After a disappointing effort in CCS last year, the boy’s wrestling team hoped to turn things around. With a few returners and a few new faces on varsity, the team knew that things were surely going to be different.

Most of the varsity wrestlers spent their free time in the offseason at open mat. Around April, the team opened up the mat for returning and incoming wrestlers to develop their technique. The team also participated in Freestyle/Greco wrestling tournaments in the summer. They wrestled, conditioned, and drilled from April to the beginning of October. The wrestlers that participated included Daniel Soto, Enrique Zavala, Bryan Vargas, Diego Ramirez, Alberto Maravillo, Juan Ruelas, and many others. For the seniors, this was their last season in their high school career. They prepared for this last season and had one goal in mind: to be a CCS Champion. “I believe that open mat helps us become stronger as a team, and as well individually. It helps us move and improve over the break for the season,” said Soto.

The team was led by Coach JJ Garcia, who has been coaching for 10 years.  He continues to relish each new season, “I enjoy watching the journey of each individual. I witness along side them their ups and their downs. Now magnify that to 50 or 60 kids, with some stories coming to an end and some just beginning.” Going into the season, Garcia was optimistic about the team. “As a coach, I really wanted all of the seniors to wrestle at State.”

The team was unfortunately plagued with injuries. “We had a solid team – a team with potential who could compete at a high level, but the injuries, man,” lamented Garcia. The team lost many varsity players. “If we had one theme this season, injuries would be it. We lost Edgar Rubio, Cesar Martin del Campo, Jose Cuevas, Bryan Vargas and Jonathan Ordiano to injuries this season. It seems we keep running into roadblocks. We haven’t fully caught our stride.” Despite the injuries, the team did well, going 4-2 in league duals. All the injured wrestlers except Edgar Rubio, who had a dislocated shoulder, came back in time for MBL Finals and CCS.

Coming into MBL Finals, the team was ready. The team fought to the very end but unfortunately, fell short to Gilroy and San Benito, earning 3rd place. On the bright side, 9 of 13 placed in top three. While nobody finished 1st place, four placed 3rd – Soto, Vargas, Martin del Campo, and Cuevas, and five placed 2nd – Zavala, Ramirez, Ruelas, Maravillo, and Samuel Quintero. After the championship rounds were over, challenge matches for CCS began, where Ivan Ramirez won and became the 10th CCS qualifier for Alisal. After MBL Finals, Ordiano was named an alternate for CCS. When the wrestler who took the last spot for Ordiano’s weight couldn’t wrestle, he became the last CCS qualifier for Alisal. The season was far from over, with CCS looming ahead.

CCS was two long days of hard bouts and heartbreaks. Before the matches, Coach Garcia gave them an inspirational speech, “A lot of emotions will come today, it’s gonna be a tough day.” Of the 11, only two moved on to semifinals – senior Juan Ruelas lost his opportunity at first place in his division after losing his semifinal in a bout that was decided by one point. Despite the loss, Ruelas set his sights on the next best thing, qualifying for State. After winning two decisive matches in a row, he was able to clinch his spot in State.

The biggest highlight coming out of CCS for Alisal was junior Enrique “Kike” Zavala, who was able to make it all the way to finals. He fell behind early against his Gilroy opponent, losing 4-9 entering the second round. Midway through the second round, Zavala was sprawling with his opponent, trying to execute a reversal. In a split second, he was able to get the reversal, and Coach Garcia began jumping out of his seat. Though the referee hadn’t called it, the outcome was all but decided. After a hit of the mat, the referee ruled victory by way of pin, and the entire Alisal bench rushed the first place winner. “Winning CCS was just amazing. I couldn’t believe it,” comments Zavala.

The season was still alive for Zavala and Ruelas, with State waiting for them.  Zavala finished 2-2 and Ruelas unfortunately finished 0-2. Zavala lost his first match, putting him into the consolation bracket. There he won his first match by decision. He later won his second match in overtime, putting him through the next round. Unfortunately, his run was routed by the 2nd seed wrestler. “I didn’t expect it to be that tough, but it was. I was not satisfied with the outcome. I know I can do better next year and hopefully win it of course,” expresses Zavala. This isn’t the last of him, he just had a taste of what can be accomplished for the year to come. As for Ruelas, he made his community proud by qualifying for State. “It was my high school goal to qualify for State. It was a special moment for me,” ends Ruelas.  

The team improved from the previous season. They placed 3rd in MBL Finals as opposed from 4th. In CCS, they finished 3rd whereas a year ago, they placed 19th. The team produced two state qualifiers. Last year, they sent zero. This was a huge stepping stone for Alisal and despite these injuries, the team held their head up high and performed well. They wrestled until the final whistle, leaving everything on the mat. They came back from injuries, proving that team was down, not out.