No. 4 San Benito thumps No. 3 Palma 61-12 by winning 12 of 14
weight classes, eight by fall
After Wednesday night, it might be safe to simply tear up the latest wrestling rankings. San Benito made their case, made a statement, and finished it with a proper exclamation point.
The No. 4 Haybalers defended their home mat at Mattson Gym Wednesday night and walloped visiting No. 3 Palma 61-12.
San Benito won 12 of the 14 weight classes, and one of the two wins for the Chieftains came via forfeit.
While the one-spot differential between the two teams in the latest rankings would signify an upset, the ‘Balers may have been the team who was upset – upset over the fact that they were ranked behind Palma.
“It was an upset from the beginning,” said 215-pounder Buddy Barraza. “To see Palma ahead of us … It was kind of a slap in the face for us to see Palma ahead of us.”
Although some coaches steer away from rankings, believing it adds an unnecessary distraction, San Benito coach Matt Olejnik seemed to embrace the fact that his grapplers were seeded lower than Palma by the San Jose Mercury News and other polls.
Consider it a little added motivation.
“If they’re the No. 3 team, we’re not the No. 4 team,” Olejnik said. “We’ve been looking at them ranked No. 3 all year. I don’t know what the rankers are looking at. They’re way off.”
Palma was without the injured Max Panziera at 171 pounds and 160-pounder Isaiah Jimenez, who is considered the top wrestler in the section at that particular weight.
Of the 12 matches San Benito won, though, eight came by way of fall in what was a strong and dominating performance by the ‘Balers. The squad even dedicated the outcome to former wrestling coach and long-time San Benito supporter Dolph Casarino, who was admitted to a hospital last weekend.
“I told the kids how much Dolph meant to me and my family,” Olejnik said. “We wanted to put forth our best effort. I thought this was one of the best matches we’ve wrestled.”
Coupled with an easy 51-18 dual-meet victory over North Salinas earlier in the night, and Olejnik said, “We wrestled inspired.”
The night started out at 140 pounds, where San Benito’s Josh Fontaine set the tone for the meet against Cy Gollnick.
Fontaine actually trailed 21-13 after two rounds, but scored three takedowns and a pair of 3-point near-falls to steal a 27-24 decision. The match was so fast paced that the high score was deemed worthy of a brief recount after it was completed, but Fontaine remained victorious, nonetheless.
The ‘Balers followed with three falls by Josh Ramirez at 145 pounds, Enrique Lucatero at 152 and Fernando Lucatero at 160 to open a comfortable 21-0 lead.
Manny Tovar then won by a 10-4 decision over Devon Santos, setting up the 189-pound bout.
San Benito listed Adrian Hernandez to grapple with Palma’s Zach Jimenez, who is ranked No. 2 at 189 pounds in the section. But Olejnik instead took the forfeit, as the following two matches at 215 and 275 involved some of Palma’s top wrestlers.
“It was a strategy move,” Olejnik said. “That might have changed the whole complexion of the match. I had to play to win.”
Olejnik figured that Palma would be rolling out some of their toughest wrestlers at 189, 215 and 275, so a forfeit at 189, although provided six points to Palma, didn’t necessarily provide them with any added momentum.
The Chieftains could have used some momentum at 215 as well, as Buddy Barraza posted an upset of his own as he defeated Hunter Baird 3-1 in overtime. Baird is currently ranked fourth at 215 pounds.
“He was ranked fourth. I’m not ranked because I did heavyweights last year,” Barraza said. “It was pretty big … He’s a really good wrestler. It meant a lot for me to beat him because I want that ranking.”
Both Barraza and Baird scored 1-point escapes in the match. Baird had Barraza balancing on one leg on two different occasions late in the third, but was unable to put the ‘Baler on the ground for a takedown.
Even in the overtime period, Baird had Barraza’s leg in the air once again, but couldn’t finish.
“He had my leg, and I underhooked and rolled him over to his back for the last points in overtime,” Barraza said.
Rounding out the meet were David Bazan (103), Junior Davila (112), Zach Rodriguez (119) and Geo Coelho (125), who all won their matches by pin in the first round. Morris Stevens followed with a 15-7 major decision and Steven Borba trailed with yet another fall for San Benito.
Davila’s match was especially convincing, as the San Benito sophomore and second-ranked 112-pounder defeated Jarron Ramirez, ranked sixth in the section.
Last season at the Tri-County Athletic League meet, Davila beat Ramirez by a 12-8 decision.
“I’ve been training hard. I’ve been wanting to wrestle the Gilroy kid to see where I’m at,” said Davila, referring to Gilroy’s Jesse Delgado, who’s ranked No. 1 at 112 pounds. “I didn’t think (the meet) was an upset. We have a lot of talent and we’re just showing it now.”
San Benito will showcase that talent this weekend at the 53rd Annual California Wrestling Invitational in Morro Bay. The individually-bracketed tournament will welcome 64 teams, including Bellarmine, Atascadero and Los Gatos, the second-ranked team in the section.
“Obviously, a top-10 finish would be great,” Olejnik said. “That’s what we’re gonna shoot for.”
San Benito v. Palma
140 – SB, J. Fontaine def. C. Gollnick, 27-24 dec.; 145 – SB, J. Ramirez def. J. Basco, fall; 152 – SB, E. Lucatero def. N. Abulencia, fall; 160 – SB, F. Lucatero def. M Alvarado, fall; 171 – SB, M. Tovar def. D. Santos, 10-4 dec.; 189 – Palma, Z. Jimenez def. A. Hernandez, forfeit; 215 – SB, B. Barraza def. H. Baird, 3-1 dec. OT; 275 – Palma, E. Swenson def. A. Davis, fall; 103 – SB, D. Bazan def. S. Eastman, fall; 112 – SB, J. Davila def. J. Ramirez, fall; 119 – SB, Z. Rodriguez def. J. Gonzalez, fall; 125 – SB, G. Coelho def. KC Silacci, fall; 130 – SB, M. Stevens def. A. Reyes, 15-7 maj. dec.; 135 – SB, S. Borba def. J. Baird, fall.
San Benito v. North Salinas
103 – SB, D. Bazan by forfeit; 112 – SB, M. Soto def. N. Napolitano, 14-3 dec.; 119 – SB, Z. Rodriguez by forfeit; 125 – SB, D. Garcia by forfeit; 130 – SB, E. Ortega def. J. Gonzalez, fall; 135 – SB, J. Fontaine def. C. Halcon, 3-2 dec.; 140 – SB, J. Andrade def. B. Johnson, 2-1 dec.; 145 – NS, J. Rodriguez def. C. Fernquist, fall; 152 – NS, M. Combs def. E. Tovar, 6-1 dec.; 160 – SB, F. Lucatero def. C. Sanchez, tech fall; 171 – SB, M. Tovar by forfeit; 189 – NS, J. Huebner def. T. Morcate, 8-3 dec.; 215 – N/A; 275 – SB, A. Davis def. I. Quiros, fall;
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity wrestling team also made quick work of both Palma and North Salinas Wednesday, as the Haybalers defeated the Chieftains 63-18 and beat North Salinas 75-3.
“It was a good night for us because we wrestled with different lineups,” coach Randy Logue said. “We literally wrestled a separate kid for each match, so it was good.”
The two dual meets were the final home events for Logue, who is stepping down from his coaching position at the end of the season.
“It didn’t even dawn on me,” Logue said. “This is the last home sporting event … It was a great night.”
