The goal of SBHS wrestling is to beat a powerful Gilroy team,
and JVs play key role
The shrill piercing of a whistle cuts through the air in the
cramped varsity wrestling room at San Benito High School, an
out-of-bounds call. The two boys in the ring return to the center
and begin again.
It is a challenge; a junior varsity wrestler has challenged the
abilities of a varsity athlete in hopes of earning a coveted
varsity position. There are 14 varsity positions on the SBHS
wrestling team, and this one is for the 135-pound weight class.
The goal of SBHS wrestling is to beat a powerful Gilroy team, and JVs play key role
The shrill piercing of a whistle cuts through the air in the cramped varsity wrestling room at San Benito High School, an out-of-bounds call. The two boys in the ring return to the center and begin again.
It is a challenge; a junior varsity wrestler has challenged the abilities of a varsity athlete in hopes of earning a coveted varsity position. There are 14 varsity positions on the SBHS wrestling team, and this one is for the 135-pound weight class.
Junior Chris Flippo is trying to retain his position that he earned the night before when he wrestled as a varsity member for the first time against Palma, while senior Andrew Sandoval, who wants his position back, challenges Flippo.
The whistle is blown once again, this time to initiate the wrestling. As 58 of their teammates watch from the sidelines – occasionally shouting out a “Go Balers!” to encourage both wrestlers instead of choosing favorites – both boys are crouched over with their heads up circling around the mat waiting for the other to make the first move.
It’s Flippo.
He uses quick feet and agility to lunge toward Sandoval, pushing him to the ground. Sandoval puts up his defenses and tries to escape, but Flippo has his arms locked around Sandoval’s shoulders, pulling Sandoval’s arms to his side. “Time!” shouts Head Wrestling Coach Matt Olejnik. The challenge is over and Flippo is victorious.
Flippo was on the junior varsity squad at the beginning of the season but progressed through the ranks. While impressive, Flippo’s talent mirrors that of his teammates. And as a result, the junior varsity’s team is undefeated at 9-0.
“Our JV team is good enough to beat some other schools’ varsity teams,” Olejnik said. “We will go against any varsity team we can in order to prepare us for Gilroy.”
Gilroy High School’s wrestling team is the defending section title champ, but the Balers are a force to reckon with.
“We have talent, that’s obvious. I like to think that coaching has something to do with the team’s success.” jokes JV coach Randy Logue. “The athletes have comradery, they want each other to be successful, and they push each other in practice; they just genuinely like each other.
“What’s exciting about JV teams is the young kids show dramatic improvement. Varsity athletes move up in small increments; I mean, we had kids that got pinned their first two matches and now they’re undefeated and doing the pinning,” Logue said.
Having less experience can work in favor of many wrestlers.
“JV kids don’t look at the seatings, or rankings of their opponents; they are only interested in wrestling and that’s what they do,” Logue said. “Varsity will look at standings and psyche themselves out, but JV kids, they just aren’t afraid of their opponent.
With an undefeated team vying for all the varsity spots, the Balers goal is to unseat the defending champs and begin a new dynasty in the wrestling league.
“We want to beat Gilroy so we can instill in our young athletes a mental confidence that will tell them they can beat a Gilroy kid, as well as kids from Los Gatos and St. Francis. We need to break Gilroy’s cycle and build our own.”
Obviously Logue and Olejnik believe Gilroy is a great team, as that is the team upon which SBHS is basing its training on, and believes they can give GHS a good run at all levels of competition.
“We have some really gifted athletes, like Geo Coelho as our 119, Josh Ramirez as our 145 and Christian Solis who started on JV and has worked his way up to the 112 slot for varsity,” Logue said.
