Many coaches shy away from looking into the future, invoking the coach’s amendment - “We are taking them one game at a time.”
Casa Grande High School wrestling coach Louis Chavez is more forthright, unabashedly acknowledging that his Gauchos are eagerly awaiting Jan. 30 and a dual-meet showdown at Petaluma High. This time the meet will not only be a league-counting match, but also could go a long way in determining the Vine Valley Athletic League championship.
Both teams are expected to again be talent loaded through all the weight classes.
“We are excited to wrestle Petaluma,” Chavez says. “It could be us and them in the finals, and it could come down to who has a good day.”
Seniors on the two rivals have been going at one another since they were eighth-graders in junior high school and Petaluma Junior High defeated Kenilworth by a single point.
Last year in Healdsburg’s dual-meet tournament, the high school teams tied and went deep into a list of criteria before Petaluma was declared the winner.
While Casa is already looking toward Petaluma, Chavez points out that his Gauchos and the Trojans at the top of the league going into the league championship tournament is no sure thing.
“Each team has four or five quality wrestlers,” he says of Casa’s Vine Valley Athletic League foes. “We can’t close our eyes to any team.”
Where Casa has an advantage is not only in quality, but in numbers. The Gauchos have 47 boys and nine girls on the team, an almost unheard number of athletes in one of the most demanding of all high school sports.
The heart of the Casa Grande team is a group of senior veterans led by team captains Aaron Krupinsky, Victor Medina, Justin Naugle and Caleb Wood.
Jack McGuire is also looking to go deep into post-league competition.
Not only will Casa Grande fill every weight class, but in most varsity classes the weights will be filled by an experienced wrestler - that is if the veterans can hold off some talented newcomers.
“We will be five deep with quality wrestlers in some weight classes,” Chavez says.
That will lead to some intense competition within the team. “They will be friends on the sideline, but when they get in the circle it will be combat,” Chavez says.
While Casa Grande has a bevy of good wrestlers, the coach warns each one has to work hard to succeed.
“Nobody in this section is going to walk right through to state,” he says. “Anybody can have a great day and move on.
“What sets state wrestlers apart is their dedication and the extra work they put in during the off season.”
That doesn’t mean the athletes can’t have fun along the way.
“I want the wrestlers to have a fun, and yet a learning environment,” he explains.
Much of the satisfaction comes from bonding as a team. When the whistle blows, it is one-on-one, yet each wrestler is also competing for the team.
“This team is a tight-knit group,” the coach says. “The older kids help the younger kids. They all help one another.”
There are nine girls on the Casa Grande team, led by junior Lilian McCoy, already a two-time state competitor, who finished fifth at the big event last season. She is a team captain this year.
Wrestling for the Gauchos starts Dec. 8 in Novato’s Green and Gold Classic.
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