|
First they were battling for the dual match championship in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League tournament. Then they fought it out for the title at the SCVAL wrestling finals.
And this weekend Los Gatos and Fremont will be at it again. But this time, they won't be alone.
The Wildcats and Firebirds are among the team title favorites heading into the Central Coast Section mat finals set for Feb. 2526 at Overfelt High School in East San Jose. But unlike the days of SCVAL competition, it will be more than a two-team race.
"Four teams probably have a shot at it," said Los Gatos coach Scott Downs looking ahead to the race for the team title at CCS. And Gilroy may have the best shot of all, he added.
Still, Fremont and Los Gatos are right there in the running, and the veteran Gatos coach figures that St. Francis could have an outside shot at the crown.
It's individual talent that will drive Fremont toward the top.
"They have four kids, maybe five, who definitely should be in the finals," said Downs of the Firebirds. "And three [Boris Navochkov at 105, Filip Navochkov at 114 and Greg Crane at 154] should win it."
For Los Gatos, Gilroy and St. Francis, it could be more of a numbers game.
At least it will be for the Wildcats. Los Gatos qualified 13 wrestlers for CCS, and Downs figures that they will all have to contribute points if the Cats are to win the title.
"It's going to be because of the wrestle-backs if we do win this," said Downs. "We need all 13 wrestlers to make the second day, we need to get the pins we usually get in the early rounds, and nine or 10 wrestlers have to medal."
Downs feels that Gatos has a few wrestlers who could make the finals—Jake Schonig at 105, Jordan France at 121, Mike Wysuph at 154 and Eric Chen at 173. He adds that Adam Nudelman at 137 and Nick Gaffney at 217 are other key performers.
"[Nudelman] is a wild card," said Downs. "He's a guy who could really surprise people.
"And Gaffney is wrestling with more confidence every day."
Rounding out the list of Los Gatos CCS qualifiers are James Alva at 132, David Bitter at 147, Jeff Wysuph at 162, Dylan Gavin at 125, Kevin Gallagher at 191, Naveed Bagheri at 114 and Collin Sanders at 142.
There will be another story unfolding for the Wildcats at CCS. M. Wysuph enters the tournament with 31 pins this year and needs to register just two more falls to top the single-season record of 32 set by Bobby Pease last winter. Pease broke the mark of 30 by Guy Greene that had stood since 1969.
The top four placers at the CCS tournament will advance to the state meet in Bakersfield on the first weekend of March.
|
