Up against a Cowboys team that was coming off a 41-35 victory
against Alisal
— a team San Benito had lost to by a 36-35 margin earlier this
season — the Balers earned 11 wins in the 14 weight classes, nine
of which came by fall, and routed Salinas 63-15 at Hollister’s
Mattson Gym.
HOLLISTER
Just looking at the final result, Wednesday’s dual meet between San Benito and Salinas went about as smooth as possible for the host Haybalers.
Up against a Cowboys team that was coming off a 41-35 victory against Alisal — a team San Benito had lost to by a 36-35 margin earlier this season — the Balers earned 11 wins in the 14 weight classes, nine of which came by fall, and routed Salinas 63-15 at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
It was a sound takedown. The Balers even scored first in 12 of the 13 matches (San Benito’s Kenny Salcedo won by forfeit at 121 pounds). The one match that San Benito didn’t score first on was at 154 pounds, where Salinas’ Andrew Olivas scored first on a takedown against Greg Landry.
No matter. Landry won the match by fall at 1:24 into the first round anyway.
But although the final outcome against Salinas appeared dominant, San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli feels there is always room for improvement — where more points could have been scored, and where fewer points could have been relinquished.
“I think we wrestled pretty well,” DeCarli said. “But I was more disappointed in the losses than the wins.”
At this point in the season, DeCarli added, with the Tri-County Athletic League Championships roughly two weeks away, the Balers need to be wrestling at a level similar to where they’ll be in the postseason.
“At this point in the year, we’re really looking at trying to sharpen ourselves and really get ready for the postseason,” he said. “We’re looking at the matches that we lost and where we could get better. We’re gonna need everybody in the end.
“Even some of the wins we could have done better, could have performed better.”
The Balers still won its first three matches of the evening to jump out to an 18-0 lead. Along with Salcedo’s forfeit, Tony Gatto defeated Logan Graham by fall (1:50) at 105s and Chris Baldwin beat Victor Sanchez with a pin (1:40) at 114s to supply the Balers with a sizable lead from the get-go.
The Cowboys then got on the scoreboard when Eduardo Tinoco defeated Robb Rodriguez by a 5-2 decision.
Rodriguez actually led 2-0 through the first two rounds, though. But Tinoco, wrestling from the top position to open the third period, grabbed ahold of Rodriguez’s right arm at the start and scored an immediate two-point near-fall, then a three-point near-fall in the final 30 seconds en route to a 5-2 decision.
The Balers rebounded by earning wins in the next five weight classes, however. Raul Suarez at 132s, Dominic Cortes at 137s, Mikey Soto at 142s, Zack Rodriguez at 147s and Landry at 154s each won their respective match by fall, pushing San Benito ahead to a 48-3 lead.
Salinas won its last two matches at 162s and 173s, as Dylan Forzani beat Nick Mendizabal by fall (1:52), and Zach Hughes pinned Joey Garcia (3:59), respectively.
After Miguel Martin del Campo beat his opponent by decision and Jorge Perez did the same by fall, San Benito heavyweight Javier Bustillos officially returned the Baler lineup after he had been sidelined in recent weeks following an appendectomy.
The Hollister heavyweight actually had his appendix removed the morning San Benito squared off against Alisal on Jan. 18.
“At first, I just thought it was a stomach cramp,” said Bustillos, who didn’t return to the wrestling room until Tuesday and immediately noticed the rust after having been away from the mat since mid-January.
Bustillos said he felt much better during warm-ups on Wednesday night, though. Experiencing no pain during his match, Bustillos delivered a win over Salinas’ Moises Avila by fall 1:40 into the first round.
“I didn’t think I was gonna do as well as I did today,” Bustillos said. “But I noticed he was gonna try and throw me and tilt me, so I just fell on him. It was mostly luck.”
Bustillos’ return to the lineup will benefit the Balers as they prepare for the TCAL Championships on Feb. 19. But first, San Benito will host undefeated Gilroy on Tuesday in the final dual meet of the regular season. Match time is 6:30 p.m.
San Benito 63, Salinas 15
105 — SANB, T. Gatto def. L. Graham by fall (1:50); 114 — SANB, C. Baldwin def. V. Sanchez by fall (1:40); 121 — SANB, K. Salcedo by forfeit; 127 — SALN, E. Tinoco def. R. Rodriguez by 5-2 dec.; 132 — SANB, R. Suarez def. A. Torres by fall (2:53); 137 — SANB, D. Cortes def. M. Castro by fall (1:27); 142 — SANB, M. Soto def. I. Gabriel by fall (3:00); 147 — SANB, Z. Rodriguez def. R. Castaneda by fall (3:33); 154 — SANB, G. Landry def. A. Olivas by fall (1:24); 162 — SALN, D. Forzani def. N. Mendizabal by fall (1:52); 173 — SALN, Z. Hughes def. J. Garcia by fall (3:59); 191 — SANB, M. Martin del Campo def. A. Briano by 7-3 dec.; 217 — SANB, J. Perez def. M. Salazar by fall (:36); 287 — SANB, J. Bustillos def. M. Avila by fall (1:40).
