Recently in Wrestling Category

With all-county basketball running this week, it's time to release all-county wrestling. Due to space/time/staffing constraints, we are only running a list of all-county wrestling on the blog.
But here it is, all-county wrestling for 2011-12 season.

Wrestler of the year: Robert Marchese, Sr., Oak Hills (195)
Coach of the Year: C.T. Campbell, Victor Valley

Oak Hills senior Robert Marchese captured his third state medal -- and first state championship -- with a 3-1 overtime victory over Dakota Gordon of Clovis in the 195-pound final at the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield. It was also the first state champion ever for Oak Hills.

Oak Hills senior Robert Marchese will be in the 195-pound finals tonight (Saturday) at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield, leading the way among five placers from San Bernardino County at state.

The others:
Jacob Leon, Sr., Alta Loma (138), 3rd, highest placement in school history and first state placer from the school in seven years.
Christian Martin, Sr., Chino Hills (113),7th
Brody Goens, Sr., Chino Hills (182), 5th, they are the first two state placers in school history.
Corey Griego, So., Sultana (152), 5th. 2nd sophomore state placer in school history

San Bernardino County will produce 5 state placers this year at the CIF State Wrestling Championships, led by undefeated Oak Hills senior Robert Marchese, who advanced to Saturday night's finals with a 4-3 win in the semifinals.

A total of 11 San Bernardino County wrestlers made it to day 2, with 9 needing to win their first match Saturday to clinch a spot in the top eight. Three of them did exactly that: Alta Loma senior Jacob Leon (138), Chino Hills senior Brody Goens (182) and Chino Hills senior Christian Martin (113) all earned a spot in the top eight. Goens and Martin are the first placers ever from the school and Leon is the first from Alta Loma since 2005. Sultana sophomore Corey Griego had already clinched a spot in the top 6 by advancing to the semifinals, but he lost in the semifinals to defending state champion Isaiah Martinez of Lemoore when he was pinned with 20 seconds remaining.

Etiwanda seniors J.J. Everard (220) and Larry Cutbirth (182), Los Osos seniors Timmy Maldonado (132) and Jon Solano (170), Bloomington sophomore Derrick Jones (220) and Sultana junior Matt Williams (160) all lost their first matches Saturday and were eliminated.

After Day 1 of the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield, Sultana sophomore Corey Griego (152) and Oak Hills senior Robert Marchese (195) are in the semifinals, with nine others still alive in consolation.
Here's a look at the county qualifiers. Those alive in consolation will need to win their first match Saturday to clinch a spot in the top eight.

Here's a glance at San Bernardino County wrestlers at the CIF State Championships that begin Friday in Bakersfield. Check back here for updates on county wrestlers on Friday and Saturday.

Rankings by TheCaliforniaWrestler.com and first matchups listed

Best first match: Christian Martin, Chino HIlls (113)
Best chance to place for someone ranked outside the top 8: No. 15 Larry Cutbirth, Etiwanda (182)
Chance to make history: Timmy Maldonado, Los Osos, could face three-time state champion Alex Cisneros of Selma in 3rd round
Highest ranked: No. 1 Robert Marchese, Oak Hills (195)
Toughest first match: Bryan Garcia, Arroyo Valley (160), Zach Williams, Sultana (220), Derrick Jones, Bloomington (220)

It was pretty good day for county wrestlers, as 12 advanced to the semifinals of the CIF-SS Masters Meet at Temecula Valley on Friday. By making it to the semifinals, they clinch a spot in the top 6. The top 9 wrestlers advance in each weight class.

The semifinalists:
113: Christian Martin, Chino Hills
126: Casper Sherow, Carter
132: Timmy Maldonado, Los Osos
138: Jacob Leon, Alta Loma
145: Eli Mack, Alta Loma
152: Ryan Soto, Granite Hills and Corey Griego, Sultana
160: Matthew Williams, Sultana
182; Anthony Ballinger, Apple Valley and Larry Cutbirth, Etiwanda
195: Anthony Flores, Alta Loma and Robert Marchese, Oak Hills

Others still alive: (there are eight wrestlers vying for the final 5 spots in each weight class)
106: Anthony Soto, Colony
113: Subastian Chavez, Colony
120: Trent Smith, Sultana
126: Anthony Henson, Apple Valley
132: Uzo Owuama, Bloomington
145: Sergio Alcala, Miller; Seth Whisner, Rim; Thomas Pegues, Rialto.
152: Joseph Rodriguez, Alta Loma
160: Bryan Garcia, Arroyo Valley; Zack Douglass, Victor Valley
170: Jonathan Diaz, Miller; Jon Solano, Los Osos; Shaun Donley, Serrano.
182: Brody Goens, Chino Hills; Raymond Sanchez, Miller
195: Keaton Edwards, Granite Hills
220: Derrick Jones, Bloomington; J.J. Everard, Etiwanda; Zachary Williams, Sultana
285: Kenneth Clark, Carter

It was a very good day for San Bernardino County wrestlers, as both Sultana and Victor Valley won team titles in the CIF-SS Wrestling Championships.

