Harvard’s Minuto Waltzed to a Heavyweight Title

Maybe Josh Minuto felt like sitting this one out. There had to be more pleasant things to do than going toe-to-toe for a third time with Chris Gallardo.

Yet there the wrestlers stood--Minuto, a 220-pound senior from Harvard-Westlake High; Gallardo, a 215-pound senior from Bishop Amat--preparing to tango Saturday with the Southern Section Division IV heavyweight championship the prize.

A mismatch? Many expected one. A quick finish? Better not blink.

In two previous meetings this season, Gallardo had manhandled Minuto. And both beatings had been administered on Harvard’s mat.

In a Mission League dual meet in January, Gallardo “basically rode me for three periods and threw me on my back a couple of times,” Minuto said. Gallardo was awarded a technical pin after piling up a 16-1 advantage.

The rematch Feb. 13 for the league championship was more competitive, but Gallardo still made all the right moves before recording a pin in three minutes.

Now, with his adversary nearby in the warm-up area at Glenn High in Norwalk, Minuto found himself fighting the image of going flat on his back before 200 spectators.

“You have to go into a wrestling match thinking you can win or it’s self-defeating,” Minuto said. “But I was extremely nervous.”

That was apparent early. Twenty seconds into the match, the referee cut in to request that Minuto pick up the pace.

“Gentlemen,” the man in the striped jersey said, “this isn’t dancing.”

It was, however, a turning point. On the order to resume, Minuto detected Gallardo leaning to one side. He leaped at his opponent, dragging him to the mat for a two-point takedown. Minuto rolled Gallardo on his back to record three more points. After one period, Minuto led, 5-1.

“I thought it was going to be a really tough match,” Harvard Coach Lew Roberts said. “He just controlled him. Even after the first round I thought, ‘I don’t know how long it’s going to stay like this.’ ”

Minuto recorded another takedown. He stretched the lead to 10-1. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. Meanwhile, the shock in Gallardo’s eyes was apparent, until the moment Minuto rolled him on his back a final time to notch a pin. Elapsed time: 2 minutes 31 seconds.

Before stunned coaches, teammates and spectators, Minuto had turned what was expected to be a struggle into a laugher while becoming Harvard’s first Southern Section wrestling champion since the program began in 1977.

This ain’t no disco.

“Our whole team jumped,” Roberts said. “He just (overwhelmed) the guy. I know the boys were saying he was pretty confident that he was going to do it this time.”

He had good reason. Minuto (35-7, including 23 pins) entered the section finals seeded second to Gallardo (37-4). Minuto placed first in the Harvard-Westlake 10-Way and 5-Way tournaments, as well as in the Santa Fe Springs tournament, in which he was voted most valuable wrestler.

“He’ll get tied up with you and then he can throw you,” Roberts said. “He threw Gallardo twice and he got him flat on his back twice.”

Minuto’s three-year varsity record is 80-25, with a school-record 61 pins. Last season, he set a school single-season record with 27 pins. Minuto (6-feet-1), a two-way lineman for the varsity last fall, is undersized compared to most heavyweights, but his speed and strength are deceptive.

He went 4-0 in the section finals, recording pins against Fred Gomez of Chino (2:53), Ruben Gousen of Mira Costa (1:47) and Jerry Lemon of La Mirada (40 seconds) before meeting Gallardo.

“Basically, I take it in stride and accept that I’m going to lose every once in a while,” Minuto said. “But (losing to Gallardo) was still a burden because I kept thinking, ‘I could have done this, I could have done that.’

“I guess I just decided he’s a good wrestler and he has my respect.”

Gallardo probably feels the same way.