The Hollister High wrestling team enjoyed the sights and sounds
of the Reno Tournament of Champions last weekend, on and off the
mat.
The Hollister High wrestling team enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Reno Tournament of Champions last weekend, on and off the mat.
The Balers placed 61st in the 103-team tournament, which is considered one of the best prep wrestling tournaments in the United States.
Easton of Pennsylvania was the victor in the team standings with Southern California powerhouse Poway second. Bakersfield, the defending state champion, was fourth.
“We didn’t embarrass ourselves,” said Baler head coach Matt Olejnik. “It was good for our young guys like Ryan Dunne at 171s and Chris Mora, two freshmen, to go up there and see what it takes to be competitive at that tournament.”
Olejnik wasn’t too thrilled at the way the tournament was run on Friday. The last match of the day was at midnight.
“Normally they have a side tournament for the pigtail losers,” said Olejnik. “There is often 84 wrestlers in a 64-wrestler field, so they have to wrestle out-bracket matches. This time they tried to work the losers into the tournament. Then the computer was fouling up and matches were delayed two hours.”
No Baler made it to Saturday’s matches, but Olejnik had his wrestlers on the mat practicing Saturday morning at 7 a.m. anyway.
Octavio Lucatero, wrestling up a couple of weights at 145 pounds, and Jamie Driskill at 119, went the farthest of any Balers with 3-2 records for the weekend. Lucatero won three straight matches at one point while Driskill lost a match in double overtime.
That typified the hard-luck Balers for the tournament. Trevor Guerra, at 125 pounds, was leading the Alaska state champ in the first match by two points, but lost on a late cradle. Then he was eliminated in another heartbreaker, losing in double OT.
Alex Diaz wrestled well at 140 pounds and went 2-2. Other Balers who went 2-2 included Anthony Sunseri at 135 and Brent Kelsey at 130.
Some good news for the Balers could be on the way with the hopeful return of Alejo Velasquez, who should be medically cleared by the first of the year. Matt De La Rosa, however, will undergo an MRI on his shoulder and is doubtful to return.
The Balers practice at 9 a.m. most of this week. Their next excursion is a trip to Turlock for the second annual Turlock Invitational Jan. 3-4.
