By PETE BANDA
Special to the NEWS
Over the past few years, San Benito has established themselves as one of the premier athletic departments in the entire Valley. With seemingly every team either a powerhouse or a perennial playoff contender, the Greyhounds are well respected regardless of the sport. While the football team garners the majority of headlines, the wrestling team has generated some considerable buzz of its own amongst Valley competitors.
Under the leadership of Balde Olivarez III, the San Benito wrestling squad has hit the ground running this year with a handful of impressive tournament victories during the first month of the season. While Olivarez missed out on sending a wrestler to the State tournament by the slightest of margins last year, the former Greyhound wrestler and longtime coach believes this season could provide the break through he’s been waiting for.
We have great potential with this young and hungry group, and we’ve already gotten off to a solid start this season,” Olivarez said. “If our entire team can buy in to the program and trust each other, everything else will fall into place for us.”
The ’Hounds have raced out to an impressive 4-1 duals record, buoyed by a top three finish at the 10-team District 16-6A Duals Championship tournament last Monday. With a lengthy Christmas break on the schedule, Olivarez is focused on keeping his athletes locked in for a potential state tournament run starting in early January.
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1 comment
High School athletes displaying gang symbols for a school picture says a lot about some of the athletes…young punks. And the school district apparently condones this thug behavior.