By Jon Chown
Dominic Cabot and Cruz Contreras, both wrestlers from Aptos High School, have earned spots to compete in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals to be held in Fargo, North Dakota in July.
It’s the championship event for USA Wrestling, which limits states to four wrestlers per age division, style and weight class, although automatic qualifiers are added on top of that limit. Cabot, who will be a senior next school year, will compete at 126 pounds. Contreras, who will also be a senior, will compete at 138 pounds.
“They’ve been putting in a lot of work this offseason,” said their coach John Velez. “You can definitely tell they’ve done a ton of work.”
Velez has been coaching Cabot since his freshman year and Contreras since he was a sophomore, transferring here from Turlock. Cruz won the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championship at 132 pounds. Cabot won the 120-pound finals at the SCCAL Championship.
Velez graduated in 2010 and has been coaching the boys wrestling team ever since. Three years ago he took over the Aptos Wrestling Club, which competes in USA Wrestling events. The high school season runs from November to March, right as the USA Wrestling starts up. It ends in July with the Nationals, held at the FargoDome in Fargo.
Velez said it is great to see boys from all over the county, from different schools, come together and train as a team in the offseason.
To get to the two boys to the tournament, the club needs to raise $2,000, most of which had been raised by the time this publication was sent to the printer. However, Velez said the club could really use the funds as well for things like tournament fees, uniforms, food and drink at tournaments, and a new wrestling mat.
“We’ve got a strong response so far from the community. We’ve got a lot of help, not just with donations, but spreading the worked and showing moral support, showing these kids they have backing in the community,” said Velez.
Velez continued: “We’ve been growing in a short amount of time and this is a huge step forward for the club. I can’t wait to see what they can do.”
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The Aptos wrestlers are raising money on GoFundMe, titled “Help Aptos Wrestlers Compete at Nationals.”
TOP PHOTO: Aptos High wrestlers Dominic Cabot (at left) and Cruz Contreras are heading to the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals to be held in Fargo, North Dakota in July.