Hollister High wrestling season is off to a good start

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It’s easy to spot Head Coach Steven Salcedo in the wrestling room. He’s the guy in the middle of the room, sweating as hard as everyone else as he grinds a “volunteer” into the mat to show his athletes the moves they need to stay on top of the competition, figuratively and literally. The camaraderie is honest.

“You get on top this time,” he tells his practice partner. “Let Robert get some pictures of you pinning me.” 

This season kicked off on Dec. 7 with Hollister High hosting the Fehlman/Baxer tournament. It marks Salcedo’s ninth year as head coach, though he has been coaching wrestling continuously since graduating from what was then San Benito High School in 2002.  

Salcedo said that, over the years, not much has changed regarding wrestling’s dynamics, which leaves victory a matter of solidifying a good game plan.

“A lot of what we use is recycled from past generations,” he said, “and that’s what’s cool about the sport. I watched some clips of [college wrestling coach] Dan Gable from the ’70s, and he’s using the same techniques we are trying to teach. Tried and true.”

Salcedo said his athletes nowadays have shorter attention spans and a tendency to give up faster, which he attributes to cell phones and the internet. 

“The top kids are always going to have the focus,” he said. “But that’s why we work so hard in this room. I ask the kids to give me two hours and shut off certain parts of their brains. I tell them that to be the best of whatever you’re trying to do, you need to put in your 100%.”

Salcedo said that his top athletes’ drive for excellence in wrestling needs to extend beyond their time under his coaching. 

“I was taught that whatever you do at practice is average,” he said. “If everybody’s doing it, then that’s average. It takes extra work outside of this room. That’s where nutrition comes in or waking up to do cardio. Everybody knows what they should do, but only a few do it.”

Salcedo said the season has been uneven so far, as some of his star wrestlers were injured or sick. But he has some great returning athletes such as Golda Denby, who placed fifth in the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships last year, and several state qualifiers. 

“So far,” he said, “we’ve had some ups and downs. We got our butts kicked against some really good competition at the Zinkin Classic, but we responded. And we came back and wrestled pretty good at the Pat Lovell Coast Classic. Our attitudes are getting better, and we’re excited.”

Salcedo identified two wrestlers to be interviewed: senior Aaron Rodriguez and sophomore Cole Seymour. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing Aaron compete this year,” Salcedo said. “Last year, he didn’t end up finishing the season. He had an injury right before the CCS [Central Coast Section] tournament and couldn’t go. He’s still been dealing with some injuries but does well for us and will hopefully be a state qualifier.”

Salcedo said that Rodriquez, 17, wrestled well at the last tournament, the Coast Classic, where he competed in a 64-man bracket and took second place.

“He lost in the finals,” he said. “but it was a good match. Aaron is very good on the top. He’s got some good takedowns and some good scrambling ability. He’s got a cradle that, once he’s got it in, it’s pretty much a done deal. ”

Rodriquez was introduced to wrestling by his father and began when he was four. He joined the Hollister Razorbacks before switching to the Warriors. 

“I guess I liked it because it was an individual sport,” he said. “I didn’t have to depend on other people. So it was all on me, you know? I like the physicality of it. I think that it’s one of the last sports where you can really put it on someone.”

Wrestling varsity since becoming a Baler, Rodriquez won a tournament in San Francisco as a freshman and placed fourth at CCS as a sophomore. He qualified for the Masters in his junior year before hyperextending his knee.

“Before high school,” he said, “I placed at some national tournaments. I’m taking it more seriously now as I see it having more of an effect on my life than when I was younger. You put in all this time in practice, and when you see your results, there’s nothing like it.”

Rodriquez described himself as “a little bit shorter and stockier than the average person” and said his size gives him somewhat of an advantage.

“When I get put up against the long and lanky guy,” he said, “I’m able to stand my ground a little bit better. Because I’ve been wrestling for so long, I know a lot of positions, and I can find my way around the mat. I have never been very fast in my wrestling, but I’m technical.”

Rodriquez said his 4.2 grade average allows him to put in more time this year working at the sport and that his other advantage is the team’s support for every wrestler.

“Everybody roots for each other,” he said. “You’ll see other teams where you got one guy on the mat wrestling and he doesn’t have anybody in his corner. With us, we make it known that our guy is wrestling there and let’s all go and support him. I think that bond helps.”

Cole Seymour is one of the team’s stars but has also performed well this school year as a running back for the Balers’ varsity football team, scoring touchdowns in several, including games against Monterey and Alisal. He began wrestling at five, and, while wrestling for the Hollister Razorbacks in 2023, he won the Fresno Folkstyle State Championship in his division. 

“I was doing a bunch of different sports,” he said, “and then started wrestling. It really clicked with me, and I just stuck with it. I came off really big wins in my seventh- and eighth-grade year, but coming into high school was a whole other challenge.”

As he had now moved into wrestling more formidable opponents who could be going on to college athletics, he had to adjust his mindset as his competition grew more serious.

“It’s the next step in life,” he said. “I knew I would face some adversity with losses, but I just have to push through that and make myself better to win those tight matches. I kept pushing myself; even if I were down, I would try to go harder.”

Seymour said his strength is his ability to keep going even when he is tired. He continues to be consistent in his approach to the sport, hoping that the hard work he puts in will pay off.

“I got fifth at CCS last year,” he said, “but that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to qualify for state, but I didn’t. I needed to have stepped up sooner last year and could have won those matches. I’m not giving myself any breaks from the sport. I keep going to practice and grinding harder.”

So far this year, Seymour has taken fifth place at the Webber Lawson Memorial Tournament, fourth place at the Zinkin Classic and second place at the Pat Lovell Tournament. He believes he has improved enough over last year to make it to the state championships this time, but, like Rodriquez, he also gains from the support of his teammates.

“I feel like we’re a tight group of kids,” he said. “We have come a long way with each other and we are able to push one another to get better. “

Boys Wrestling Home Matches
Jan. 22 – vs Soledad, JV 5:30 p.m., Varsity, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 5 – vs Salinas, JV 5:30 p.m., Varsity 6:30 p.m.
Feb.7 – PCAL Boys JV Finals, 2 p.m.
Feb.8 – PCAL Varsity Boys Finals, 10 a.m.
Full schedule 

Girls Wrestling Home Matches
Jan. 30 – vs Rancho San Juan, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 – Judy Rider Memorial, 9 a.m.
Feb. 5 – vs Salinas, 5:30 p.m.
Full schedule

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