The San Benito High wrestling team placed fourth out of 24 teams
in the California Bulldog Classic held in Turlock on Saturday.
The San Benito High wrestling team placed fourth out of 24 teams in the California Bulldog Classic held in Turlock on Saturday.
“We wrestled very well,” said Baler coach Matt Olejnik. “The team really rose to the occasion and would have made Armando (Quintana) proud the way they hung in there and wrestled tough the whole tournament.”
Quintana, a long-time coach with the Balers, recently passed away during practice.
Seven of the eight Baler wrestlers placed in the top six. Alejo Velasquez at 160 and Octavio Lucatero at 140 both lost in the finals to finish second.
Chris Uribe at 130 and Nick Carpenter at 152 took third in the tournament. Alex Diaz at 145 pounds finished fourth. Ryan Dunn at 189 and Matt De La Rosa at 215 finished sixth. De La Rosa lost in the semifinals but couldn’t wrestle in his last two matches because of a shoulder injury.
Chris Mora at 119 pounds was the only Baler not to place. He won his first match and then dropped down to the consolation bracket with a loss. Mora went on to win one more match before losing the finale.
The Balers are a little shallow in the lightweight class now after Joe Verisimo quit the team.
There are a couple freshman who Olejnik expects to immediately be tested on the varsity level at the 103 and 112 classes – James Amaral and Bob Glashan.
“They’re still not ready yet,” Olejnik said. “But they will compete in the dual meets and wrestle in the frosh/soph and JV tournaments to get some more experience.”
The Balers will be wrestling in the Artichoke Classic in Watsonville on Friday to get ready for the Cupertino tournament on Saturday.
