Hollister High’s Octavio Lucatero came within a point of
capturing first place at the Mid-Cal Wrestling Tournament last
weekend at Gilroy High.
Hollister High’s Octavio Lucatero came within a point of capturing first place at the Mid-Cal Wrestling Tournament last weekend at Gilroy High.
Lucatero, wrestling at 135 pounds, lost in double overtime against a wrestler from Fall River and settled for second place.
In the second overtime, Lucatero had to hold down his opponent, who had chosen bottom, for 30 seconds and could hold him only for 12. The match was tied 1-1 after regulation.
“Octavio had the other wrestler’s leg up on the first overtime but couldn’t take him down,” said Baler coach Matt Olejnik.
Hollister finished 14th out of 46 teams with only three Central Coast Section teams finishing higher – a good sign for the Balers.
Host Gilroy took second and Bellarmine fourth. Willow Glen was the only other CCS team ahead of the Balers, who placed a half-point ahead of Cupertino.
The Balers’ Brent Kelsey was fifth at 125 pounds with a one-point loss to Danny San Juan of Gilroy. San Juan pinned Kelsey in a recent dual match, although San Juan didn’t think he had the pin on Kelsey that night.
Hollister’s Jamie Driskill, at 119 pounds, was sixth.
Alejo Velasquez was up 3-2 going into the third period against a seeded wrestler from Bellarmine, but lost 5-3. Velasquez followed that up with successive pins.
“He was gassed in that first match,” said Olejnik. “He can’t wrestle from the bottom because he doesn’t have any arm strength. We have three weeks before the league tournament to get everyone in top shape.”
All in all, Olejnik was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We had to wrestle against seeded wrestlers to begin the match,” he said. “We had a tough draw.”
The Balers were ninth at the Overfelt Tournament. Trevor Guerra went 4-1, while Martin Barocio also wrestled well.
Hollister returns to Tri-County Athletic League dual-meet action with a road match at North Salinas on Wednesday, then hosts Live Oak Feb. 6. The T-CAL tournament is Feb. 15 in Hollister.
