Ceres High School's varsity wrestling program captured the fifth-place trophy at the Coast Classic tournament this past weekend in Scotts Valley.
The Bulldogs placed 30th in the team standings last year.
"This is the first time we have ever brought something home from the Coast Classic," head coach Jon Nowicki said. "We were actually in the top 2 or 3 the entire tournament until the last round."
Six of Ceres High' grapplers finished in the top 8 in their respective weight classes.
Curtis Hulstine, Keegan Overbey and Tony Spinella earned runner-up honors at 125, 135 and 152, pounds, respectively.
Hulstine won three of his four matches. He beat Harbor's Sebastian Lopez (pin, 4:29), Trinity's Levi Thomason (major decision, 15-3) and Salinas' Ivan Malina (pin, 3:51). Curtis lost 6-4 to San Benito's Jr. Davila in the finals.
Overbey defeated Galileo's Jimmy Zhen (decision, 12-6), King City's Cameron Tognetti (decision, 12-6) and San Benito's Zack Rodriguez (decision, 14-7). He lost to Los Gatos' Scott Chessin (pin, 1:31).
Spinella topped Granada's Brendan Graber (major decision, 15-5), Half Moon Bay's Joe Lowman (pin, 1:58) and King City's Michael Ciccarelli (pin, 5:35). He lost to Trinity's Kevin Maelfeyt (technical fall, 18-2).
Wesley Schwieger won by pin over Saratoga's Zachary Hansen at the 25-second mark of their third-place match at 103 pounds. He also beat Madera South's Johnni Pimentel twice (8-2, 9-3), and Scotts Valley's Grant Margerum once (pin, 2:20). Schwieger lost to Granada's Kevin Coburn (major decision, 8-0) in the semifinals.
Gabe Balderas (112) and Christian Rodriguez (160) posted identical 3-2 marks.
Balderas bested Palma's Greg Stefani (pin, 4:28), San Lorenzo Valley's Patrick Doran (major decision, 10-2) and Carmel's Jason Moser (pin, 2:06) on his way to earning 10 team points for the Bulldogs. He lost to Alisal's Oscar Soto (pin, 2:30) and Madera South's Daniel Hernandez (pin, 1:50).
Rodriguez (eight points) collected wins against Monterey's Edager Ruiz (16-6), Harbor's Adam Carrothers (4:14) and Granada's John Cook (3-2). He lost to Salinas' Sean McVannel (7-1) and Placer's Steven Cox (2-0).
The Bulldogs placed 30th in the team standings last year.
"This is the first time we have ever brought something home from the Coast Classic," head coach Jon Nowicki said. "We were actually in the top 2 or 3 the entire tournament until the last round."
Six of Ceres High' grapplers finished in the top 8 in their respective weight classes.
Curtis Hulstine, Keegan Overbey and Tony Spinella earned runner-up honors at 125, 135 and 152, pounds, respectively.
Hulstine won three of his four matches. He beat Harbor's Sebastian Lopez (pin, 4:29), Trinity's Levi Thomason (major decision, 15-3) and Salinas' Ivan Malina (pin, 3:51). Curtis lost 6-4 to San Benito's Jr. Davila in the finals.
Overbey defeated Galileo's Jimmy Zhen (decision, 12-6), King City's Cameron Tognetti (decision, 12-6) and San Benito's Zack Rodriguez (decision, 14-7). He lost to Los Gatos' Scott Chessin (pin, 1:31).
Spinella topped Granada's Brendan Graber (major decision, 15-5), Half Moon Bay's Joe Lowman (pin, 1:58) and King City's Michael Ciccarelli (pin, 5:35). He lost to Trinity's Kevin Maelfeyt (technical fall, 18-2).
Wesley Schwieger won by pin over Saratoga's Zachary Hansen at the 25-second mark of their third-place match at 103 pounds. He also beat Madera South's Johnni Pimentel twice (8-2, 9-3), and Scotts Valley's Grant Margerum once (pin, 2:20). Schwieger lost to Granada's Kevin Coburn (major decision, 8-0) in the semifinals.
Gabe Balderas (112) and Christian Rodriguez (160) posted identical 3-2 marks.
Balderas bested Palma's Greg Stefani (pin, 4:28), San Lorenzo Valley's Patrick Doran (major decision, 10-2) and Carmel's Jason Moser (pin, 2:06) on his way to earning 10 team points for the Bulldogs. He lost to Alisal's Oscar Soto (pin, 2:30) and Madera South's Daniel Hernandez (pin, 1:50).
Rodriguez (eight points) collected wins against Monterey's Edager Ruiz (16-6), Harbor's Adam Carrothers (4:14) and Granada's John Cook (3-2). He lost to Salinas' Sean McVannel (7-1) and Placer's Steven Cox (2-0).
