No. 1 Mustangs take 43-19 dual meet win over No. 3 San Benito;
teams prepare for Tri-County Athletic League Championships on
Saturday
Gilroy
The Gilroy Mustangs lived up to their top-dog status Wednesday night when they defeated visiting San Benito 43-19 in the final dual meet of the season for both teams.
Gilroy will host the Tri-County Athletic League Championships on Saturday, where many Mustangs and Haybalers could meet up once again, as Wednesday’s dual meet at GHS was perhaps a preview of things to come.
Fortunately for Gilroy, which is ranked No. 1 in the Central Coast Section and No. 3 in the state of California, the Mustangs won 10 of the 14 weight classes Wednesday.
However, aside from the four falls between the two teams, many of the matches were decided by fairly close decisions.
“We knew it was going to be this kind of a match, especially with this quality of a team,” Gilroy coach Armando Gonzalez said. “It could have went either way.”
In two of the closer matches on the night, Gilroy’s Rodney Balajadia defeated Zach Rodriguez by a 4-3 decision at 130 pounds, while Mustang Ethan Ogle beat ‘Baler Manny Tovar 4-3 at 171 pounds.
“They won every close match,” San Benito coach Matt Olejnik said. “Every one-point match. We were banking on those. We didn’t get them and that’s why they’re ranked No. 1. They win those matches.”
The night began at 112 pounds in one of the more anticipated matches between Gilroy’s Jesse Delgado and San Benito’s Junior Davila.
The two battled in a low-scoring affair, as it was 2-2 after two periods. In the third, though, Delgado scored on an escape and eventually on a takedown and a three-point near-fall in the closing seconds to earn an 8-3 decision.
That perhaps set the tone for Gilroy, which went on to win the next five matches and take a 25-0 lead on the No. 3 Haybalers.
‘Baler Josh Ramirez snapped that streak, though, when he defeated Travis Sakamoto by fall (4:44) at 145 pounds.
“It gave us some hope,” said Ramirez afterward, as the ‘Balers went on to win three matches in a row. “We had to stop the bleeding – the momentum.”
Ramirez’ match appeared it was going to be another close decision, as the two wrestlers held each other scoreless through the first two periods. But 44 seconds into the third period, Ramirez scored a reversal before pinning Sakamoto.
After the match, Ramirez called the close decisions “gut matches.”
“It all matters as to who wants it most,” Ramirez said. “It just showed that we need to want it more if we want to be CCS champs.”
San Benito’s Fernando and Enrique Lucatero each won their match by decision and major decision, respectively, against Tim Caspary and Mike Penyacsek before the 171-pound bout between Ogle and Tovar.
Tovar took a 2-0 lead to the third period before Ogle scored a two-point reversal, and eventually a two-point takedown with some 33 seconds remaining, to edge Tovar in the 4-3 decision.
“He’s a strong wrestler,” Ogle said of Tovar afterward. “I had never won a Hollister match in my career … It was a hurdle for me.
“This is the best Hollister team I’ve seen since I’ve been here. They have nothing to hold their head about.”
Gilroy and San Benito will compete in the TCAL Championships Saturday at GHS. The year-end meet is slated for 10 a.m.
San Benito at Gilroy
103 – SB, D. Bazan by forfeit; 112 – GIL, J. Delgado def. J. Davila, dec. (8-3); 119 – GIL, M. Gonzalez def. A. Lerma, tech. fall (18-1); 125 – GIL, T. Ibanez def. M. Stevens, tech. fall (18-3); 130 – GIL, R. Balajadia def. Z. Rodriguez, dec. (4-3); 135 – GIL, A. Rosso def. G. Coelho, dec. (12-9); 140 – GIL, V. Aboytes def. C. Solis, fall (2:19); 145 – SB, J. Ramirez def. T. Sakamoto, fall (4:44); 152 – SB, F. Lucatero def. T. Caspary, dec. (13-8); 160 – SB, E. Lucatero def. M. Penyacsek, major dec. (15-4); 171 – GIL, E. Ogle def. M. Tovar, dec. (4-3); 189 – GIL, H. Collins def. A. Hernandez, fall (:47); 215 – GIL, J. Rogers def. B. Barraza, dec. (9-2); 275 – GIL, L. Barragan def. A. Davis, fall (1:52).
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity squad defeated Gilroy 56-24 through nine weight classes Wednesday night in Gilroy.
“It was a good match. They were tough,” coach Randy Logue said. “They only wrestled nine weights, but the nine kids they wrestled were tough.”
This season, the San Benito JVs have outscored their opponents 630-77 in dual meets. And after last week’s top-spot finish at a tournament in Wilcox, the Haybalers have earned six first-place finishes and just one second place.
They’ll compete this weekend at the TCAL Championships in Gilroy.
