Last year’s Los Gatos High wrestling team set multiple program records en route to its best finish in the CIF State Championships.
But not even that squad had the depth of this year’s team. The Wildcats are deep and able to put in a quality competitor in each of the weight classes. That was evident when they hosted a five-way Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Meet with Wilcox, Gunn, Homestead and Lynbrook on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, taking on all four of those schools in duels.
“This is the biggest roster I’ve had in six years,” Los Gatos coach Greg Varela said moments after the team posted a 63-0 win over Wilcox to open the meet. “This is crazy, this is nice, it’s a good problem. For the duels here, we’re trying to fit it in and rotate kids in and out for different [matches]. It works out that we’re doing multiple duels because if we were going one [match] a week, someone wouldn’t wrestle.”
Among the contested matches in the Wilcox duel, Los Gatos received wins from Colton Hernandez at 108 pounds, Cruz Arena at 122, Antonio Rodriguez at 128, Trevor Pile at 134, Joseph Pavlov-Ramirez at 140, Teddy Smith at 152, EJ Parco at 159, Lucas Pannell at 167, Stuart Cornelius at 177, and Jake Gerber at 217.
As expected, the Wildcats’ usual stalwarts including Parco and Rodriguez dominated their opponents in rather routine fashion. However, the team had fine performances from just about everyone in the lineup. Hernandez started the duel with a victory and the team rolled from there.
“Colton is an undersized 108-pounder so he’s always going to be up against it a little bit,” Varela said. “Watching him get out there, he never has fear and is super competitive, which is great to see.”
All throughout the lineup, Los Gatos wrestlers used their superior strength and technique to control their opponents. Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 5 in the state at 120 pounds, wasted no time in his match, recording a takedown five seconds in.
Pile also started his match with a quick takedown and rode his opponent for the entire way before recording a fall at 1 minute, 4 seconds. Pavlov-Ramirez utilized his speed and quick-hitting moves to record a first-minute fall, while Smith, Parco, Pannell, Cornelius and Gerber used a variety of moves including—but not limited to—takedown, cradle, Duck under, half-nelson and ankle pick.
“They wrestled great,” Varela said. “They were excited to start these duels. This is the first time we’ve ever done something like this and we want to build this environment, get these guys going and make it an event kids look forward to.”
Standout junior Dylan Pile, who is ranked No. 3 in the state at 165 pounds, was scheduled to compete for the first time in three weeks. Varela said Pile got sick over Christmas break but is confident the Stanford-commit will be his usual self in short time.
“We figured this would be a good way to get Dylan back in shape and ready for probably [Gilroy] Mid-Cals on Friday,” Varela said. “He should be good.”
Speaking of Los Gatos wrestlers headed to Stanford, Parco has signed with the Cardinal and is now No. 2 in the state at 150 pounds, his highest position this season. Parco has lost just twice all season, the most recent coming in the final of the Doc Buchanan, one of the toughest tournaments in the nation.
Parco lost a close 3-1 decision in sudden victory overtime to Palm Desert senior Brock Mantanona, the top-ranked grappler at 150 pounds. Another Los Gatos senior standout, Timmy Murabito, has made a gradual climb up the state 138-pound rankings to the No. 11 spot.
Among other notables, freshman Ojas Shastri has had a solid season competing in the 190-pound division. The Los Gatos girls team was also in action vs. Wilcox, featuring Juliana Murabito, Layla Barber, Catarina Lecha van de Paverd, Kaja Mccullough and Mackenzie Ruiz.
McCullough and Ruiz were the team’s top placers at the Ladies Coast Classic at Santa Cruz High on Jan. 13. Ruiz finished in fourth place at 135 pounds and Mccullough placed fifth at 130.
“All of our girls are tough,” Varela said. “Kaja and Mackenzie are doing really good. [Compared to the top CCS wrestlers] they’re a little inexperienced. But they’re super tough. They’re green, they lack that polish and to win a CCS title—not saying they can’t do it—but they’re going to have to wrestle their best that day in every single match in order to win. They’re going to have to put it all together.”
Varela said what the girls team does going forward is equally if not more important, which is why he and the coaching staff have set goals for them in the off-season, including McCullough and Ruiz.
“We’ve already set expectations and already mapped out their off-season,” he said. “We’ve already mapped out September-October for them. That way when it comes time, I’m taking them to Reno [Tournament of Champions]. I’m taking them to all these tough tournaments. So they know what to expect and where our girls program is going. So they’re game, they’re up for it and they’re always yelling at me to take them to this tournament or that tournament. I go, ‘Steps, we got to [stick with the process to] get there.’”
The Wildcats will be in competition in the Gilroy Mid-Cals Jan. 19-20, the final full weekend of regular-season tournament action this season. After that, they have a duel with Fremont High of Sunnyvale, which could go a long way in deciding the league championship.
Then it’s onto the postseason, including the SCVAL and Central Coast Section Regionals and Championships followed by the CIF State Championships.
