherweight, in split decision 114-113, 112-115, 115-112 after the full 12 rounds.
STORY 7
A Walk on the Parque
The Gilroy girls basketball team took a successful season to the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals. But the dream of a CCS title was squashed by No. 2 seed Wilcox, who came into the game 22-2. Gilroy finished second in the Tri-County Athletic League to Notre Dame with a final record of 20-10. Junior point guard Kristen Campos and senior forward Amanda Link were both named to the All-TCAL first team.
STORY 8
He’s Back: Garcia Returns to starting Job With Detroit
It wasn’t exactly what you’d call a hero’s welcome Sunday afternoon for Jeff Garcia. Cleveland Browns fans instead greeted the Gilroy native with a thunderous seas of boos that “shook the stadium.”
As fate would have it, Garcia’s first regular season appearance in a NFL game, suited up as a Detroit Lion, was against the very team that he played for last season, namely, the Cleveland Browns.
And the fans left no doubt as to how they felt about Garcia’s return, in an opposing jersey. In fact, Morgan Hill’s Wayne Ketcham, in attendance at the game with several other South Valley residents, was an eyewitness to the raucous introduction.
STORY 9
Best Takes MVP
Honors in TCAL;
Makes All-CCS Team
That might be the easiest way to describe what Bobby Best has meant to the Gilroy Mustangs varsity football team over the past three seasons.
A couple of weeks ago, the Gilroy Mustang coaching staff unanimously voted him the team’s Most Valuable Player and this week the TCAL coaches voted him the Most Valuable Offensive Lineman.
“It’s an honor and I’m glad the coaches thought that much of me to name me as the best offensive lineman in the league,” Best said. “I’ve worked hard and it’s a nice reward to have after the season is over.”
STORY 10
Nice Turf
After months of construction, the much anticipated Garcia-Elder Sports Complex came to fruition in August, just in time for the fall sports season.
A brand new track and state-of-the-art artificial grass field were a part of the $1.4 renovation, $350,000 of which was contributed by Jeff Garcia. The field, complete with a big blue “G” emblazoned in the middle of it, was officially christened at the end of August in a five-way scrimmage between the Gilroy, Hollister, Salinas and Serra football teams.
The new field was not only favored by the Gilroy and Gavilan football teams, but Gilroy field hockey and soccer as well. Because of the new digs, the field hockey team was able to host its first Central Coast Section playoff game.
