State title completes Mustang’s undefeated season

The boiled-down goal of nearly every sport is to participate in the final competition of the season. To have nowhere else to go and everything to gain.

Last weekend, Greg Viloria found his way to the last match of the year. Just like he had in every contest before it, the Mustang won.

Viloria took home the CCCAA state championship in the 125-pound weight class Saturday in Norwalk, finishing off an undefeated season as a member of the Delta College wrestling team. Viloria also was named outstanding wrestler of the state tournament.

The achievements follow last week’s recognition of Viloria as a California Community College Sports Information Association Athlete of the Month for October after racking up a 25-0 record to that point.

It all equates to one miraculous end to Viloria’s Delta career. The sophomore originally came to the Mustangs as a graduate from West High, where he had already established himself as a successful wrestler.

From the time Viloria joined the squad, head coach Mike Sandler said he knew he had a special talent on his roster. Viloria had a relentless work ethic, Sandler said, as well as a competitive mindset molded from years on the mat.

“He is a cerebral wrestler,” Sandler said. “He had a mind for the game.”

Viloria’s freshman campaign with Delta was a strong one, culminating in a third-place finish at the state meet. It also was a learning process for Viloria, who said the level of competition between high school and college was somewhat drastic. 

“I didn’t expect for it to be at such a higher level than high school wrestling,” Viloria said. “It’s a lot more aggressive.”

The former Wolf Pack wrestler said he also noticed a split in the type of college wrestlers he encountered. There were athletes comfortable with their skill level, without much desire to push to get better. Then, there were wrestlers who maintained a certain hunger, who wanted to continue to better their craft.

For a moment there, Viloria said he was caught in between. He wasn’t necessarily complacent, but it took time to realize that his opponents were advancing at a faster rate than they had in high school.

“I definitely had to be more aggressive, and being on the smaller side, I had to bring my strength up,” Viloria said

He hit the weight room after that freshman season, with the goal of using his strength better in order to hold his ground against bigger opponents.

He also took a break from the sport over the summer, opting to help out at a few youth wrestling clinics in the area. What Viloria saw, he said, was younger athletes winning some, losing some, but having fun with it.

“That was something I had forgot,” Viloria said.

Viloria came into his sophomore year stronger and with an attitude more reminiscent of his early wrestling days, dating to when he was 4 years old. He wanted to win, of course, but also wanted to enjoy the sport.

Viloria credited the Delta team with helping sustain that. His teammates had a contagious positivity, Viloria said, that spread throughout the squad.

Sandler noted it impacted Viloria.

“He had a renewed energy and love for the sport this year,” Sandler said.

It led to not just winning, but dominating. One of the biggest signs of something special brewing, from both Sandler’s and Viloria’s perspectives, was the Nov. 3 Menlo College tournament where Viloria took on NAIA and Division I opponents alike and beat them all.

Still more impressive was the fact that no wrestler — at any point in the season — scored a takedown.

“No one took him down all year,” Sandler said. “I’ve never seen anyone go through a season not giving up a single takedown.”

As it does in the wrestling community, word quickly spread as the season went on, and Viloria was the man to beat by the time the postseason hit. Viloria acknowledged the proverbial target on his back and went into the state championships with a straightforward mindset on the matter.

“I kind of entered this tournament thinking whatever happens at the tournament is going to stay there,” Viloria said. “A lot of crazy stuff happens. So it was like, if I lose, I lose. I had a pretty good season so far.”

Only, that’s not how it went down. As he had all season long, Viloria won in style, beating Fresno City’s Mario Moreno 8-2 for the championship.

After raising a fist in victory for the final time as a Mustang, Viloria embraced his coaches, then his family. Both, Viloria said, were instrumental in getting him to that state podium.

“I told him last year what I thought he was capable of, and this is it,” Sandler said. “Seeing him accomplish his goals, and what he was able to do, that’s what I do this for.”

Viloria said he hasn’t nailed down what’s next, since the season at hand was a bit of a handful on its own. He does want to pursue a degree in computer science. And, of course, he wants to keep wrestling.

What Viloria does know, he said, is going to Delta after graduating from West was the right choice. And, he said, he has his support group to thank for pushing him towards this feat, from coaches to teammates to his family — including his father, a former wrestler himself who first introduced Viloria to the sport.

Asked for his favorite moment of it all, there was no hesitation. Spending Saturday night celebrating with the ones who helped him to state, that’s what Viloria said he’ll remember from this final run as a Mustang.

“It sounds kind of corny, but thanks go out to my family and my team and my coaches,” Viloria said. “I’ve had really good support, and it’s pretty awesome to have that behind my back.”

Source: https://www.recordnet.com/sports/20181211/state-title-completes-mustangs-undefeated-season