‘Baler Josh Ramirez beats No. 1 wrestler in state at CIT
tourney
San Benito’s Josh Ramirez led a list of four placers at the California Invitational Tournament in Morro Bay last weekend, after he upset Travis Rasmussen not once, but twice.
Rasmussen, of Bakersfield, was No. 1 in California at 145 pounds coming into the CIT, and the top seed at the tourney.
Ramirez, the eighth seed, met Rasmussen in the quarterfinals, and earned a 3-point near-fall in the second round.
He won by a 5-3 decision.
“That was a big win,” coach Matt Olejnik said. “He wrestled solid.”
Ramirez fell in the semifinals, however, by a controversial double overtime decision to a wrestler from Clovis West, which took first place at the 64-team tourney.
The loss, though, placed Ramirez into the third- and fourth-place consolation, where he battled Rasmussen once again.
Proving it was no fluke, Ramirez upset the top 145-pounder in the state again by a 3-1 decision.
“He gave him a double leg shot and put him on his back,” Olejnik said. “He beat him with two solid wins.”
Olejnik was unsure of where San Benito finished, however, as they left the CIT early after all the Hollister grapplers had finished.
“We either placed eighth, ninth, or 10th,” he said. “I’d be surprised if we finished outside the top 10.”
No official results were reported as of press time.
Clovis West did take first place, however, with Los Gatos finishing second and Bakersfield third. Clovis East came in fourth.
Los Gatos was the only other Central Coast Section team in front of San Benito at the CIT, but Olejnik pointed out that Los Gatos took 14 wrestlers to Morro Bay. San Benito took 11.
“We have yet to have a full team at any tournament this year,” Olejnik said. “With the team that was there, I thought top 10 would be a good performance.”
The ‘Balers had three other placers at the CIT, including Fernando Lucatero at 160 pounds (third place), Junior Davila at 112 pounds (third place) and Zach Rodriguez at 119 pounds (seventh place).
All that is remaining for San Benito is the dual meet against Gilroy.
“We still have a lot of work to do to catch them,” Olejnik said.
The ‘Balers will wrestle at Gilroy on Feb. 6. Wrestling begins at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity to follow.
