NEW COACH HAS BIG STAR ON THE MAT
The Glads, guided by first-year head coach Michael Grijalba, had one individual champion and two others place in the top six at the Sacramento tournament.
September 20, 2023
The Glads, guided by first-year head coach Michael Grijalba, had one individual champion and two others place in the top six at the Sacramento tournament.
Isaiah Perez, out of Pitman High in Turlock, took the tourney title at 285 pounds. The Glads are looking for big things from Perez -- a four-time state meet qualifier in high school. He was fourth in the state as a junior and second as a senior, and was an All-American at the Super 32 tournament.
"His match and mat awareness are some of the best I've seen … He's just an all-together wrestler," Grijalba said of Perez.
Chabot's Christian Medina was sixth at 125 in Sacramento, and Adrian Rangel was sixth at 157. Chabot finished eighth as a team.
Grijalba, who coached previously at Modesto Junior College for 12 years, replaces longtime Chabot coach Steve Siroy. Grijalba wrestled at Modesto JC for two years and at Cal Baptist University for one year.
"I've known coach Siroy for a long time and when he said last year was going to be his last year, I told him that I was interested in the job and he recommended me," Grijalba said.
Grijalba sees great potential for the tradition-rich program after he builds it with more recruits.
"I'm aiming to be top five in the state after I get a couple of good years of recruiting in," he says.
Grijalba says the current team is "looking good" as he works to fill out a lineup for the North Regional Team Duel.