Facing long odds is nothing new to the Los Altos wrestling team, with the Eagles nearly overcoming an 18-point hole in a 46-35 loss to Milpitas Tuesday.
The battle between two undefeated teams to claim the league title saw Los Altos win five straight from the 159-pound class to heavyweight but were unable to get over the hump in the final match.
“Milpitas is the team that beat us last year,” Los Altos wrestling coach Steven Vaughan said. “This year, we only lost by one pin. We were one pin away from beating them, winning the duel and winning the league championships.”
The short-handed Eagles did not have anyone to compete in the 106, 113 and 215 weight classes and have not for the entire year, resulting in the team forfeiting those matches and being penalized. Each forfeit is six points. While a deficit that large might normally ruin any chance of winning, the Eagles have embraced the long odds and succeeded under the circumstances.
“Right before we go into every meet, we are starting the score 18-0, and we managed to beat four schools with that,” Vaughan said.
Both teams were undefeated before the Tuesday meeting, with the Milpitas (5-0) home crowd creating a tough atmosphere for the Eagles (4-1) looking to win their first league championship since 2016.
“They’ve always had a big team; their number is high,” Vaughan said of Milpitas. “Even though they lost seniors, they still have a pretty good team. They have good technique.”
Los Altos started wrestling at the 138-pound mark after the forfeit and lost the first two matches of the 11 total. Vaughan was still proud of the team for beating four schools with a points disadvantage and finishing second in the SCVAL El Camino Division, noting the team had a dramatic turnaround and improvement from last year by training and sticking to the standards he set.
“We got tremendously close, and this is only my second year as a head coach,” Vaughan said. “Last year in 2023, we took fourth in the league. So we went from fourth in league to a 4-1 record and league runners up.”
Illia Borschenko (175 pounds) and Rafael Olteanu (128) finished as individual league champions for the Eagles, each going undefeated at 5-0. Borschenko has been the team’s best overall wrestler and is a senior originally from Ukraine. Olteanu, a sophomore, returned this season after being on varsity as a freshman, with Vaughan declaring him a new wrestler who has increased his love for the sport.
“He improved tremendously,” Vaughan said of Olteanu. “He is really dedicated and pedal to the metal.”
Vaughan also praised Marcos Hernandez, a freshman new to wrestling who moved to varsity halfway through the season and was the match of the night between Los Altos and Milpitas. Hernandez improved tremendously from the beginning of the season to the end and stuck it out when other freshmen left the team.
“He lasted the entire season, and he got tremendously better, and there was some kind of fire in him that just out of nowhere just becomes this great butt-kicking wrestler,” Vaughan said of Hernandez.
Los Altos will compete in the SCVAL Championships at Wilcox High this weekend, one of three tournaments needed to reach the state playoffs. Vaughan believes five wrestlers have the opportunity to get to regionals, with a potential for a couple to reach state.
