SALINAS
–– The San Benito High wrestling team had a chance at dethroning
Gilroy High for a Tri-County Athletic League title in the league
finals Saturday in Salinas.
But the Balers, who are ranked No. 2 in the section behind
Gilroy, finished second in the seven-hour meet with a score of
259-241.
SALINAS –– The San Benito High wrestling team had a chance at dethroning Gilroy High for a Tri-County Athletic League title in the league finals Saturday in Salinas.
But the Balers, who are ranked No. 2 in the section behind Gilroy, finished second in the seven-hour meet with a score of 259-241.
“I was real proud of the effort we put forth,” said Baler coach Matt Olejnik. “It is a good stepping stone to the section. We got about 11 guys who will be in there fighting for places. And that is what you want when you are battling for a team title.”
Gilroy had 10 wrestlers going into the final, while San Benito eight. Three additional Balers placed third. San Benito will have three seeded wrestlers going into CCS – seniors Octavio Lucatero (1st in 140), Anthony Sunseri (4th in 135) and Alejo Velasquez (2nd in 160).
San Benito will be represented by wrestlers in all 14 weight classes when it begins its hunt for a Central Coast Section title in the playoffs that begin Friday morning at Independence High School in San Jose.
Only four other schools in the section are represented in all 14 of their weight classes – Gilroy, Los Gatos, Bellarmine and St. Francis. The top five grapplers from the Tri-County Athletic League moved on to CCS, and the top three from CCS move on to the CIF State Finals on March 5-6 at Centennial Gardens in Bakersfield.
“We’ve had a goal from day one to be CCS champions,” Olejnik said. “If we could take home some hardware, it will be a good season for. But our kids are fired up to win it.”
One of the big swing matches for the Balers in the finals was the 215-pound semifinal that No. 1 seeded Matt De La Rosa was pinned by North Salinas.
“Had Matt made the finals, we probably would have been right in there,” Olejnik said.
Sophomore Ryan Dunn (189), who won his first league title, might be the overachiever of the year, Olejnik said.
“A lot of our younger guys like Ryan have come on strong,” Olejnik said. “He lost a couple matches right off the get-go coming from football. He has been wrestling really well down the stretch.”
In 130, Chris Uribe won the league title by beating Adin Duenas from Gilroy. Nick Carpenter avenged an earlier loss in the Mid-Cals to Miguel Maldonado – also from Gilroy.
Velasquez handled everyone in the 160-pound weight class to win the title. And Tito Flores won the heavyweight championship.
Sunseri lost to Gilroy’s Chad Haygood in the 135-pound match. And Alex Diaz lost to second-seeded Callen Romesberg at 145. Kyle Horn finished third in the 171-pound class.
Bruce Butler was pinned by second-seeded Nicolo Naranjo in the 103-pound match and then lost to Palma. Glashan (112) lost to Salinas and Live Oak before defeating the wrestler from North Salinas.
Andrew Sandoval (125) won his first match but was pinned by No. 1 seeded Armando Gonzales from Gilroy in the semifinals.
“We’re going to wrestle our best tournament of the year on Friday and Saturday,” Olejnik said. “If any of the other teams let down at all, we will be right there. We got a lot of guys that if I were seeded I wouldn’t want to face.”
