SAN JOSE — Gilroy High is well on its way to its 12th straight Central Coast Section team championship.
The Mustangs hold a dominating 65.5 point lead over Archbishop Mitty after the first day of competition concluded Friday at Independence High School.
Gilroy will kick off Saturday will 10 wrestlers in the semifinals, just a step away from state. The Mustangs 120 lb. wrestler, Victor Daza, was hoping to be No. 11 for his team, but lost by fall at 1:46 to Terra Nova’s Patrick Palomata.
Daza started the day unseeded, but easily handed the No. 3 seed Brenden Young of Westmont. He went on to beat Richie Avalos by tech fall, putting what he’d been taught into action.
“Seedings don’t matter to me. It’s just a number next to your name. I don’t even look at brackets anymore,” Daza said. “I just want to be the aggressor and wrestle smart. I’m just using the technique I learned from coach Greg (Varela), coach (Bill) Fox and coach Villarreal and Dr. (Marco) Sanchez.”
Gilroy’s Gavin Melendez (106), Jesse Vasquez (126), Victor Olmos (132), Lupe Jimenez (138), Nikko Villarreal (145), Paul Fox (152), Matt (170) and Mark (182) Penyacsek, Noe Garcia (195) and Mark Garcia (220) all will look to keep their state hopes alive in the semifinals.
Christopher send three wrestlers to the semis — defending CCS champion Jimmie Lopez (106), freshman sensation Felipe Duenas (113) and the ever-tough Alex Garcia.
Duenas rolled through his first two matches of the day, pinning both Overfelt’s Juan Leal (1:35) and Fremont’s Louis Gueziec (1:13). Jordan Auen of Oak Grove proved to be a tougher match in the quarterfinals, but Duenas stayed focused and won 2-1.
“I’m feeling great right now,” Duenas said. “I still have to be pumped up, ready. You can’t be cocky or else you’re going to be thrown on your back.”
Sobrato’s lone wrestler, 160 lb. Brandon Lefore, picked up back-to-back pins, the first came of which came just 50 seconds into the match, while the second was even quicker at 37 seconds.
It was a South County matchup in the quarterfinals where Lefore took on San Benito’s Simon Coelho, but got the tech fall to advance.
“It was just the same as any other match, just go in a wrestle my own style, do my own thing and take what comes to me,” Lefore said. “As always, the beginning of the tournament is a little easier, but hopefully it’ll pick up later in the day and tomorrow. The semifinals and finals matches should be great.”
Live Oak finds itself with two wrestlers in the quarterfinals. Austin Langford was dominate from start to finish, getting a pin in his first match against Sacred Heart Catherdal’s Albert Ujcic before winning 8-0 over Gunn’s Tavor Baharav.
“I don’t want to underestimate any of my opponents. I’ve got a good guy seeded ahead of me in the next round, so I’m going to work my best to beat him,” Langford said following his match with Gunn.
The Acorn secured his spot in the semifinals with a 6-1 decision over Jared Jacoby of Lynbrook in the quarterfinals. He’ll be joined in the semis by teammate Adam Mito who beat Alec Serrano of Everett Alvarez, 3-2, in a tiebreaker in the quarters.
San Benito, as a team, was in 10th place with 51.5 points Friday. It won’t have any wrestlers competing in the semis, despite solid performances by the Balers all day.
JJ Melo was especially dominate, winning his first match by fall over Joel Avolos of Capuchino before picking up a 7-0 decision over Mitty’s Matthew Oatman. Melo lost by fall to Saratoga’s Graham Grant, but was just enjoying CCS for the experience.
“I love coming to CCS because I get to go up against the top guys in my weight class. I’m not one of the toughest, but it gives me a good comparison against some of the best guys,” he said. “I try my best — it doesn’t matter if I go out there and lose or not. As long as I give it 100 percent I’m happy coming off the mat.”
Competition begins with the semifinals matches at 9 a.m. Saturday at Independence.
