Gilroy sits in first place, San Benito remains in the hunt for
second after first day of the Central Coast Section Wrestling
Championships
Day one is done at the Central Coast Section Wrestling Championships, and Gilroy and San Benito seem to be proving just how tough the Tri-County Athletic League is.
For Gilroy, which is gunning for their sixth straight CCS title, they’re in the drivers seat heading into day two today, which will take place at Overfelt High School at 10 a.m.
“We pretty much came in with 12 wrestlers,” Gilroy coach Armando Gonzalez said. “Ten were ranked in the section, and we’re coming into day two with 10 wrestlers.”
The Mustangs enter day two with eight wrestlers in the semifinals, including Jesse Delgado (112), Martin Gonzalez (119), Tim Ibanez (125), Vincent Aboytes (140), Ethan Ogle (160), Hunter Collins (171), Jesse Rogers (215) and Luis Barragan (285).
In one of the more intriguing matches for Gilroy, No. 5 Tim Ibanez battled No. 4 Rey Tanada of South San Francisco in their 125-pound quarterfinal match. Ibanez held a narrow 3-2 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third period, and although Tanada appeared to overpower Ibanez in the waning seconds, the Gilroy grappler turned Tanada back for a takedown in the final 10 seconds for a 5-2 decision.
“We did everything we set out to do today,” Gonzalez said.
San Benito, which remains in the hunt for a second-place spot, will see four wrestlers in the semis, where Junior Davila (112), Josh Ramirez (145), Fernando Lucatero (152) and Buddy Barraza (215) will make their case toward next week’s CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.
Only the top four in each weight class advance to state.
Fernando Lucatero is seeking to be the fifth Lucatero to advance to state, and he’s on the right path after defeating Joe Molina of Everett Alvarez in the 152-pound quarterfinal bout.
The two middle-weight wrestlers were locked in a 2-2 tie heading to the third round, but then an escape by Lucatero and a lightning-quick takedown move helped the Haybaler to advance to today’s semis.
Fernando’s brother, Enrique, is battling back through the consolation round, and had a pair of impressive matches late on Friday night.
Up against Ismael Sanchez of Silver Creek, Enrique trailed 7-4 with 34 ticks left in the third. After a two-point reversal, Enrique cut Sanchez loose, supplying the Silver Creek wrestler with an escape point, and then scored a two-point takedown with five seconds left to send the match to overtime.
There, Enrique put Sanchez on the mat within 15 seconds to seal the 10-8 decision.
In his following match, Enrique went up against a grappler from Palo Alto, and proceeded to win the match by a 16-0 technical fall.
San Benito and Gilroy will make their way through the championship and consolation ranks today. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. at Overfelt High School.
