Royal Knights mat crew small but strong for the season

ROYAL CITY - The Royal High School boys wrestling program has only 22 grapplers this winter, but there is talent to make the Knights a contender for post-season success.

"We won't be losing any to grades or quitting. So that's great," coach Seth Weeks said.

The Knights will be led by returning state champ Danny Barajas. He is a senior, and there are three other seniors, including Brian Gallardo, who finished fifth at his weight.

Juniors on the team represent a lot of experience and success. Two-time state placers among them are Laddie Goroski (8th and 5th), Alex Myrick (5th and 3rd) and Damien DeLaRosa (7th and 5th). There are four other juniors.

Some not-so-good news is that junior Christian Guerrero has not turned out. He was coming along as a sophomore, and Weeks expected him to make it to state this year.

"We've got a couple of up-and-comers in the sophomore class," Weeks said. "Emilio Bustos and Carter Allred both wrestled tough last year and attended camps this summer, and they are going to be valuable to us."

The freshman class provides the largest number of boys. There are 10 of them, four under 120 pounds.

"They're all as tough as nails," Weeks said.

The program has only five girls, but all of them participated last year. They include senior Mariana Alvarez, who made it to the state meet as a sophomore.

"She will be hard to beat," Weeks said.