Wrestlers qualify for 13 of 14 weight classes in CCS
When the San Benito High wrestling team hits the mat this
morning at San Jose’s Independence High in the opening round of the
Central Coast Section championships, the third-ranked Balers will
have 12 wrestlers in all in the tournament gunning for the
title.
Wrestlers qualify for 13 of 14 weight classes in CCS
When the San Benito High wrestling team hits the mat this morning at San Jose’s Independence High in the opening round of the Central Coast Section championships, the third-ranked Balers will have 12 wrestlers in all in the tournament gunning for the title.
“I was hoping that we would have qualified all 14 weight classes, but that is a big enough number to put us in the hunt (for a section title),” San Benito coach Matt Olejnik said after seeing his team finish second to Gilroy High in the Tri County Athletic League Championships last Saturday. “We’re going to need to be ready to go.”
The only weight classes that the Balers didn’t qualify to the CCS championship was at 140 and 173 pounds.
Today’s matches at Independence High get under way at 10 a.m. The finals will take place at Overfelt High School in San Jose beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The results of the TCAL championships were bittersweet for the Balers. Heading into the league tournament San Benito High had 10 wrestlers that were ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in league, yet only six of those wrestlers from Hollister made it to the finals – and only two walked away a league champion.
One of them was senior Luis Baroico, who captured the 137-pound division courtesy of a pin over Gilroy’s Vincent Aboytes in the third round.
The other Baler wrestler to walk off the mats at Gilroy High with the title of league champion was Buddy Barraza, who managed to pin Gilroy’s Chad Guerrero in the third period, despite being outweighed by more than 50 pounds.
When all was said and done the Mustangs won the tournament by a 294-210 margin over San Benito. Yet Olejnik was pleased to know that 13 of his wrestlers were moving on to today’s section meet.
Perhaps the biggest shock at league finals was Baler wrestler Fernando Lucatero’s performance. The No. 1 ranked 162-pound wrestler in the entire section, Lucatero lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Max Panziera of Palma – a wrestler who Lucatero had previously beaten twice this season.
Another thing that stung the Balers chances was in the 114-pound division where Junior DaVila, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the section, had to miss the finals because of illness.
In preparation for today’s tournament, Olejnik had his team focusing mainly on conditioning.
“We’re going to try to improve our conditioning level and do some road work (running),” he said. “We’re going to work on our footwork, cardiovascular and combinations. I don’t want the guys going too hard and getting a freak injury before the tournament.”
After Gilroy and San Benito at the league meet came Palma in third place with a score of 178. Salinas’157 points followed the Chieftains. North Salinas, Alvarez and Alisal rounded out the final spots.
