Any time a match results in a one-point differential, it’s easy
to reflect back on where more points could have been earned, and
where other points could have been prevented. San Benito’s
difficult 36-35 dual-meet loss to visiting Alisal on Tuesday night,
where the Trojans leapfrogged the Balers in the final bout to swipe
the one-point victory, was definitely one of those matches.
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HOLLISTER
Any time a match results in a one-point differential, it’s easy to reflect back on where more points could have been earned, and where other points could have been prevented.
San Benito’s difficult 36-35 dual-meet loss to visiting Alisal on Tuesday night, where the Trojans leapfrogged the Balers in the final bout to swipe the one-point victory, was definitely one of those matches.
With each team winning seven of the 14 weight classes, the importance of a pin instead of technical fall, or a major decision instead of a decision, tends to be magnified in the end.
“There were some matches where we performed well but we could have done a little more, or there were some matches where the kids went in a little too amped up and couldn’t maintain that pace,” San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli said afterward.
“We knew going in it was gonna be a couple points,” DeCarli later added, “and it ended up being that way.”
Alisal’s resurgence in wrestling has translated into two straight dual-meet victories over the Balers, who a year ago fell by a 39-25 margin to the Salinas school, while Tuesday’s narrow decision evens the two teams in the Tri-County Athletic League standings — each with one loss.
However, the Balers have yet to square off against league power Gilroy, which routed Alisal 56-18 earlier this season.
“They had some good guys through the lineup that we had to compete with,” DeCarli said of the No. 4 Trojans, who are positioned one spot ahead of the No. 5 Balers in the latest Central Coast Section rankings, according to ccsrank.com.
Trailing 30-29 with three matches remaining, the Balers grabbed the lead when Zack Rodriguez outlasted Alisal’s Arturo Morado by a 5-1 decision at 142 pounds, and teammate Mikey Soto defeated Trojan Oscar Mendez by a 4-1 decision at 147 pounds, supplying San Benito with a 35-30 edge entering the final weight class.
But while only a pin in the final match would have provided Alisal with the team victory, the 154-pound bout pitted San Benito’s Greg Landry against Trojan Jovan Villalobos, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the CCS, according to The California Wrestler.
“It’s a lot of pressure on your mind. But you’ve got to go out there and wrestle your match,” Landry said afterward. “But I got bested in the second round.”
Landry did manage to score an early takedown on Villalobos, catching the Trojan’s back legs from behind in the opening round to take a 2-0 lead. But Villalobos lived up to his ranking as the first round progressed, scoring an escape with 38 seconds remaining, then a takedown with five ticks left.
Choosing the top position in the second round, Villalobos finally managed to turn the pesky Landry onto his back in the waning seconds before scoring the pin with just 13 seconds remaining.
“I was actually happy with how I wrestled him. I took him down with a bad shot. I think if I meet him later in the season, I can give him a better match,” Landry said.
“But you’ve got to just go out there and keep your head up, keep your head straight.”
DeCarli met up with Landry after the bout to discuss the junior wrestler’s performance.
“He didn’t lose the match. He just so happened to lose the last match, so his match was magnified,” DeCarli said. “We lost as a team collectively in several different places.”
San Benito picked up wins at 121 pounds when Kenny Salcedo defeated Chris Moreno by a 17-2 technical fall, while Robb Rodriguez followed with a win by fall (1:17) against Ricky Muniz at 127 pounds.
But the Trojans scored victories at 105, 114, 132 and 137 pounds, either by fall or technical fall.
“Everyone went out there and wrestled competitively,” DeCarli said.
“But it’s really not one match. I think some of our kids wrestled really well, and I think some of our kids got bested by them. It’s give-and-take on both sides.”
San Benito dropped its first two matches of the evening. Starting at 160 pounds, Alisal’s Eddy Meza eked out a 13-9 decision over Nick Mendizabal, who trailed 11-7 in the final minute of the third round against the 18th-ranked wrestler in the CCS.
Mendizabal scored a reverse with 25 seconds remaining to cut the deficit in half, though, and nearly got the hook on Meza that would have likely led to a near-fall, but the Alisal grappler instead reversed the move to score a two-point near-fall at the buzzer.
After Alisal’s Aaron Herrera defeated Luis Ruiz by a 12-0 major decision at 173 pounds, the Balers earned their first victory of the night at 215 pounds when Miguel Martin del Campo topped Antonio Berber by fall just 68 seconds into the first round, setting up what was perhaps the match of the night in the heavyweight class between San Benito’s Aaron Silva and Alisal’s Xavier Mabalot.
Silva was a late addition to the lineup after varsity starter Javier Bustillos was sidelined with an injury — he actually has his appendix removed on Tuesday morning.
“When I woke up this morning, I figured I’d be wrestling JV at 215,” Silva said. “At first, I was a little nervous (wrestling at varsity). But as soon as the match began, my nerves went away and I just started wrestling.
“It was mostly adrenaline.”
Indeed. The two heavyweights went back-and-forth in a fast-paced first round that saw Silva score two late near-falls to take a 9-7 lead. Choosing the down position to open the second, Silva then scored a reverse and a fall just 27 seconds into the period, raising his arms into the air afterward in both exhaustion and astonishment.
“After the match I just thought, ‘How did I end up on the floor?'” Silva said. “It was so quick.”
Said DeCari, “That was awesome. That was more than expected.”
The win was San Benito’s third in a row, but the Balers only managed to score points in four of the remaining nine matches, as Alisal vaulted forward in the final bout to score the one-point victory.
The loss puts a dip into San Benito’s schedule, which started with a tournament victory at the Bert Mar Invitational last weekend at Christopher, and will end on Friday and Saturday with Mid-Cals at Gilroy.
“This tournament we’re gonna have everyone down to their weights,” DeCarli said of Mid-Cals, which is often considered a precursor to both the CCS and state championships.
“This will be their first chance of competing at their actual lowest weight, and we’ll see how we do,” he added.
Note:
Seedings for Mid-Cals are expected to be released on Thursday. Matches begin at 9 a.m. on both days, with the championship round scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.
Alisal 36, San Benito 35
162 — ALIS, E. Meza def. N. Mendizabal by 13-9 dec.; 173 — ALIS, A. Herrera def. L. Ruiz by 12-0 maj. dec.; 191 — SANB, M. Martin del Campo def. A. Berber by fall (1:08); 217 — SANB, J. Perez by forfeit; 287 — SANB, A. Silva def. X. Mabalot by fall (2:27); 105 — ALIS, J. Alonzo def. J. Espinosa by fall (1:41); 114 — ALIS, E. Lopez def. T. Gatto by fall (1:36); 121 — SANB, K. Salcedo def. C. Moreno by 17-2 tech. fall; 127 — SANB, R. Rodriguez def. R. Muniz by fall (1:17); 132 — ALIS, J. Rivera def. T. Sherman by fall (2:25); 137 — ALIS, L. Cessa def. D. Cortes by 19-4 tech. fall; 142 — SANB, Z. Rodriguez def. A. Morado by 5-1 dec.; 147 — SANB, M. Soto def. O. Mendez by 4-1 dec.; 154 — ALIS, J. Villalobos def. G. Landry by fall (3:47).
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity wrestling team edged visiting Alisal 40-36 on Tuesday night at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
