Beating Palma provided level of comfort for San Benito
Why is it that we find comfort in rankings?
There’s something about the sense of order that we all enjoy, I guess. While providing plenty of debate and discourse, rankings and polls let you know exactly where you stand compared to everyone else. They provide easefulness and coziness that are somewhat lacking in every other facet of sports.
They are, more or less, a food chain of sorts.
Your No. 1’s are supposed to beat your No. 16’s, and the No. 25’s have no chance against anyone in the top 10.
Of course, if you disagree with where you stand in the order – and what team or person is ever content with where they stand in the order? – rankings provide the all-important upset, where, for instance, the No. 4’s not only defeat the No. 3’s, but provide enough “upsetting” evidence that you have to wonder where exactly the No. 4 truly ranks.
Translation: Fourth-ranked San Benito beat third-ranked Palma 61-12 Wednesday night at Mattson Gym in Hollister. The Chieftains were without some of their key wrestlers – some of whom are arguably the best in their weight class – but the match was so resounding, so convincing, that you have to wonder where the ‘Balers truly stack up.
Palma was without Max Panziera at 171 pounds, considered a top-five wrestler in the section at that weight, and Isaiah Jimenez, considered the best wrestler in the section at 160 pounds.
Even with those two wrestlers in the lineup, though, the score may have been closer than the 49-point differential that it ended up being, but it certainly would not have made a difference in which team won.
I’m sure that’s rather comforting for San Benito.
The ‘Balers entered as the No. 4 wrestling team in the Central Coast Section, according to many polls, including the San Jose Mercury News. They sat one spot behind Palma, which, according to San Benito coach Matt Olejnik, has not defeated the ‘Balers in a dual meet in the last 14 years.
With that said, perhaps both teams were upset Wednesday night – Palma on the mat and San Benito on the rankings.
“It was an upset from the beginning,” said 215-pounder Buddy Barraza, who upset Hunter Baird by a 3-1 overtime decision. “To see Palma ahead of us … It was kind of a slap in the face for us …”
The Chieftains won two matches: one came at 189 pounds, when Olejnik took a strategic forfeit to prevent any momentum shift toward Palma, and at 275, where Evan Swenson, arguably the top heavyweight in the section, pinned San Benito’s Adam Davis.
“We’ve been looking at them ranked No. 3 all year,” Olejnik said. “I don’t know what the rankers are looking at. They’re way off.”
Just a tad.
So where does San Benito truly rank? Well, of course, no one really has that answer, at least not until the Central Coast Section meet.
What we do know, however, is that the ‘Balers should be ranked ahead of Palma, at the very least. And while Gilroy, who’s currently ranked No. 1 in the CCS and No. 3 in all of California, defeated Palma 60-9 earlier this season, you have to admit the ‘Baler-Mustang dual meet is exponentially more interesting now than it was before Wednesday night.
Granted, you can only get six points for a pin and three points for a decision, so comparing Gilroy and San Benito based on their performance against Palma is moot.
But Wednesday’s dominant performance will certainly provide an added level of confidence for San Benito, and an added level of comfort that a No. 4 ranking clearly did not provide.
