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Its walls and tables covered in newspaper articles, collages and framed photographs, the Damm Vineyards tasting room was transformed on Sept. 27 by members of the Hollister Wrestling Alumni for their second annual benefit dinner into a showcase of the high school team’s history.
Guillermo Maldonado, who placed sixth in the state championship in his senior year, was one of the event’s sponsors. He said it was a way for him and his fellow alumni to repay all the community members who had helped him and other wrestlers without expecting anything in return.
“We want to help kids go to some of the bigger tournaments,” he said, “so they can improve by competing at a higher level. I know I wouldn’t have done any of my accomplishments without other people lending a hand.”
The location of the dinner could not have been more fitting. Damm family matriarch Mary Damm recounted how much fun she had watching her two sons, Adam and John, compete on the mat during their days at Hollister (then known as San Benito) High.
“They worked so hard,” she said. “It was amazing to watch them. The gyms were packed with people yelling, cheering and just rolling with happiness. It’s a real pleasure for us to be able to support the wrestling team in this way.”
For some, like Sonia Shackelford-Duran, it was a chance to relive some of the memories of competing on the wrestling team from 1994 to 1998, “before it was cool for a girl,” and long before women were allowed to compete in the Olympics.
”There was one girls tournament every year,” she said, “and I placed first. And then in freestyle, I was a state champion against girls. I also wrestled boys, and I made them cry, once in a while.”
For others, like Saul Garcia, the event offered a chance for bittersweet reflection on those who are missed, such as his son Daniel, who wrestled from 1987 to 1991 and died in 2023.
“He started out in the eighth grade,” Garcia said. “He loved to wrestle, but I was a wrestler myself. We’d get on the floor, and he would start wrestling with me. I told him, ‘If you can take me on, you’re going to be No. 1.’”
Stephen Cole Seymour. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Photos of high school wrestlers. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Sonia Shackelford-Duran. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Newspaper clippings. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Simon Hernandez and Daniel Hernandez with coaches David and Stephen Salcedo. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Newspaper clippings. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Annual wrestling alumni dinners. Photo by Robert Eliason.
That moment came when Daniel was 15 and the two staged an impromptu match in the master bedroom, with Garcia’s wife and daughter as referees.
“He was like a dang python,” Garcia said. “Once he got a hold of me and gave me a half nelson, he knocked me on the floor. My daughter said, ‘Boom, you’re pinned.’ And then I told him, ‘From now on, mijo, you’re going to be No. 1. I guarantee it.”
Garcia said David had a jacket filled with medals and a room filled with trophies, which sometimes required a little creative effort to achieve.
“One time,” Garcia said, “he needed to lose a couple of ounces to be able to wrestle. He goes to the coach and tells him, ‘Cut my hair. Cut my hair.’ So, he got a scissor and he made it. And he pinned that guy and won.”
The current crop of Baler wrestlers was ably represented at the dinner by Stephen Seymour, a junior, who finished fourth at the 2025 CCS finals. Seymour was the recipient of one of the two grants, totaling $6,000, which were handed out at the dinner, and plans to attend California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo upon graduation.
Seymour said it was an honor to be among his long-time predecessors on the wrestling team, who, he said, all shared in the struggles of the sport and in the goals he is currently striving to achieve.
“Life definitely isn’t easy,” he said, “and wrestling is a perfect example. It entirely helps you in life, both physically and mentally. It’s taught me that sometimes things don’t go your way, but you still have to keep fighting.”
Isaias Rivera, who began wrestling for the Balers in 1991, was the recipient of the second award, which will go toward working with the Razorbacks, Hollister’s youth wrestling program now celebrating its 45th anniversary.
“It helps us by keeping our facility open,” he said, “and keeping our cost to members low. It helped us get uniforms and to expose the kids to wrestling tournaments at no cost, including a national for one of our wrestlers.”
Daniel Hernandez, a member of the undefeated 1992 team who wrestled at the varsity level for all four years, helped organize the dinner. He said that it drew 115 people and raised more than $18,000 to go toward future grants and assistance.
“Our alumni database has over 1,400 names,” he said. “We want to keep doing this every year and reach as many wrestlers as we can. As we continue to grow it, we’ll be able to offer more help for different levels of this wrestling community.”
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