Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Gutierrez pins mat title at the Root Classic
By Dick Sparrer
Senior Jose Gutierrez has spent his share of time in the wrestling room at Willow Glen High School, working hard to perfect his mat moves.
Last weekend, all of that hard work paid off.
Gutierrez, a Willow Glen co-captain along with senior Bobby Lopez and junior Luis Vargas, plowed his way through the rugged field to win the 215-pound championship at the Jim Root Classic at West Valley College.
The big, strong Willow Glen senior made short work of his first opponent, winning by fall in just 48 seconds. After winning by injury default in the semifinals, he was even more impressive in the finals, pinning in just 34 seconds to win the division title.
Lopez came through with a fifth-place finish at 145 pounds for the Rams, and senior Pavel Rice, a first-year wrestler at Willow Glen, added a fifth at 112.
The solid showing at the Root Tourney is just a continuation of the success the Rams are enjoying this winter. Willow Glen is 3-0 in dual match competition in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Rams topped Del Mar 38-36, then beat Live Oak 48-24 and handled Leland 48-27 in the first ever tri-meet hosted at Willow Glen.
Gutierrez and Lopez are each returning Central Coast Section qualifiers and three-year team captains who are back to lead the Willow Glen effort this winter.
Vargas, sophomore transfer Dominic Raffin (a CCS qualifier last year) and soph Hugo Hernandez are other veterans on the squad, and head coach Daniel Lopez also looks to first-year wrestlers Rice, juniors Jonathan Meza and Octavio Herrera and freshmen Matt Potter, Leo Hernandez, James Everheart and Kelib Kim as top prospects this season.
The Rams were to host another tri-meet on Jan. 23 against Gunderson and Yerba Buena and will travel to Pioneer on Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m., for a tri-meet with the Mustangs and San Jose Academy.
WG girls in split
The Willow Glen girls basketball team split a pair of games last week, beating Pioneer 37-22 before falling 51-37 to Sobrato. The split left the Rams 2-2 in the Santa Teresa Division and 5-9 overall.
"The Rams controlled the game most of the way" in the win over Pioneer, said Willow Glen coach Amy Gannon.
Senior Brittany O'Brien led the offensive assault with 12 points, including three three-point buckets. Daisy Quintero and Meghan Wilson supported with six points apiece, Anna Russo had four, Hayley Tharp and Huong Bui each popped threes and Odette Overton tossed in three free throws.
"[Quintero] was a huge defensive presence inside," said Gannon. The senior ripped down 12 rebounds and added six steals.
"[O'Brien] helped control the tempo at the point," added the coach.
A couple of nights later, the Rams lost by 14 to Sobrato in Morgan Hill.
"After getting off to a good first-quarter start, we lost our momentum," said Gannon.
Tharp led the way with 13 points, including three three-point buckets, and O'Brien also popped three threes on her way to a 10-point night. Quintero led the Rams with 12 boards.
Wilson had a three among her eight points, Overton had three free throws, Russo added a bucket and Quinero had a point.
The Rams, who were to host Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 22, will head to Lincoln on Jan. 24 for a 7 p.m. game before hosting Oak Grove on Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
Boys split, too
The Willow Glen boys, like the girls, split a pair of Santa Teresa Division decisions, falling 55-37 to Del Mar after beating Overfelt 50-44. The Rams are even at 2-2 in division play and are 5-11 overall.
Jimmy Renneke had the hot hand for the Rams in the win over the Royals, pouring in 22 points. The 6-foot-5 sophomore had a pair of threes among his nine field goals and he added two points at the line.
Senior Ricky Huynh supported with nine points and junior Kay Groft had eight, each of them popping a three. Andy Bruening hit five points, and Tyler Heinkel and Matt Ward added three apiece.
Huynh led the Rams with 11 points--seven at the free-throw line--in the loss to Del Mar. Renneke supported with nine, Groft hit seven and Heinkel and Jake Goetz five each. Groft and Renneke each dropped threes.
Willow Glen, after a Tuesday trip to Morgan Hill to face Live Oak, will entertain first-place Evergreen Valley (4-0) on Jan. 24, 7 p.m., before heading to Prospect on Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
