The Los Gatos High wrestling team is well on its way to a third consecutive undefeated Santa Clara Valley League De Anza Division regular-season championship.
After the Wildcats’ final dual meet against Lynbrook High on Feb. 8, they’ll turn their focus to the league tournament and Central Coast Section Championships. Under fourth-year coach Greg Varela, Los Gatos will be in the mix along with Fremont, St. Francis and Palma for second place in the CCS team standings.
Barring heavy losses to its roster, Gilroy High is heavily favored to win a 19th straight CCS title.
“We’re coming to the end and this is it,” Varela said. “Guys are getting real focused and turning up the intensity in the wrestling room, and we’re thinking it’s going to show in league, CCS and hopefully state. That’s our expectation and the kids are rising to it. We’re not a clear-cut No. 2 or 3 team in CCS. A lot of things will have to go right, but we’re pumped up about it to see how we do.”
Los Gatos has a great wrestling tradition and Varela has done an excellent job of solidifying that, but he’s also looking to take the program to new heights. The Wildcats got past their toughest ranked league challenger in Fremont High of Sunnyvale on Jan. 29, dispatching the Firebirds, 60-24.
Peter Bowen, Timmy Murabito, E.J. Parco, Anthony Pavlov-Ramirez, Nathan DeLeon, Daniil Gorshkov, Sergiy Nyzhnyk, Sascha Nyzhnyk and Om Shastri all recorded wins via pinfall to power the Wildcats to victory.
Varela noted Fremont was banged up and had some starters missing in action. Still, the match went on and Los Gatos dominated. While Varela was proud of his team’s performance, he was equally pumped to have everyone together for the first time all season.
“All season long because of Covid and restrictions, we haven’t had everyone together at the same time,” Varela said. “So it was exciting to get the whole team together for the first time when we really needed it against Fremont. The camaraderie makes a difference, the friendships they have—they all hang outside the wrestling room—that’s what makes a good team a great team. It’s a buy in, they’re all buying in together, they hold each other accountable and they’re coming together as a family.”
Like Gorshkov, Nyzhnyk grew up with a judo background before taking up wrestling in high school. The senior is ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 2 in the CCS at 182 pounds, having taken a huge jump in the rankings since the start of the season.
Nyzhnyk’s best result was a runner-up finish at Temecula Valley, where he lost to Clovis’ Tyler Hodges 7-4 in the title match. Hodges is ranked No. 7 in the state and recently won the 182-pound title at the Gilroy High Mid-Cals.
“Sergiy loved judo, but as he gets more success, he gets more excited about wrestling,” Varela said. “Temecula was a big confidence booster for him, just huge for his confidence.”
Varela said it’s been a joy to see all of his wrestlers compete well, especially sophomore E.J. Parco, who is now the top-ranked wrestler in the CCS at 138 pounds and No. 8 in the state after his second-place finish in the Temecula Valley tournament in which he beat St. Francis senior Ryan Luna, who was the previous No. 1 in CCS in their weight class.
Parco has had a tremendous season. He took second to Selma’s Kimo Leia—who is ranked No. 3 in the state—at the Chukchansi Tournament and followed that up by going 5-2 in the Reno Tournament of Champions, one of the top prep tournaments in the nation.
“E.J. is having a monster season, but I’m more proud of the young man he is, how he carries himself and how he handles adversity,” Varela said. “There’s no way to prepare for what he’s going through.”
Varela said Parco’s dad died suddenly around Christmas, and everyone would’ve understood if Parco decided to take an extended time away from the season. However, Parco kept on working and he’s received tremendous support along the way.
“His teammates have rallied around him, his mom and his family have rallied around him and a lot of his teammates’ parents have rallied around him,” Varela said. “All of his support group has been great, but he’s the one who’s shown tremendous spirit and heart coming back and doing things the right way. He’s a quiet kid and handled it in such a mature way that I respect him that much more as a person for doing this.
“Having one of your parents pass away, that’s not easy for an adult to take. For him as a young kid, he’s handled it so well. I would be less able to at his age. I still remember my mom, I still remember my dad. It’ll continue to be a struggle for him and we’ll make sure we’re there for him. I’m proud of his teammates and for me it’s been great to watch them rally around E.J. and be there for him.”
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at el**@we*****.com and (831) 886-0471, ext. 3958.
