Dunn, Mora and Lucatero Star Again as ‘Balers Wrestling Takes
5th at North Coast Classic
With three weeks to go until the Tri-County Athletic League Championships, the San Benito wrestling team’s season is getting close to the postseason. In a sport in which everything is geared towards the postseason tournaments, including the Central Coast Section and CIF State Championships, the Haybalers are anxious to see where they stack up.
If the results from San Benito’s competitions to date are any indication, a trio of ‘Balers stand to pocket some individual honors as the season hits its peak. Once again, Chris Mora, Fernando Lucatero and Ryan Dunn were at the heart of their team’s success as the ‘Balers traveled to Eureka over the weekend.
As a team, San Benito took fifth place in the North Coast Classic, a 19-team tournament, led by first-place finishes by seniors Mora and Dunn, and a runner-up showing by Lucatero.
Mora, competing in the 119-pound classification, faced an early 4-0 deficit, but recovered to win 8-6 over the No. 1 seed.
“He didn’t panic,” said ‘Balers head coach Matt Olejnik of Mora, who was seeded No. 3. “He wound up holding on. He was able to come back and win the match by a couple of points.”
Mora was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler (Lightweight).
In the 215-pound competition, Dunn provided more of what his team has come to expect. The senior, who has yet to have a point scored against him this season, rolled to a dominant victory and pushed his perfect record to 19-0.
Lucatero was taken down with 15 seconds remaining to lose by one point in the final.
Armando Lerma (103-pound), the No. 6 seed, finished third. He lost in the semifinals to the No. 2 seed by one point.
Nilo Velasquez (145-pound) also finished third, while Josh Sanchez (171-pound) and Jay Ybarra (160-pound) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
With five wrestlers bowing out quickly by losing their two matches, Olejnik hoped that the North Coast Classic would serve as a reminder that the ‘Balers need their entire team to succeed individually in order to enjoy team-wide accolades.
“It was a little bit of a wake-up call,” said Olejnik. “If we want to actually contend for a high place at the sections, everyone’s got to score points. This was a nice awakening to let them know they have work to do.”
San Benito hosts Palma tomorrow at 7pm in a TCAL meet and then travels to Gilroy for this weekend’s Mid Cals.
“Like us, they’re a pretty young team,” said Olejnik of the Chieftains. “We’re expecting them to be tough. They’re an up-and-coming team. I’m expecting it to be … a strong, contested dual meet–a dogfight.”
