After producing 11 CCS qualifiers, and two state qualifiers last year, the boy’s wrestling team looks to build on that success this upcoming season.

With four returners – Daniel Soto, Enrique Zavala, Cesar Martin Del Campo and Samuel Quintero – Coach JJ Garcia was ready to go once the State tournament ended last March. The returners know first-hand how tough a regular season can be, and they spent their time to focus on what’s important to them. “The season can be very long but as long as you’re in shape, you’ll be fine. I’m passionate about wrestling, that’s why I continue to practice and condition,” added Zavala.

When it came to off-season conditioning, Garcia simply said, “We never stopped.” Wrestlers came to drill after State ended in March.  First year Varsity wrestler Tony Aoun stated, “You need to be fit because six minute matches can gas someone out a lot and you’ll be dying if you’re not conditioned. You need to condition everyday for multiple hours. Running and cardio are a huge part of it.”

In addition to the early offseason practices, wrestlers went out of their way and participated in offseason tournaments. Most notably, CCS Champion Enrique Zavala traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, for Individual Nationals and Oklahoma for National Dual Matches. “We woke up and trained, and almost had no time for ourselves. There was nothing to do in those states. But the tournaments were harder. Way harder than CCS, but I’m glad that I wrestled in those major tournaments,” said Zavala.

When November 1st came around, the team had an all-time high: 82 wrestlers. After a few weeks, it trickled down to around 60. The majority of the 60 are freshmen and sophomores. There’s a handful of juniors and a larger senior class than recent years. This year, there’s 22 senior wrestlers. Garcia’s goal has been the same since he first started coaching at Alisal, qualify for State. This year, Garcia is hopeful for his Varsity Wrestlers, “There are four or five guys who have a legitimate chance to qualify for State. I don’t want to say any names, but you’ll see when the season comes along.”

The unofficial preseason rankings from California Wrestling have Alisal at a Top 10 team, but Garcia feels his team is in the Top 5 in CCS. The team had their first challenge on Dec. 10 at the Webber Lawson Memorial Tournament in Sunnyvale, CA. This is an early season battle, and the team felt it was a great opportunity to test out their skills. “I think it’s crucial for us to perform since we have a young team this year. We’ve had about a fourth of senior wrestlers quit. We need to go out to out to sharpen our skills. Half of the team doesn’t know what a real varsity wrestling match looks like, they don’t know it’s a whole different universe,” said senior Martin Del Campo. “We need to get the butterflies out of the way. We need to get the ball rolling and see where we’re at,” adds Garcia.

It was a tough battle for Alisal who tied for 5th along with Los Gatos High with 90.0 points out of 30 high schools. Three wrestlers placed in the top 2 with Enrique Zavala and Samuel Quintero each earning 2nd Place, and Jose Escalante winning his Consolation A group. The highlight for Alisal of the night went to Cesar Martin Del Campo winning the Webber Lawson Tournament in the 170 lbs. weight class in a 13-9 Decision over his Ripon High opponent. He improved to 4-0 for the season. With the first challenge out of the way, the team focused on their next dual match, Christopher High.

The team got off to a rocky start. After the first three matches, the team was down 0-23. But the team had a sudden burst of life, coming back 17-23, with crucial wins from Martin Del Campo and freshman Adan Navarro. It was a close match about halfway through, but unfortunately, Christopher prevailed in the dying moments in the last matches. The team ended 32-44, losing by 12 points, an equivalent of two pinfalls. Despite the tough loss, the team looks to bounce back for the Morning Star Tournament in Los Banos, CA on December 17.