Bulldogs lose close match to Mitty, but destroy Pioneer
Bulldogs lose close match to Mitty, but destroy Pioneer
MORGAN HILL
With three wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight divisions, the Sobrato Bulldogs wrestling team expects to finish the 2007-08 season at the top of the Santa Teresa (B) Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs hosted Archbishop Mitty High School and Pioneer High School in the annual King of the Mat Challenge.
Last year the Bulldogs took first place in the three-team non-league tourney, but this year they finished in close second place to Mitty.
Despite dropping the opening match 41-34 to Mitty, the Bulldogs showed signs of power and brilliance.
Kicking things off in the 275-pound division, senior Elijah Alaniz easily pinned his Mitty opponent within a minute from the start.
Mitty forfeited the 103-pound division giving Kyle Shelton the win, and putting Sobrato up 18-0.
Similarly, in the 112-pound division Joseph Redmond won by forfeit.
Redmond is ranked ninth in the CCS in his division.
In the 119-pound division, junior Jenetta Marisclan put up a fight against her Mitty opponent, avoiding being pinned and outlasting the clock in the first round. Showing technique, Marisclan had a take down in the second round, and also forced her opponent out of bounds, despite losing by points after three rounds.
At 125 pounds, junior Michael McChesney easily pinned his opponent halfway through the first round. After sprawling on a shot, McChesney quickly went to the floor and put his opponent to his back for the win. McChesney is ranked tenth in the 125-pound division of the CCS.
Mitty picked up some slack in the 130-pound division as Sobrato’s Matt Volta was pinned in the third round, and sophomore Drew Johnson was also pinned in the 135-pound division.
In the 140-pound division, Sobrato junior Mason Gillespie kept things close, but as co-head coach Phil Luna said, “He just flat out ran out of gas.”
Caught in a headlock, Mason tried to break free, but he could not, and he dropped the match 10-6.
“He was trying to do a move that we have been working on, and basically he didn’t do the move properly,” Luna said. “That was a nine-point swing that brought (Mitty) back into it.”
Mitty enjoyed their first lead after Mason’s loss, but Sobrato junior Justin Harrison did some damage control in the 145 -pound division, quickly pinning his opponent.
Mason’s brother, senior Victor Gillespie, showed why he is ranked seventh in the CCS in the 171-pound division, outlasting Mitty’s Andrew Triggas.
With the scored tied 30-30 going into the 171-pound division match, Gillespie went three rounds with Trigas, eventually winning 6-2.
With only seconds left in the second round Gillespie checked the clock and, realizing that time was winding down, made a quick move on Triggas for two points.
Mitty won the match 41-34, and also defeated Pioneer.
Every Bulldog wrestler won against Pioneer on the way to Sobrato’s 51-8 victory.
Harrison and Alaniz pinned opponents in both of their matches.
While the Bulldogs did not claim “King of the Mat” this year, coach Luna said 2007-08 will be a successful season.
“Some people don’t know about (Harrison), but he’s one to watch,” Luna said. “And Eli (Alaniz) and Victor (Gillespie) are my studs.”
Luna said Piedmont Hills and Prospect high schools will be the top teams in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL, but he expects Sobrato to be right with them.
“We should be in the top tier of the division,” Luna said.
