Four local wrestlers still alive after first day of CCS finals
tournament
SAN JOSE — Live Oak’s Steven Fernandez and Sobrato’s Ryan Brewer have shared the same goal of qualifying for state as seniors.
Only one will have that chance Saturday after the two Morgan Hill wrestlers meet in a consolation quarterfinal at the Central Coast Section Championships.
Both 152-pounders were 4-1 after Friday’s competition at Independence High.
Fernandez, who picked up the No. 6 seed because another wrestler didn’t make weight, pinned his first two opponents in the opening period before falling to No. 3 Gurmukh Singh of Cupertino, 16-6, in the championship quarterfinals.
Fernandez staved off elimination with a third-period pin against Westmont’s Victor Nguyen.
Brewer is still alive after a trial by fire. He lost 11-10 to Singh in a first-round match that featured a scoring blunder at Brewer’s expense, then had to wrestle fourth-seeded Sean McVannel of Salinas with no room for error. Brewer was less than half a minute from being dismissed. Trailing 4-0 in the third period, he tilted McVannel to the mat and squeezed for a pin with 26 seconds left.
Brewer has dished out misfortune since. He beat North Monterey County’s Chris Miguel by technical fall, then edged Diego Gaxiola of Archbishop Mitty 7-6.
When competition resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday, Brewer and Fernandez will be two wins away from clinching a top-four finish and an invite to next month’s state finals in Bakersfield. The same goes for two other Sobrato wrestlers: heavyweight Gustavo Ramirez and 130-pound senior Drew Johnson, who are 4-1 in the double-elimination tournament.
After pinning Watsonville’s Saul Carillo, Ramirez lost to Charlie Hohenschuh of Burlingame but pinned his next three opponents. Ramirez will open Saturday against Palma’s Brandon Pulealii, a No. 6 seed.
Johnson earned a first-round forfeit before falling to Andy Kreidle of Los Gatos, 7-5. Johnson won his final three matches by convincing margins. He is set to face sixth-seeded Jack Sakai of Palo Alto.
Gilroy, which is gunning for an eighth straight CCS championship, leads the team scores with 132 points, followed by St. Francis (116 points) and Bellarmine (89). The Bulldogs are 23rd (37) out of 80 teams.
Saturday, Sobrato junior Keri Hanamoto (118 pounds) will begin wrestling in the CCS Girls Invitational Tournament, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at Independence.
