Morgan Hill – The San Benito Haybalers’ wrestling team has traditionally been among the top teams in the Tri-County Athletic League, as well as the Central Coast Section. On Wednesday night the ‘Balers (15-3, 2-0 TCAL) defeated the Live Oak Acorns (5-10, 0-2 TCAL) in their TCAL dual meet, 63-15.
“The thing is Live Oak is a very young team,” said San Benito coach Matt Olejnik. “I was very impressed with how these kids came out and competed. The only way to get better is to wrestle good competition.”
The Acorns surrendered 18 points to the ‘Balers with forfeits at the 103-, 119-, and 189-pound weight classes.
Live Oak’s Joe Pollard pinned opponent Joe Frusetta in the second round of their 112-pound weight class match to put the Acorns on the board.
Jesus Saguero got San Benito started off in the 125-pound weight class by pinning Andrew Stratton with 43 seconds remaining in the first round of their match. Luis Barocio followed with a win by decision (10-5) over Jason Henderson at 130-pounds to give the ‘Balers at 21-6 lead.
“I thought for the most part we wrestled pretty well,” said Olejnik. “We had a few guys get tired and gassed and that shouldn’t happen at this point in the season. They should be ready to go for six minutes.”
Andrew Sandoval (135-pounds) and Fernando Lucatero (140-pounds) extended the ‘Balers lead to 33-6 with back-to-back pins, both coming in the third round of their respective matches.
San Benito’s Hilo Valasquez (145-pounds) dominated in his match against a fiesty Larry Dominguez, who was determined not to be pinned. Valasquez stuck with it and with 43 seconds remaining in the second round he finally managed to pin down Dominguez, giving the ‘Balers a 39-6 lead.
Brett Jones scored a big win for the Acorns in the 152-pound matchup against Kyle Sexton. Jones defeated Sexton, 16-9, by decision in the final minute of the third round. Jones’s teammate Mitch Haaser (160-pounds) caught the momentum and scored a pin over Nathan Mendoza with 13 seconds left in the first round of their match to pull Live Oak to 39-15.
“The kids fought tough. I’m much happier with their performance tonight than when we faced Sobrato. Hollister is a top team in the CCS,” said Live Oak coach Robert Fernandez. “I hope we can do this well against Gilroy. Little by little we’re getting better. We had two excellent pins by Joe Pollard and Mitch Haaser and a big win from Brett Jones.”
San Benito put the dual meet away with pins in its final three matches by Josh Sanchez (171-pounds), Richard Perez (215-pounds) and Kevin Mueller (Heavyweight).
Richard Perez did a good job in placed of the injured Ryan Dunn, who separated his shoulder a couple of weeks ago and according to Olejnik is itching to get back on the mat.
“Live Oak is on the upswing, on the right track,” said Olejnik. “The coaches there have been a positive influence. It’s a shame they’re leaving the TCAL next year.”
