Green Valley High’s wrestling team enters the Class 5A Southern League meet this Friday and Saturday at Spring Valley with a realistic shot at dethroning four-time defending state champion SLAM! Nevada.
The Gators, who finished fourth in the region and fifth in state last year, boast several top-ranked wrestlers. Senior Matthew Stosek is No. 1 regionally at 165 pounds, Daniel Leal is second at 190, and Clayton Floyd is second at 285.
Leal (25-0 in-state) is determined to win his weight class after losing a controversial triple-overtime semifinal to SLAM’s Santiago Cabrera at last year’s state meet. “I know I’m the best in the state if I wrestle how I can wrestle,” Leal said. “I want to beat everyone there. I won’t stop wrestling and I’ll never give up a match.”
Floyd (23-2 in-state) also exudes confidence. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll make it to the championship match,” he said. “And I think I’ll come out on top.”
Coach Michael Almodovar acknowledges SLAM’s dominance—the Bulls have top-ranked wrestlers in 10 of 14 southern weight classes—but sees a path. “Truthfully, people think SLAM has it in the bag,” Almodovar said. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to show up and wrestle. Kids can miss weight, or a match can slip at any moment.”
Almodovar, whose team won six straight state titles from 2012-2017, emphasizes focus. “It comes down to how we go about our business,” he said. “This team has gotten better and better, and we want to get as many guys in the finals as possible.”
Floyd added that the Gators are concentrating on their own performance. “We want to focus on ourselves and not look at anyone else,” he said. “We just need to go in with a high mentality and wrestle.”
Other top-ranked wrestlers heading into regionals include SLAM’s Vander Tran (106), Eric Bice (113), Destin Maestas (120), Frank Soliz (126), Brenden Jorden Agcaoili (132), Anthony Delgado (138), Drake Hooiman (144), Isaac Balden (157), Jayden Chavez Brown (190), and Satoshi Davis (215); Centennial’s Gavin Austin (150); Spring Valley’s Carleo Zapata (175); and Durango’s Pita Takafua (285).
All 5A regional action is at Spring Valley. The 4A Desert League meet is Saturday at Cimarron-Memorial, and the 4A Mountain League meet is Saturday at Bonanza.
