El Camino had some ambitious goals at the start of the Peninsula Athletic League boys’ wrestling season.
On paper, the Colts’ dream to compete for a PAL Bay Division title seemed a delusion of grandeur. El Camino, new to the PAL Bay this season after capturing the championship in the lower Ocean Division last year, was surely no match for 11-time reigning champion Half Moon Bay.
Jhey Sarique
“They’ve owned the PAL over the last 15 years,” El Camino assistant coach Ray Reyes said.
Michael Schliewe
El Camino’s dream was all but dashed in the Jan. 9 season opener tri-meet at Capuchino. The Colts were saddled with two losses, one to each Cap and Burlingame. But El Camino, under third-year head coach Japheth Aquino, proved its dream wasn’t so farfetched after all in Tuesday night’s dual meet at Half Moon Bay.
The Colts (3-2 PAL Bay) settled for quite a silver lining in defeating Half Moon Bay 49-27. It’s the first loss the Cougars have taken in a PAL Bay dual meet since 2019, and the first time El Camino has defeated HMB since 2013.
Now, Aquino’s young squad — with just two seniors, Jhey Sarique and Michael Schliewe, on roster — is looking wide-eyed to the future in a brave new PAL Bay Division no longer ruled by the HMB dynasty.
“We’re not the only ones,” Aquino said. “Capuchino and Carlmont are knocking on the door too. We just happened to hit them first. Everyone is seeing the blood in the water.”
Technically, El Camino has yet to be mathematically eliminated from winning a Bay Division title. First-place Capuchino (3-0) has three dual meets to go, including a head-to-head with second-place Carlmont (3-1) on Feb. 4, the final day of the regular season. Carlmont also has Half Moon Bay (2-1) remaining on its schedule. So, Aquino and company are rooting for some help to make the seemingly impossible dream of a league title a reality.
“It makes it fun,” Aquino said. “It makes the end of the season exciting for everybody.”
HMB’s downturn is the result of uncharacteristically low numbers. The Cougars fielded just 10 wrestlers Tuesday, forfeiting four matches, including the first two of the night. All told, El Camino earned 24 points via forfeit wins. In the matches that were wrestled, HMB outscored the Colts 27-25.
“The kids that we have are all doing really good,” HMB coach Sam Temko said. “I’m super proud of the way they wrestled [Tuesday] night.”
El Camino clinched the win in the 175-pound match with a bout between two young up-and-comers. EC freshman Bradley Galang entered the night bearing a rough history against HMB freshman Dante Jeromino. The two had met on the club circuit four times, with Jeromino winning all four.
Tuesday night’s meeting broke the streak, with Galang overcoming a deficit in the first period to earn the win via fall.
“So, he finally got one back,” Reyes said.
El Camino jumped out to an early 31-0 lead. After Aiden San Felipe (106s) and Rodney Corpuz (113s) won via forfeit, Niko Seliantis (120s) won via second-period fall over Lenny Mandujano; Sarique (126s) won via major decision over Brian Hernandez Sarabia; Schliewe (132s) won via 10-6 decision over Gabriel Garcia-Procopio; and Keanu Perez (138s) won via third-period fall over Freddy Monroy.
Schliewe, who ordinarily competes at 120s, proved quite the overachiever, wrestling up two weight classes at 132s. The senior trailed 6-4 in the third period before turning the tables with a cradle to score a reversal and a near fall.
“He didn’t get pushed around,” Aquino said. “I felt like he really held his own against the bigger guy.”
HMB responded to the 31-0 deficit with four straight wins. Fabricio Alvarez (144s) earned the win via first-period fall over Skyler Liu; Aaron Landin (150s) earned the win via first-period fall over Anthony Cierra; Lane Miller (157s) earned the win 8-5 via sudden victory over James Newton-Busalacchi; and Fernando Carrillo Napoles (165s) won via third-period fall over Jaz Gonzalez.
After Galang’s victory at 175s to clinch the victory for El Camino, HMB opted to forfeit its final two matches of the night. HMB’s Derek Rose (190s) earned the win via first-period fall over Jared Trinidad. The Cougars would have wrestled the 215s match if necessary.
“We knew we weren’t a strong dual meet team this year,” Temko said. “Our numbers are low and all the strength is really in the middle of our lineup.”
EC’s Yousef Eraiqat (215s) and Davian Martinez Bejarano (285s) won via forfeit.
El Camino’s girls’ team also earned the victory, 12-6, over HMB.
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