Wildcat wrestling extends historic championship streak
BRAWLEY — Twenty times in and the Brawley Wildcat wrestling program is still charmed.
For a while it looked as though La Costa Canyon might give the Wildcats a real run for their money at the CIF-SDS Division III championships here (they were within 15 points as late as the semifinals), but at the end of the day, nobody was going to keep Brawley from its big 2-0.
Eleven individual placers, eight finalists and five individual champions — Anthony Maldonado at 122 pounds, Joey Navarro at 128, Julien Camargo at 134, Jose Gutierrez at 147 and Alan Carrillo at 172 — gave the Wildcats all the juice they needed to extend their historic championship streak another year. They finished with 267 points to La Costa Canyon’s 202, ultimately leaving them with more breathing room than they had in last year’s 254.5 to 223.5 finish over Mt. Carmel.Brawley Coach Tony Leon admitted afterward that his program’s run of unparalleled excellence has sustained itself far beyond any hopes he had when he started up.
“I wouldn’t [have thought] we’d get 20 in a row,” Leon said, noting that, since championships have become more rule than exception, “there’s been a lot more pressure.
“People expect it now,” he went on. Still he tries not to promise anything other than that his team will “wrestle hard and wrestle tough.”
In many ways, the Wildcats success resembles a perpetual motion machine, the post-championship fireworks from one win seem to spark the blaze that overwhelms opponents in the next.
Maldonado, a fourtime team champ and two-time individual gold medalist, agreed that excellence begets excellence, saying of Brawley’s 20peat: “It’s not surprising, ‘cause we work so hard all year round to get this consistency. We work so much harder than the competition, so we’re able to power through and compete with the best in the section.
“Practices can be really grueling,” Maldonado went on, “And the heat in there is ridiculous, but it makes us a lot tougher and helps us push through those hard matches where we wanna give up so bad, but we make the other guy quit instead.”But while practices might occasionally wear thin, winning never does. “That’s always exciting and fun.”
Maldonado is still coming to grips with the fact that he won’t be around to help the ’Cats make it 21-consecutive chips next year, but he’s capable of basking in No. 20’s glow.
“It’s unreal. I still don’t feel like this is my last CIF. … I haven’t processed it all,” he said, “But it’s a good feeling, and I’m happy to leave with this kind of legacy.”
The Wildcats weren’t the only Valley school at the D-III finals. Central was in attendance as well, and they caught a nice bit of shine before all was said and done, with Omar Rosas finishing atop the 154-pound bracket and Andrew Castillo taking first at 222.
Elsewhere:
The Imperial Tigers joined the Wildcats as repeat champions, edging Holtville 217-183 at Carlsbad High to take their second-consecutive CIF-SDS Division IV finals.
Imperial had 10 individual placers, seven finalists and four individual champs (Naythan Galbiso at 108 pounds, Chris Guizar at 115, Paul Ortiz at 162 and Wolfgang Horner at 287), while Holtville had 10 placers, three finalists and two champs in Payton Iten (134) and Richie Garcia (140).
Also, the first-ever girls’ CIF Masters tournament was held on Friday at Steele Canyon High. The Brawley girls’ team took first in team points, their 161 points dwarfing runner-up Valley Center’s 57.
Savannah Gomez (139 pounds), Miricle Barra (191) and Aislinn Hernandez (237) all had individual first-place finishes for the Wildcats. Karen Salais (108) won gold for Calexico, while Ariah Barragan (123) did so for Imperial.
Additionally, Wildcats Arianna Gonzales, Jaylee Cazares, Haylee Garcia, Jalissa Alvarez, Jadyn Jardon and Yisel Arias, along with Imperial’s Jocelyn Avelar all qualified for state-level competition with top-four finishes.