One year ago, the San Benito Haybalers entered the Mid-Cal
Classic bruised and battered, but still had the muscle and moxie to
make up for many of their losses.
They were without three of their top wrestlers at Mid-Cals,
including now-senior Junior Davila, didn’t have a single champion
in any of the weight classes, yet still managed a sixth-place
finish out of some 67 teams present.
It was an impressive showing, to say the least.
HOLLISTER
One year ago, the San Benito Haybalers entered the Mid-Cal Classic bruised and battered, but still had the muscle and moxie to make up for many of their losses.
They were without three of their top wrestlers at Mid-Cals, including now-senior Junior Davila, didn’t have a single champion in any of the weight classes, yet still managed a sixth-place finish out of some 67 teams present.
It was an impressive showing, to say the least.
But the team’s depth and varsity experience of a year ago, which allowed them to finish with a such a high placing at Mid-Cals despite their injuries, is something head coach Brian DeCarli is trying to build back up again.
Having returned just two wrestlers from last year’s varsity lineup, the Balers have struggled with the normal brand of injuries and illnesses of late, but have also had consistency issues as well.
“It’s a relatively inexperienced and young team,” DeCarli said. “There’s definitely been some peaks and valleys. But we’re piecing everything together.”
And this weekend’s 30th annual Mid-Cal Classic could go a long way toward improving the Balers for the postseason. Considered to be more difficult than the Central Coast Section Championships and even act as a precursor to the year-end state meet, Mid-Cals will host 77 teams on Friday and Saturday at Gilroy High School.
Matches begin at 9 a.m. on both days, with the finals slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.
“Mid-Cals is definitely gonna be a really good measuring-stick,” DeCarli said. “But I just really want to see our kids continue to improve.
“We just need more consistency. Our top guys need to stay at the top and some of our other guys who are kind of up and down … we just need everyone to start wrestling well.”
The Balers, who defeated a rather shorthanded Everett Alvarez team by a 66-6 margin on Tuesday night, is fresh off a first-place finish at the Jim Root Classic last Saturday, and has shown positive signs of late that may help aid its problems with consistency.
For one, Mikey Soto will return to the lineup this weekend at 135 pounds. The San Benito grappler has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since the Sierra Nevada Classic, which was held in late December, but is expected to be competing at Mid-Cals.
“The most important thing is that we need to get everyone back,” DeCarli said.
At least one wrestler who has taken advantage of the injuries is Eric Henry. After several injuries forced San Benito to skip the Big Valley Wrestling Classic in Stockton earlier this month, and instead attend the Apple Cider Invitational in Watsonville, the varsity newcomer Henry filled in at 140 pounds and compiled a 4-1 record to finish in second place.
Henry will compete this weekend in Mid-Cals at 145 pounds.
“For us, it’s just about an improvement process, getting these kids a lot of matches, and to see how far we’ve come along since the beginning of the year,” the head coach added.
Meanwhile, several wrestlers, including Adam Davis at 215 pounds, Miguel Martin del Campo at 189 and Nikko Espinoza at 125, have all officially moved down a weight class since the start of the season, and will all be in action this weekend.
Other wrestlers expected to be competing for the Balers this weekend include Edgar Ortega at 130 pounds, Tim Christenson at 140, Justin Raine at 160, Luke Diller at 171, and freshman Robb Rodriguez at 112 pounds.
Despite this being his first trip to the Classic as a competitor, Rodriguez is fully aware of the magnitude of Mid-Cals after watching his brothers Evan and Zack (currently sidelined for the Balers after suffering a concussion earlier this year) compete in previous years.
“I’m expecting it to be a tough tournament,” said Rodriguez, who also recently dropped a weight class, from 119 to 112. “I feel better wrestling at the lower weight. I feel stronger and it’s more of my wrestling style.”
Rodriguez compiled a 4-0 record at the Jim Root Classic last week to take first place at 112 pounds.
“We did a pretty good job at Jim Root,” Rodriguez added. “I think we’re expecting a lot out of this next tournament, and we could do a pretty good job.”
Mid-Cals should feature powerhouse teams like St. Francis of Mountain View, Turlock, and, of course, Gilroy, which had won the elite meet three years in a row before Selma supplanted the Mustangs last year. Selma is also expected to be in attendance this weekend in order to defend its title.
The inclusion of Turlock is good news for San Benito’s Junior Davila, the No. 8-ranked wrestler in the state at 119 pounds, according to The California Wrestler. Davila previously lost to Turlock’s Fabian Garcia, ranked No. 3 in the state, by a narrow 10-9 decision at the Apple Cider Invitational on Jan. 9.
He wouldn’t mind a rematch this weekend, though.
“My goal is to win 119s. In order for that to happen, I need to prepare pretty hard these last couple of days,” Davila said on Tuesday. The 119-pound wrestler enters Mid-Cals as the No. 2 seed, one spot behind Garcia.
