BHS Wrestling: Hawks pound Aztecs

BARSTOW • The new surroundings were bright and spartan.

The results were more on the darker side for the Barstow High School wrestling team and Silverado beat the Aztecs 56-24 Thursday night at the Don Bilsborough Gymnasium.

It was the wrestling team’s first dual meet in the gym, which opened in 2005. The Aztecs previously wrestled in the old boys BHS gymnasium.

Don Bilsborough Gymnasium is a stark contrast to the old cozy, intimate yet dingy feel of the old boys gym. The move was made possible by a $30,000 purchase of a new mat and mat hoist by Barstow High School.

On the mat, Barstow hung with Silverado for the first 10 matches until the Hawks got several key pins in the high weight classes. Both Silverado coach Mike LaBrosse and Barstow coach Adam Hopkins each called each others’ teams the team to beat in the Desert Sky League, but Silverado (2-0 DSL) took a decided step toward a league title halfway through the DSL season.

“I knew this was going to be a really, really tough dual,” LaBrosse said. “I know the score may have not indicated it but it really was a lot closer than the score book.”

Barstow (1-1 DSL) began the night with a 12-5 lead after Drue Bosco (103 pounds), Sean Silva (119 pounds) pinned each of their opponents in the first period of their matches. A seven-point lead quickly turned into an 11-point deficit for Barstow after Silverado earned pins in the 130-, 135- and 140-pound matches. Daniel Benavidez (145) and Christian Salas (152) scored back-to-back pins for Barstow, but the Aztecs scoring ended there.

“Individually you’ve got to perform,” Barstow coach Adam Hopkins said. “As a team at a dual, every individual counts. Personally, as  a coach, I feel like the guys that lost are the guys that didn’t show up in the spring and summer. The guys that showed up during the spring and summer and trained hard, they went other there, took care of business and put the 24 points on the board.”

Barstow previously beat Silverado at the Barstow Aztec Tournament in early December. At the time, both teams were missing multiple wrestlers with both football teams still playing deep into the playoffs.

“All of our football team was still out and probably about six or seven guys that we did have here were wrestling up weight classes because of the hydration test,” LaBrosse said. “They still couldn’t move down. This is almost like a completely
different team.”

LaBrosse said he liked the tradition of the old gym but enjoyed the surroundings inside of Don Bilsborough Gymnasium. The only thing missing was the Aztecs’ hanging light above the mat, which was the only light on inside the old boys gym during
wrestling meets, LaBrosse said. Hopkins said he’s working on a way to incorporate it into the Aztecs new setup.
Several alumni complained about the move, but Hopkins said he likes the new surroundings.

“I think there are alumni in the community that don’t want to see those types of things change, but I’ll change for a $30,000 gift — a new mat and a new mat hoist,” Hopkins said. “I had some guys call and talk about how, ‘We wanted it back in the gym.’ I guess with time comes change. If you’re not willing to change, you’ll slowly become obsolete.”

103 — Bosco (B) pinned Torres (S), 1:00.
112 — Padilla (S) tech. fall Alva (B), 15-0.
119 — S. Silva (B) pinned Delgado (S), 1:29
125 —  Re. Rubio (S) pinned Negrette (B), 2:19.
130 — Ra. Rubio (S) pinned Greenly (B), 1:09.
135 — Galsim (S) pinned Mitchell (B), 2:43.
140 — Acuna (S) pinned F. Silva (B), 1:58.
145 — Benavidez (B) pinned Solano (B), 2:26.
152 — Salas (B) pinned Powell (S), 1:10.
160 — Robles (S) dec. Telles (B), 11-8.
171 — Noori (S) pinned Abdulla (B), 3:39.
189 — Allen (S) pinned Gonzalez (B), 0:09.
215 — Joromat (S) pinned McPheron (B), 4:35.
hwt — Lynn (S) pinned Albornoz (B), 1:00.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4124 or
mpeters@desertdispatch.com