Next year’s squad should vie for CCS title
After a promising start to the season it was a difficult end for
the San Benito High School wrestling team, but that doesn’t mean
coach Matt Olejnik isn’t fired up for next year.
”
We’re only losing three guys to graduation,
”
Olejnik said.
”
On paper, you have to consider that next year will be our best
shot in five or six years to win a section title.
”
Next year’s squad should vie for CCS title
After a promising start to the season it was a difficult end for the San Benito High School wrestling team, but that doesn’t mean coach Matt Olejnik isn’t fired up for next year.
“We’re only losing three guys to graduation,” Olejnik said. “On paper, you have to consider that next year will be our best shot in five or six years to win a section title.”
The Balers last won the Central Coast Section title in 2002. Gilroy High School has won it every year since.
At this year’s CCS championships, the Balers entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed behind Los Gatos and Gilroy High, which wound up capturing the coveted title for an unprecedented fifth time in a row.
The Balers, however, wound up finishing a disappointing eighth after top-seeded Fernando Lucatero suffered a broken arm in the second period of the first match that he competed in.
“It was very disappointing for us,” Olejnik said. “We finished 23 points out of third place. If Fernando had made it to the finals we would have gotten 26 points even if he lost the match, and 34 (points) if he won it. That really was the whole tournament right there.”
Instead, the fired-up Balers wound up finishing a disappointing eighth in the section meet and only sent one wrestler, freshman Junior Davila, to the CIF State Wrestling Championships.
At the state meet, Davila finished with a record of 1-2.
“He was a little wide-eyed and in awe of the whole thing,” Olejnik said. “If he was more focused and on his game he could have competed better.”
Davila was the only freshman to qualify in the 114-pound weight class in the entire state. At CCS, he was seeded No. 2 and wound up taking third.
Next year, Gilroy High will return a handful of placers from both the section and state tournament, but the gap is narrowing, which is why Olejnik encourages all of his wrestlers and those interested in wrestling to compete on the local club team: The Razorbacks.
“It’s really a shame that a lot more kids don’t take advantage of the club team and compete year-round,” said Olejnik, who is one of the coaches for the Razorbacks. “Hopefully, more guys will start making a commitment to the club team because that is the kind of stuff that you need to do to become champions.”
John Bagley can be reached at
jb*****@pi**********.com
.