“But this is gonna give us some good experience, just to see where we’re at, what we can fix and what we can work on,” he added. “This is a big tournament for us.”
30th Annual Mid-Cal Classic
105
1. Paul Rodriguez, Oak Grove
2. Gabriel Navarrete, Dinuba
3. Jonas Tirado, Kingsburg
4. Garrett Fortado, Turlock
5. Brandon Rodriquez, Clovis West
6. Kasey Klaus, Vacaville
7. Leif Dominquez, Gilroy
8. Robert Quintana, Madera South
114
1. Brandon Egleston, Turlock
2. Johnnie Nguyen, Andrew Hill
3. Travis Roberts, Junipero Serra
4. Duy Nguyen, Wilcox
5. Adolfo Cancino, Dinuba
6. Nicholas Ortiz, Palo Alto
7. Casey Salmon, College Park
8. George Sakkas, Cupertino
121
1. Fabian Garcia, Turlock
2. Junior Davila, San Benito
3. Adam Magnusson, Madera South
4. Ken Geraldi, Dougherty Valley
5. Brian Ha, El Camino
6. Jorge Munoz, Los Banos
7. John Fife, Vacaville
8. Tanner Heath, Aptos
127
1. Jesse Delgado, Gilroy
2. Andy Lam, George Washington
3. Curtis Hulstine, Ceres
4. Matt Lozano, Central
5. Brian Sergi, College Park
6. Tony Jimenez, Dinuba
7. Arturo Morado, Alisal
8. Kyle Wade, Madera South
132
1. Willie Fox, Gilroy
2. Anthonie Linares, Oak Grove
3. Cameron Lane, Vacaville
4. Carmen Soriano, Gonzales
5. Reda Aboulhouda, Cupertino
6. Jack Sakai, Palo Alto
7. Eddy Madriz, Los Banos
8. Julian Talamante, Turlock
137
1. Cody Pack, Quincy
2. Blake Kastl, Gilroy
3. Isaiah Morfin, Selma
4. Andrew Perez, Pitman
5. Keegan Overbey, Ceres
6. Jacob Tirado, Kingsburg
7. John Mercado, Oak Grove
8. Monte Renteria, Dinuba
142
1. Nathan Zarate, Selma
2. Jonathan Gomez, Madera South
3. Stefan Weidemann, Gunn
4. Joseph Ochsner, Cupertino
5. Omri Rahmil, Los Gatos
6. Victor Saldana, Overfelt
7. Robert Vasquez, Pitman
8. Omar Montes, Turlock
147
1. Victor Pereira, Newark Memorial
2. Rico Aguilar, Selma
3. Greg Hartman, Los Banos
4. Michael Chavez, Watsonville
5. Ray Jacob Jimenez, James Lick
6. Jacob Hienrichs, Kingsburg
7. Cody Owen, Madera South
8. Johnathen Gonzalez, Santa Teresa
154
1. Tyler Johnson, Vacaville
2. Vicente Aboytes, Gilroy
3. Tony Spinella, Ceres
4. Max Simon, Palo Alto
5. Ian Messaros, Cupertino
6. Ryan Brewer, Sobrato
7. Craig Sherman, Oakland Tech
8. Sean McVannel, Salinas
162
1. Dominic Kastl, Gilroy
2. Anthony Tirado, Kingsburg
3. Dan Heka, Castro Valley
4. Gurmukh Singh, Cupertino
5. Marty Rayburn, Aptos
6. Mike Sarimento, Palma
7. Alden Moses, Madera South
8. Dustin Volz, Turlock
173
1. Tyler Edwards, Monterey
2. Hudson Buck, Vacaville
3. Justin Lozano, Selma
4. Tyler Grandal, Kingsburg
5. Martin Alvarez, Cupertino
6. Adam Busch, Castro Valley
7. Trevor Perrigo, Harbor
8. Calvin Nicholls, South San Francisco
191
1. Adam Delagarza, Vacaville
2. Rodolfo Juarez, Central
3. Gustavo Verver, Pitman
4. Maison Davis, Hillsdale
5. Tanner Roberts, Kingsburg
6. Zach Jones, Galt
7. Freddy Paulet, Mount Pleasant
8. John Velez, Aptos
217
1. Nick Corona, Kingsburg
2. Ben Holmes, Vacaville
3. Joey Lopez, Junipero Serra
4. Jonathon Brower, Galt
5. Dylan Johns, Los Gatos
6. AJ Castillo, Palo Alto
7. Brasil Scott, Mount Pleasant
8. Anthony Lamport, Tera Nova
287
1. Orry Elor, College Park
2. Luis Barragan, Gilroy
3. Tucker Wilkes, College Park
4. Juniel Morales, Oak Grove
5. Pablo Guerrero, Pitman
6. Brandon Pulealii, Palma
7. Trevor Kelly, El Camino
8. Javier Licea, Santa Teresa
