Several San Benito Wrestlers Advance to Second Day of
Tourney
Gilroy – At last year’s Mid Cal wrestling championships, San Benito’s Ryan Dunn placed fourth. This year, he was given the No. 1 seed in the 215-pound bracket at the tough 51-team tournament.
And on Friday, he wrestled like a No. 1 seed.
Dunn went 2-0 after a bye in the opening round, a performance which puts him in a very good position to win the 215 title Saturday.
In his first match, Dunn pinned Matt Harrington of Serra in the first 30 seconds of the match. In his second and final match of the day, the ‘Baler wrestler pinned Quinn Moore of South Bakersfield.
“It feels good to be a No. 1 seed, even though there’s a little more pressure,” Dunn said after his final match. “From here, it looks pretty good. But I don’t want to jinx myself.”
In addition to Dunn, Chris Mora (119 pounds), Fernando Lucatero (140) and Luis Barocio (130) all advanced to Day Two. Mora was upset in his first match but came back and won the next three in the consolation bracket. Lucatero lost to the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinals. Barocio, who was unseeded, fell to the top-seeded 130-pounder and won the next four matches.
“We had five guys lose by one point. That was just a killer,” said San Benito head coach Matt Olejnik. “But that’s what happens. When your team is rolling, you get those wins. When you’re struggling a bit, you don’t get them.”
Gilroy is in first place in the team race with 166 points, followed by Foothill of Palo Cedro with 121 and Centennial of Bakersfield with 110. The Mustangs had nine wrestlers go undefeated Friday.
The final day of Mid Cal action begins today at 9am. The second session kicks off at 3pm followed by the finals at 5pm.
Ana Patejdl covers sports for South Valley Newspapers. She can be reached at ap******@gi************.com.
