SAN JOSE
–– The San Benito wrestling team finished in fourth place in the
Central Coast Section Finals on Friday and Saturday at Independence
High School.
Leading the way for the Haybalers were seniors Alejo Velasquez,
who won the 160-pound title, and Octavio Lucatero, who placed
second in the 140-pound bracket.
SAN JOSE –– The San Benito wrestling team finished in fourth place in the Central Coast Section Finals on Friday and Saturday at Independence High School.
Leading the way for the Haybalers were seniors Alejo Velasquez, who won the 160-pound title, and Octavio Lucatero, who placed second in the 140-pound bracket.
Both Velasquez and Lucatero advance to the CIF State Finals on March 5-6 at Centennial Gardens in Bakersfield. The Balers took 14 wrestlers to the CCS competition.
Velasquez, the No. 2 seed, defeated Todd Woodward of Del Mar in an 11-6 decision for the CCS title. He followed in the footsteps of his brother Adrian, who won the title in the same division four years ago. Velasquez even wore the same singlet his brother wore.
“I knew I probably had a little more strength than him, and I was a little quicker,” Velasquez said. “I countered when he gave me things – when he put his head next to his knee, I curled him up, and when he locked up, I threw him.”
Velasquez had a couple chances to pin his opponent while racking up points. He was ahead throughout the match, scoring early with a takedown to the legs.
“I went out and tried to finish him a little early – had him on his back a couple times,” Velasquez said. “Once I got myself a lead, I was just trying to make it through the match.”
Throughout the match, Velasquez remained calm and focused on his opponent. He credits his coaches for that.
“The training and conditioning the coach made us do really paid off,” Velasquez said. “They’re the best coaches I’ve had.”
Lucatero, the No. 1 seed, was defeated in a 7-6 decision after a controversial takedown in the final seconds of the match by his sophomore opponent Greg Crane from Fremont after exchanging points in the match.
With the score tied, the referee who was closest signaled a two-point takedown with five seconds to go on a move that appeared to be out of bounds. The other referee immediately called him over to question it. But the call stood.
Crane allowed a release, and Lucatero made a frantic lunge at Crane, but time expired before he could get to him.
Lucatero let the referees know what he thought of the call and received a one-point team deduction.
“They should have let us decide the match,” Lucatero said. “That kind of thing has happened too often to me in my career.”
Anthony Sunseri (135) and Nick Carpenter (152) finished in fifth place for the Balers. Sunseri pinned Scott Rodehorst of Bellarmine at 2:26, and Carpenter won a 2-0 decision over Steven Aros from St. Francis.
