Last week, Live Oak High wrestling coach Manny Fernandez said
his wrestlers need to calm down and focus on the Tri-County
Athletic League finals, not late-season dual-meet losses to area
powerhouses Hollister-San Benito and Gilroy.
Last week, Live Oak High wrestling coach Manny Fernandez said his wrestlers need to calm down and focus on the Tri-County Athletic League finals, not late-season dual-meet losses to area powerhouses Hollister-San Benito and Gilroy.
Mission accomplished.
Whatever it was that Fernandez did to get his grapplers ready to go, they excelled beyond anyone’s expectations at last weekend’s TCAL finals at Salinas High.
Live Oak placed four wrestlers in the championship matches in their respective weight classes, had five more make their third-place matches, and ended up qualifying a school-record nine wrestlers for the Central Coast Section finals this weekend. The CCS finals will be held on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Independence High in San Jose.
Acorns who made it to the championship matches at TCALs included 160-pounder Daniel Wahl, 171-pounder Jonathan Redmond, 189-pounder Gabe Sedberry and Heavyweight Mike Gamez.
While none of them won their weight class titles, the accomplishment bowled over the enthusiastic Fernandez.
“The whole team did well — they all did stuff they weren’t supposed to do,” Fernandez said. “I always thought we could.”
The closest Live Oak came to claiming an individual league title was in the heavyweight ranks, where Gamez took on Hollister’s Tito Flores in the final. Gamez, who beat Flores during the dual meet season this year, was weakened by illness but still gave his league rival all he could handle before falling by a 3-2 score.
Live Oak wrestlers who made the third-place matches at TCALs included 112-pounder Hondo Dominguez, 119-pounder Jason Hendersen, 145-pounder Richard Houssein, 152-pounder Pat Courtney and 215-pounder Mike Horner. Dominguez, who made CCS last year, and Houssein, a first-year wrestler, both won their third-place matches.
