M-A grapplers four-peat at CCS

With a revamped roster from the team that dominated the CCS from 2017-19, the Bears topped the podium with 162 points, getting past second-place Gilroy’s tally of 160.5 points Saturday at Independence High School.

“Every one of our wrestlers had to do something,” M-A head coach Phil Hoang said. “We said this was going to be close — 1.5 is basically the distance of a millimeter.”

Sophomore Alexia Bensoussan personified that millimeter in holding on to capture the individual championship in the 121-pound division. Taking on Evergreen Valley senior Katherine Nguyen, Bensoussan narrowly avoided a pin in the first round, digging deep to find the wherewithal to keep a shoulder off the mat for the closing 15 seconds.

“I think it was just honestly grit pulling me through, not necessarily technique,” Bensoussan said. “Just wanting to win.”

Bensoussan’s match was rife with peril as she suffered a split lip in the second round, prompting an injury timeout. But she closed a deficit to tie it 5-5 by the end of the second round, then outlasted Nguyen in the third round to score a pin with 32 seconds remaining in the match.

“She squeezed some lemons out of that one, for sure,” Hoang said. “That girl has more determination in her left pinky than most people. She just doesn’t want to stop. She goes as far as she can. And it’s a big testament to her.”

It’s this kind of determination that allowed M-A to climb the team podium for the fourth straight year. The only returning medalist from a year ago is current senior Anna Smith, who clinched the title with her second-place finish at 131s.

The Bears opened the championship round with freshman Kiely Tabaldo’s individual title win at 101s. They also scored points with senior Alelha Brussard taking fourth place at 111s, and sophomore Alex Lujan taking fifth at 150s.

“What it means is these kids are tough, and this school has a future,” Hoang said. “I came in this season to help rebuild. It was a rebuild year. We had some amazing female coaches (assistants Maria Smith, Melanie Cordero and Haley Aguilar). … They put their magic touch on this team. … I did not expect this outcome.”

Smith has taken second place for two straight years after topping the CCS podium as a sophomore in 2018. Now a senior, she fell 6-3 to Santa Cruz senior Maya Letona in the title match after taking a 3-1 lead at the end of the second round.

Leading late into the third round, Smith fell prey to a trick roll by Letona for a 2-point takedown, followed by a 3-point near fall in the closing seconds.

“I stopped focusing mentally,” Smith said. “It was all mental. I just kind of stopped. I wasn’t in it anymore. My head wasn’t in it. I was distracted. I got too cocky, sort of, and in the last few seconds I was like: ‘I’ve got this. No need to worry.’ And then I was like: ‘Never mind, I don’t.’ … It’s humbling.”

With the CIF state meet opening Thursday at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, Smith said she is hungry for a rematch.

“I’m going to hopefully wrestler her again at state and hopefully beat her,” Smith said. “And I’ll work over these next few days to fix my mistakes and come back from what has happened.”

Tabaldo flipped the script early in the night in scoring a third-round pin over Fremont-Sunnyvale senior Melissa Lee. Tabaldo trailed 3-0 after the second round but executed a fireman’s carry in the third and worked the takedown for a pin midway through the round.

“I had to stay calm through the whole match because I knew I was down,” Tabaldo said. “And I just kind of waited to for the right moment.”

The younger sister of Royal Tabaldo — a graduate of Evergreen Valley, where he wrestled for the boys’ team — the freshman has a chance to turn heads at the state championships, Hoang said.

“The whole brother-sister saga resonates with these very elite female wrestlers,” Hoang said. “Their brother wrestles, he’s successful … so, I did think she had the potential. I think she has the potential to win the state championship. She’s a really good wrestler.”

At last year’s CCS finals, M-A outscored second-place Half Moon Bay 221.5 to 170. In 2018, M-A topped second-place Alisal 217 to 172. In 2017, M-A topped second-place Terra Nova 196.5 to 160.

Half Moon Bay took third place in this year’s girls’ team standings, finishing with 148 points.

Esmeralda Mendez took second place at 137s, and Socorro Aguilar took second place at 189s. Other placers for the Cougars were: Taylor Micallef (fourth, 121s); Leonor Sarabia (fourth, 126s); Nataly Gijon (fourth, 235s); Yulissa Ramirez (sixth, 143s); Jacqueline Miguel-Dolores (sixth, 150s); and Elisa Mendez (sixth, 160s).

Other country placers were: Aragon’s Rina Smith (fifth, 160s); El Camino’s Micaela Mullan (fifth, 235s); and Terra Nova’s Elis Carvalho (sixth, 116s).

Boys’ championships

Burlingame senior Kyle Botelho was the county’s top placer, taking second at 138s, falling to Gilroy junior Henry Porter via tech fall.

Fernando Diaz-Marquez (fourth, 113s); Half Moon Bay’s Caspian Grabowski (fourth, 285s); Burlingame’s Xavier Bruening (fifth, 285s); San Mateo’s Soane Kolokihakaufisi (sixth, 285s); Charles Matthews (sixth, 132s); and Menlo-Atherton’s Misiteni Eke (sixth, 220s).

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