2007-2008 Season Summary

The C.H.S. wrestling team had  another great year.  It started off with over 60 guys signing up to compete.  56 took the hydration and body fat test, and the room  averaged just under 50 in practice each day.    
     "We had a good balance in the room," says coach Vince Bicocca.  "There's a good crop of underclassmen.  We've got some very good young athletes."
     To start the season off, the varsity competed at the Sheldon Dual Meet Tournament on December 1, where they finished 3rd.   In preseason dual meet competition, they beat Sonora 43-31 and Tokay 42-36.   
     At the same time, the J.V team was on a rampage.  They  gained valuable experience at the Amador Novice Tourney and the Beyer J.V. Tournament.  They chalked up huge numbers with a 54-27 win over Sonora and a 57-18 trouncing of Tokay.  
     At the Western Invitational at M.J.C.  on December 21-22, the Redskins finished in 11th place, with Brian Rutledge finishing 1st, Joey Gellerman finishing 2nd, and Tyler Brown finishing 7th.
    The Christmas break was full of competition with three tournaments and two league matches.   The Reds finished 25th out of 97 teams at the Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno on December 27-28.  Brian Rutledge finished 5th and Joey Gellerman finished 8th.  Mother Lode League competition also began during the holidays.  Calaveras won its opener against Linden 67-9, and followed up with a 49-18 win over Summerville.  At the annual Gordon Hay Invitational, the Redskins were in a tight race with Tokay and Ukiah until the semi-final round when the Redskins poured on the heat and put all 13 of its wrestlers in for a medal.  The 'Skins finished 1st in their own tournament with six 1st place finishes, one 2nd placer, three 3rd placers and three 4th placers.  Next came the Rosemont Tournament.  With only 10 wrestlers, the Reds finished 2nd behind a tough Carson (NV) team.  Once again, Calaveras medaled all of its wrestlers.
     Once back in school, the Reds continued their roll by defeating Amador in their third league match of the season.  The J.V.'s won 57-8 and the varsity beat the Buffalos 57-9.  The always tough Asics/Foothill Tim Brown Memorial Tournament proved to be a marathon affair for the 'Skins.  Nine wrestlers made the journey.  Seven were still wrestling on day two.  The first day was a true test of stamina as the tournament ran long.  Heavyweight Gary Gellerman was the last match of the night.  He signed his winning bout sheet at 11:35 p.m. as the lights of the auditorium were turned off.  Senior Brian Rutledge emerged as the lone medalist, finishing 2nd in a weight class full of  Sac-Joaquin section ranked wrestlers.  
     On Tuesday, January 22nd,  the team headed across the river to take on the Argonaut Mustangs.  The J.V. team won 63-15, and the varsity 48-21.
     Next in line was the Sierra Ridge School in Fricot City.  The Reds were greeted by an enthusiastic audience and won both the J.V. and the Varsity in dominant fashion.  The J.V.'s posted a 66-15 victory and the varsity 68-6.
     The last regular season dual meet was with Bret Harte, and once again the outcome would determine the dual meet league championship.  It was a wild affair, as usual, with an energetic, rowdy crowd.  Not many high schools experience the packed house intensity we have for this wrestling match.  People come out to watch and cheer from all over the area.   The final outcome ended up in the Redskin's favor.  J.V.'s won by a landslide score of 66-9 while the varsity finished with a 44-31 victory.
     After the big match, the Redskins headed for their annual appearance in the Section Dual Meet Championships.  (CHS has  competed in this tournament every year since its inception.)  After beating Livingston High in the first round, the Reds fell to the Escalon Cougars to eliminate them from the day’s competition (the first time Escalon has ever beaten the Reds).  They were forced to lick their wounds and head home for the day. 
     The 2008 Mother Lode League Tournament was held at Bret Harte High School on Friday, February 8^th.  The team dominated the tournament with  10 wrestlers in the finals.   6  were crowned champions.  The team amassed 230 points,  58 points ahead of 2^nd place Bret Harte, and 102  points ahead of 3^rd place Summerville.   The team had the League title virtually cinched before the finals began.  Thirteen of the fourteen Redskins qualified (top four) for the Small School (Division V) Tournament.
     On Friday, Feb. 15^th and Saturday, Feb. 16^th, the guys traveled to Ripon High School for the Division V Section Tournament (formerly called the Small School Section).  CHS was in first place after the first round, followed closely by the prohibitive favorite,   Central Catholic.  By round two, 8 of the 13 Redskin qualifiers had reached the semifinals, and the field began to separate, with four teams fighting it out for the title.  Central Catholic took an insurmountable lead, so the race was on for section runner-up between CHS, Escalon and Lindhurst. 
     Saturday morning started out with a dark cloud, as Redskin Brenden Sullivan, 103 pound standout, was clearly avenging a loss against section ranked Christian Franks of Escalon, and well on his way to the finals, when he dislocated his elbow late in the third period.  The round did improve as three Redskin wrestlers found themselves in the finals.  119 pounder Brian Rutledge, 145 pounder Tyler Brown, and 215 pounder Joey Gellerman won their semi-finals matches to give themselves a shot at a section title.  While the three finalists awaited their chances in the finals that would be highlighted later in the day, their teammates showed typical Redskin diligence and continued to win matches and stay in a position to qualify for the next week’s Master’s Tournament.  (Top five finishers continued on to the Master’s at UOP.)  By the medal round, Calaveras had a 13 point lead over Escalon and a 19 point lead over Lindhurst.  When the medal rounds were over, six Redskins managed to stay alive in the consolation rounds, which kept the team point lead roughly the same.  The finals finally arrived, and the three Calaveras wrestlers were up for the challenge.  All three wrestlers won their finals matches to become section champions!  Brian Rutledge beat Anthony Rodriguez of Escalon 9-0, Tyler Brown beat Anthony Vega of Lindhurst 4-1, and Joey Gellerman beat Joey Ratto of Ripon 8-4.  Central Catholic won the tournament with 252 points, and Calaveras was section runner-up with 181.5.  Calaveras qualified 8 wrestlers to the Master’s Tournament at the University of the Pacific.
     The Section Tournament brought back some fond old memories.  It was held at Spanos Center at UOP, where the C.I.F. state meet had been held for so many years.  Walking through the tunnel for staging rekindled the excitement.  And the excitement was plentiful.  Brian Rutledge made it to the finals and finished 2nd, while Joey Gellerman lost in the "heartbreak round", finishing eighth.  (The Sac-Joaquin Section now takes seven qualifiers to the state tournament.)
     So Brian Rutledge became the sole state qualifier for CHS, and headed for Bakersfield on Friday, Feb. 29th.  He caught a tough spot on the bracket right away, facing Brandon Rocha of LeMoore in the 1st round.  Brian lost that 1st round match.  What is truly amazing is that he managed to rattle off four straight wins to make it to the medal rounds and finish top 8! 
     With that accomplishment, he has qualified for the Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va.  Earlier in the season, Coach Bowe told Brian that if he placed in the state and qualified for nationals, he'd figure out a way to get him there.  Well, Brian held up his end of the deal, so we're heading for Virginia!