Former Gilroy coaches want to create ‘dynasty’ at LOHS; lack of
experience no concern for SHS
The culmination of a first league championship in 29 years could merely have been the start of a wrestling revolution underway at Live Oak High School.
That the Acorns captured the West Valley Division crown with an undefeated 2009-10 dual season is small potatoes compared to what the program aims to achieve under Armando Gonzalez and Mike Koester, who last spring joined seventh-year coach Robert Fernandez’s staff after a combined 30 seasons at Gilroy High School.
During that span, GHS won eight Central Coast Section team titles and placed as high as second in the state.
“It’s awesome having all these guys on board,” Fernandez said. “Mike is an old Live Oak guy. And so I’ve been trying to get him over here for years, and it finally worked out. Now that I have him and Armando here, we’re trying to build the next dynasty – but with baby steps.”
Decades from now, a wall in the LOHS wrestling might be dedicated to the Locsin family.
It was Dan Locsin, a strength and fitness guru and inventor of the Yoke training system, who helped persuade Gonzalez and Koester to coach his son, renowned freshman Isaiah Locsin, and the Acorns after Gonzalez turned the GHS program over to his nephew, Greg Varela, this offseason.
“Both of us should be retired right now,” Koester, a 1975 LOHS graduate said of him and Gonzalez. “We’re excited to be starting something new here at Live Oak.
“Before I was at Gilroy, I coached at Hollister … we won three CCS championships. I ended up at Gilroy, where we won eight. I’m trying to do that for the program here.”
Back to the baby steps Fernandez mentioned. To build for the future of its program, the LOHS staff has followed the same blueprint used in Gilroy.
It begins with youth “feeder” programs. The coaches organized one at Britton Middle School and through Train For Life gym in Morgan Hill, where Dan Locsin works.
“You have to have youth programs,” Koester said. “That’s how we built the program at Gilroy.”
Then there’s the Yoke system, a unique regimen done through a Y-shaped suspension bar that uses athletes’ body weight to build core strength.
“It’s definitely more intense than how we trained when I was here,” said Fernandez’s son, Steven, who joined the Acorns’ coaching staff after qualifying for the CIF State Championships as a 152-pound senior last winter. “These kids are putting in some good work.”
Isaiah Locsin is groomed to fill Steven’s shoes as the face of the program. His resume already is staggering — 11 championships in major club tournaments, 13 top-three efforts and back-to-back titles in the Cliff Keen Reno Worlds.
“You name it; he’s won it,” Fernandez said. “I’ve never seen a wrestler like him at the freshman level. Beyond wrestling, his character and personality is just unbelievable.”
Ranked second in the section at 103 pounds, Locsin was 7-0 with five pins and two technical falls at 112 entering last week. He won the Dec. 4 the Ronald E. McNair Eagles Invitational in Stockton and the Dec. 11 Coach Lawson Memorial in Fremont without being scored on.
Locsin’s tournament schedule will pit him against the top competition in the state this winter.
“His work ethic is incredible. He learns everything so fast,” said LOHS senior Clayton Howard, who is gunning for his first trip to sectionals at 125 pounds. “He can take me sometimes. I’m working on that.”
Koester’s ultimate goal this season is for the Acorns to place in the top 10 at section finals and win the Santa Teresa Division; they will go for their first win over Sobrato at home Feb. 2.
Live Oak is ranked 25th in the section.
“They’re realistic goals,” Koester said. “We have some kids that, by the end of the year, could get there.”
That includes the Acorns’ one-two punch of junior Tyler Pederson (145) and sophomore Tyler Geer (152). Both made the podium at the Lawson Memorial – with Pederson taking first, and Geer third – and placed fifth and sixth in the McNair Invite, respectively. Pederson is ranked 13th in CCS, and Geer is No. 14 at 171 pounds.
Second-year wrestler Danny Robinson (160) is a co-captain with Howard. They are the only senior veterans on the team.
“We don’t have as many older guys, but we’ve got a ton of younger kids with a lot of skill,” Fernandez said. “Every year, it’s going to get better and better.”
Gustavo Ramirez ended his junior season two wins away from qualifying for state.
As one of eight underclassmen who wrestled in last year’s CCS Championships at 285 pounds, Ramirez has a great opportunity to complete the journey this winter while earning plenty of hardware along the way.
“Looking back, I had a good year,” the Sobrato High School heavyweight said Wednesday. “But I always want to go farther.”
Ramirez isn’t taking anything for granted. On top of practicing for football season last summer, he worked with SHS wrestling coach Moses Guillardo on improving his quickness; at 6-foot-1, 260 pounds, Ramirez admittedly won’t beat anyone with his size.
He hasn’t missed a practice since football season ended.
“We’re getting him back into wrestling shape, but he hasn’t lost much,” Guillardo said. “His speed his getting a lot better. He’s a hard worker.”
A sixth-place finish in the Dec. 11 Golden Gate Invitational, his first tournament of the season, did little to Ramirez’s standing. Last week, he was ranked fifth in the CCS and remained a clear favorite to take top honors in the Feb. 18-19 Blossom Valley Athletic League Finals.
Ramirez is on pace to break into the state rankings, not that it matters to him.
“I’m not going to let anything affect how I prepare this year,” he said. “Every day, same intensity, same focus. After every tournament, see what I did wrong and get back at it.”
Ramirez and junior Bryan Gomes (119) are the Bulldogs’ only wrestlers with CCS finals experience, but that could change quickly.
Senior Nik Crawley (145), whom Guillardo called his “most technical wrestler,” is back at full strength after missing more of last year with a back injury. He and his training partner, Evan junior Enright (152), earned the team’s captaincy for their dedication and experience. Both are in midseason form.
“Evan has the most heart, and Nick has the most willingness to keep everyone in here and getting better,” Guillardo said.
Zach Zhang could be in for a big sophomore campaign at 152 or 160. He won a section title in middle school two years ago and, as a freshman, impressed his older teammates with his strength and athleticism.
“He made good progress last year. He’s a tough kid,” Guillardo said. “He has the experience. We’re just trying to get him more focused.”
Though the team is relatively green, Guillardo has much to look forward to beyond his second year at the helm. Among his younger wrestlers, sophomore Charlie Hyunh (189) placed fourth in the Golden Gate Invite at 215, and rookies A.J. King (freshman, 135) and Alex Hernandez (junior, 140) are catching on fast.
“I know they don’t have the most experience,” Guillardo began, “but having the drive to be here every day and practice, I like that better.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Jonathan Robles won the 85-pound title at the Santa Clara County Championships to become the second Martin Murphy wrestler to capture titles in back-to-back years. The eighth-grader also placed first in his league and section.
First-year wrestler Max Banuelos of Britton had a big postseason, winning the sectional tournament and placing fourth in the county in the heavyweight division.
