Barbara Pesce, mother of Hollister High 125-pound senior Brent
Kelsey, is used to yelling from the first row of the bleachers.
Barbara Pesce, mother of Hollister High 125-pound senior Brent Kelsey, is used to yelling from the first row of the bleachers. She’s been doing it for quite some time, what with Justin Kelsey a former Baler wrestler, class of 2000. And this match was one of the more memorable ones for both Pesce and Kelsey.
“Come on, Brent! Come on!” yelled Barbara throughout.
Brent was taking on Salinas’ Marcus Pettis, the defending Central Coast Section champion at 121 pounds last season while Pettis attended Alvarez.
The crowd at O’Donnell gym Wednesday night knew Pettis’ credentials. The word had spread like cream cheese on a bagel and the crowd was alive.
And Kelsey didn’t disappoint. A pattern developed early. Pettis was the take down artist and was satisfied to let Kelsey escape only to take Kelsey down again.
“He was the quickest shooter I’ve ever wrestled,” said Kelsey, who has been wrestling varsity the past three years. “He’s very strong on top, too.”
Kelsey’s specialty was wrestling from the bottom.
“He was hard to hold down,” said Pettis of Kelsey. “He was good from the bottom.”
Pettis was up 4-1, then 4-2 in the first period until a take down by Kelsey tied it up. Pettis took Kelsey down for two points to start the second period, then a Kelsey excape, was followed by a Pettis takedown for an 8-5 lead for Pettis. Kelsey executed a reversal late in the period as the Baler crowd, led by Pesce, smelled an upset. Pettis received a warning for stalling right before the period ended.
Kelsey excaped to begin the third period and the score was tied for a moment. Pettis forged ahead 10-8. With 28 seconds left in the bout, Pettis was penalized a point for a second stalling warning, meaning Kelse was down just one. With four seconds to go, Pettis was penalized another point. 10-10 and on to overtime.
Nineteen seconds into sudden death overtime, Pettis took down Kelsey, ending the match.
“The Hollister kid showed a lot of heart to wrestle someone like Pettis,” said Salinas head coach Joe Domingues. “He was tough. Marcus needs to step it up. There’s no excuses.”
Pettis, 14-2 on the year, did have a pretty good excuse. He cut weight to the tune of 15 pounds in two days. Domingues hinted that the weight loss might have been even more.
“After the first period, it was obvious Marcus didn’t have anything left,” said Domingues, who is doing a fine job of rebuilding the Cowboys program which didn’t exist last season.
“Pettis has done that his whole career,” added Baler head coach Matt Olejnik of Pettis’ weight cutting.
And there was Olejnik on Kelsey’s effort.
“Brent is a skilled wrestler,” said Olejnik. “He has good technique. I hope he realizes what he can do. He was tired, too. He had to cut weight to go down a weight class. Brent made it a little to easy for Pettis to take him down. He could have fought a little bit more, but Brent was probably tired. Pettis is very strong.”
“There’s always room for improvement,” said Brent, who was third in the Monterey Bay League last year (Pettis was first). “I learned some things I can use later. There is no doubt I’ll wrestle him in league.”
This season has been trying for Olejnik and company. Nothing has come easy as in past years. And with powerhouse Gilroy in town next Wednesday for the annual grudge match, the Balers have to shore things up in a hurry to say the least.
“We’re still shifting around the lineup and trying to find the best combinations,” said Kelsey.
Olejnik is well aware of the urgent situation the Balers are in. He spent nearly a half hour with his team after doubling up the Cowboys Wednesday. Would it have been twice as long if the Balers had lost?
“I talked to each wrestler and told them what they’re doing well and what they need to improve on,” said Olejnik. “We’re looking toward the end of the season. We probably have to beat Gilroy in the dual meet to get a share of the league title. Gilroy has a more conducive team to win a six-team tournament like the TCAL. Then there is CCS. Guys are going to have to step up and wrestle better.”
Maybe the Baler grapplers can draw inspiration from a 125-pounder named Kelsey, who took the defending CCS champ into overtime, partly thanks to mom.
