Impressive win over defending CCS champs makes Gilroy the team
to beat
The Gilroy Mustangs went in to Wednesday night’s match against
the San Benito Haybalers as the top-ranked team in the Central
Coast Section.
Impressive win over defending CCS champs makes Gilroy the team to beat
The Gilroy Mustangs went in to Wednesday night’s match against the San Benito Haybalers as the top-ranked team in the Central Coast Section.
Until the Mustangs could knock off the defending CCS champs, however, it still would not be considered the team to beat.
Now they are.
Following the Mustangs 54-7 pasting of the Haybalers inside a packed O’Donnell Gymnasium, Gilroy left no doubt as to which team is the best in the CCS. The Gilroy Mustangs put an emphatic end to its three-year losing streak to the Haybalers.
“It was a great win,” said Mustangs coach Armando Gonzalez. “Coming in we knew we had the stronger team, but the final score is not an indication of how well the teams wrestled.”
Save for a win by Octavio Lucatero over Gilroy’s Gilbert Gutierrez in the 135-pound division and heavyweight Tito Flores’ 15-3 major decision over Jose Albarron, the Haybalers were shut out.
The Mustangs recorded three pins and at one point went on an 11-match win streak. Signs that the pendulum has swung in the Mustangs’ favor came in the first match of the evening, a 130-pound battle between Gilroy’s Chad Haygood and Anthony Sunseri.
Haygood wasted little time wrapping up Sunseri and racking up the points. He quickly built a 9-0 lead after the first round and went on to a 16-1 win. The win was so lopsided it stunned the Haybalers’ silent home crowd.
Lucatero’s tactical 4-2 win over Gutierrez in the next round seemed to get Hollister back on track. A takedown of Gutierrez in the final round sealed the win for Lucatero.
“Lucatero is one of the best wrestlers on their team,” Gonzalez said. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Olejnik. He did a great job with the match-ups knowing he was out manned.”
After the Lucatero win however, the Mustangs muscled up. The team won the next 11 matches and during the streak, Danny San Juan at 125, Adin Duenas at 112 and Martin Serrano at 160 recorded pins.
One of the more impressive wins was turned in by Gilroy’s Danny Melendez in the 171-pound match against Francisco Avillas. Avillas seemed to be in control of the match and even built a sturdy 5-2 lead over Melendez before things fell apart.
Avillas nearly had Melendez pinned late in the second round when at the urging of the crowd, coaching staff and teammates, Melendez found the strength to break Avillas’ hold.
The reverse earned Melendez two points and a 7-6 advantage heading into the final round. Melendez tacked on two more insurance points with another reverse and eventually won 9-7.
After the loss, Avillas shook hands with Melendez, ripped off his headgear then walked off the matt in a huff.
“We love coming here,” Gonzalez said. “In the past there has been some bad blood between the two schools. But today everyone showed some class.”
The Mustangs are off until next Wednesday when they visit Salinas to wrestle the North Salinas Vikings while the Haybalers travel to San Jose this weekend for the Overfelt Tournament.
