San Benito in eighth place after opening round
Gilroy – San Benito coach Matt Olejnik didn’t come to Mid-Cals with any delusions.
He knew that the Haybalers weren’t going to be as dominant as they had been in the three previous tournaments they had won. At the same time, he was gunning to be the second best Central Coast Section team at the tournament and finish in the top-five.
Those possibilities still exist after the first day Friday of the Mid-Cals at Gilroy High School.
With 76 points, San Benito is in eighth and five points out of fifth. They are third among CCS teams, just two points behind St. Francis. But the ‘Balers will have to do with two wrestlers in the semifinals and eight in the consolations. Freshman Junior Davila at 112 and junior Fernando Lucatero at 160 advanced in the winner’s bracket for San Benito.
Gilroy leads the team race with 131 points, which comes as no surprise to Olejnik. Elk Grove is second at 126 followed by Buhach Colony with 112.50.
“That’s expected,” Olejnik said of the Mustangs. “They are very tough. That’s why they’re the team to beat in CCS. They have great athletes.”
As for the ‘Balers performance, Olejnik noted, “We had our ups and downs. I’m pleased with Junior and Fernando. We lost some close ones but I’m happy with the way they battled back. We’re still in the consolations in eight weight classes (135, 140, 145, 152, 170, 189, 215 and heavyweight).”
Davila, who was questionable with a collarbone injury, got off to a good start by decisioning Robert Lee of Buhach Colony, 13-8. He then posted a technical fall over Miguel Perez of Madera, 23-8. He moved onto the semifinals by decisioning Tyler Naman of Harbor, 8-5.
“It was fine,” Davila said of the collarbone. “My legs bothered me a little for the first match, but everything was fine after that. I got a little overconfident (in the quarterfinals) which is why I got off to a slow start. In the second period, I started finding myself and was able to pick it up.”
Next up for Davila is Rey Mendoza of Watsonville, the No. 2 seed and second-ranked CCS wrestler. Mendoza had two falls and a technical decision to advance.
Lucatero won by technical fall over Edgar Augstodillo of Watsonville, 18-0. He followed it up with a 6-2 decision over Max Panziera of Palma and 10-8 decision over Paul Kim of Cupertino.
“I’m pretty satisfied,” Lucatero said. “The idea is to stay busy. I’m looking to make it to the finals.”
Lucatero, the No. 1 seed and top-ranked CCS wrestler at 160, gets to see a Tri-County Athletic League foe in the semifinals when he meets Justin Orozco of Salinas, who had two technical falls to advance. Orozco is ranked seventh in CCS.
Josh Ramirez was the third ‘Baler to make it to the quarterfinals at 152 before being pinned by Mitch Penrod of Bellarmine Prep in 1:15.
Wrestling begins at 9:30am today. The championship finals are scheduled to begin at 5pm.
