The Hollister High wrestling team picked a good time to have its
best effort in an invitational tournament.
The Hollister High wrestling team picked a good time to have its best effort in an invitational tournament.
The Balers took eighth at the 26-team Arcata Invitational on Saturday and had two first place winners. Octavio Lucatero went 4-0 at 135 pounds and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler. Brent Kelsey also went 4-0 to win the 125-pound weight class.
Jamie Driskill went 3-2 for fourth place at 119 pounds while Joe Verissimo was fifth at 103. Trevor Guerra placed sixth at 145, while Alex Diaz rebounded to capture the Consolation title at 140 pounds.
“We wrestled well,” said Balers’ head coach Matt Olejnik.
It was particularly good timing, since the Balers have their toughest dual match of the season Wednesday when arch-rival Gilroy visits O’Donnell Gym at 7 p.m. Olejnik is 6-2 in dual matches against the Mustangs in his eight seasons as head Baler on the mat.
This Gilroy team, which won the prestigious High Sierra Classic, could be the best Mustangs team ever assembled in Olejnik’s tenure.
“They’re loaded,” said Olejnik. “We’ll have to put forth our best effort to beat them. And we’ll have to pull some upsets in the lighter weights.”
