Mikey Soto posted a convincing 12-2 major decision over Salinas’
Daniel Proa at 142 pounds, and helped lead the Balers past the
Cowboys 40-32 in Tri-County Athletic League action.
SALINAS
With San Benito leading Salinas by four points heading into the final match on Tuesday night, all Baler Mikey Soto needed to do was not lose by a major decision, or a technical fall, or a pin.
Any other result would equal a San Benito victory. Even a loss, as long as it came by decision, would benefit the Balers.
And despite having just returned to the lineup since suffering a shoulder injury in late December — last weekend’s Mid-Cal Classic was his first action back — Soto nevertheless posted a convincing 12-2 major decision over Salinas’ Daniel Proa at 142 pounds, and helped lead the Balers past the Cowboys 40-32 in Tri-County Athletic League action.
The dual-meet victory comes just three days after the Balers finished 14th out of 67 teams at Mid-Cals, although head coach Brian DeCarli said there was little to no fatigue with his team despite the quick turnaround.
“I don’t think there was any hangover from Mid-Cals,” DeCarli said. “They were competitive.
“At this point in the season, everyone is gonna be a little tired. But I think we were fairly competitive.”
Miguel Martin del Campo followed up his fifth-place finish at Mid-Cals on Saturday with a quick win on Tuesday at 191 pounds. Martin del Campo defeated his Salinas opponent by fall at 1:59.
Eric Henry, who went 3-2 at Mid-Cals, beat his Salinas opponent at 147 pounds by fall in just 25 seconds, while Edgar Ortega, who advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals at Mid-Cals, topped his Salinas opponent by fall as well.
Freshman Jose Javier Garcia wrestled for the varsity on Tuesday and won by fall in 1:10, and Marcos Silva made his varsity debut at 217 pounds and defeated Salinas’ Francisco Cortez by an 11-2 major decision.
The Balers are off until next Wednesday when they will visit Gilroy for their final dual meet of the regular season. Match time is 6:30 p.m.