Sultana won the Eastern Division, hosted by rival Oak Hills. The Sultans, with 244 points, easily surpassed runner-up Santa Fe's 166.5 points.

Victor Valley, which won a Division 4 Dual Meet crown last week, took home the crown this week in the Coastal Division at Oxnard Pacifica. The Jackrabbits had 192 points, beating out runner-up Bellflower St. John Bosco.

Bloomington took second in the Southern Division, trailing only Covina Northview.

A compliation of the 73 County Masters qualifiers:

106: Miles Avila-Johnson, Bloomington (4th, Southern), Quincy Godina, Sultana (2nd, Eastern), Jacob Gutierrez, Hesperia (5h, Eastern), Anthony Soto, Colony (1st, Central), Brian Zavala, Los Osos (3rd, Central), Anthony Reyes, Etiwanda (5th, Central),
113: Slaytr Gonzalez, Sultana (5th, Eastern), Subastian Chavez, Colony (1st, Central), Michael Pajaro, Los Osos (4th, Central), Kyle Silva, Montclair (5th, Central), Christian Martin, Chino Hills (1st, Northern), Douglas McCartney, Yucaipa (4th, Inland), Vantwuan Williams, Victor Valley (2nd, Coastal),
120: Johnny Foster, Bloomington (3rd, Southern), Trent Smith, Sultana (1st, Eastern), Daniel Romero, Montclair (2nd, Central), Justus Cervantes, Los Osos (3rd, Central),
126: Casper Sherow, Carter (4th, Southern), Johnny Gutierrez, Bloomington (5th, Southern), Anthony Henson, Apple Valley (2nd, Eastern), Ryan Gonzalez, Sultana (3rd, Eastern), Alex Contreras, Montclair (2nd, Central), Ulises Zarate, Miller (4th, Inland), Josiah Delgado, Victor Valley (2nd, Coastal),
132: Uzo Owuama, Bloomington (2nd, Southern), Timmy Maldonado, Los Osos (1st, Central), Joey Hamma, Ayala (3rd, Northern), Christian Rodriguez, Miller (4th, Inland), Benjamin Avila, Victor Valley (3rd, Coastal),
138: Christian Smith, Rim (5th, Southern), Jacob Leon, Alta Loma (1st, Central),
145: Seth Whisner, Rim (2nd, Southern), Jorge Medina, Bloomington (4th, Southern), Thomas Pegues, Rialto (5th, Southern), Frank Francis, Hesperia (3rd, Eastern), Eli Mack, Alta Loma (1st, Central), Kyle Claffey, Chino Hills (4th, Northern), Sergio Alcala, Miller (3rd, Inland), Michael Lopez, Victor Valley (3rd, Coastal),
152: Corey Griego, Sultana (1st, Eastern), JosephRodriguez, Alta Loma (2nd, Central), Garrick Gurney, Chino Hills (3rd, Northern), Ryan Soto, Granite Hills, (1st, Coastal),
160: Bryan Garcia, Arroyo Valley (1st, Southern), Matthew Williams, Sultana (1st, Eastern), Drew Reel, Chino Hills (3rd, Nothern), Zack Douglass, Victor Valley (2nd, Coastal), Chris Penaloza, Granite Hills (5th, Coastal),
170: Marcus Vargas, Bloomington (4th, Southern), Shaun Donley, Serrano (3rd, Eastern), Jon Solano, Los Osos (1st, Central), Jonathan Diaz, Miller (5th, Inland), Blake Fifer, Victor Valley (2nd, Coastal),
182: Jimmy Kuntz, Cajon (5th, Southern), Anthony Ballinger, Apple Valley (1st, Eastern), Kenny Porter, Sultana (2nd, Eastern), Anthony Hernandez, Oak HIlls (3rd, Eastern), Larry Cutbirth, Etiwanda (1st, Central), Brody Goens, Chino Hills (1st, Northern), Raymond Sanchez, Miller (2nd, Inland),
195: Steven Barraza, Rialto (5th, Southern), Robert Marchese, Oak Hills (1st, Eastern), Anthony Flores, Alta Loma (1st, Central), Matt Mendoza, Colony (4th, Central), Keaton Edwards, Granite Hills (2nd, Coastal),
220: Derrick Jones, Bloomington (3rd, Southern), Joe Whittaker, San Gorgonio (5th, Southern), Zachary Williams, Sultana (3rd, Eastern), J.J. Everard, Etiwanda (1st, Central), Lucas Northrup, Ayala (1st, Northern), Frankie Valenzuela, Fontana (4th, Inland),
285: Kenneth Clark, Carter (2nd, Southern), Jeremiah Pele, Sultana (2nd, Eastern),

Congratulations to both Bloomington and Victor Valley on Saturday as they won the Division 5 and 4 CIF-SS Dual-Meet wrestling titles, respectively.
I was at the Division 5 tournament at Irvine High and Bloomington won with relative ease.
After a first-round bye, the top-seeded Bruins downed Yorba Linda 43-22, fourth-seded West Torrance 44-24 and second-seeded Placentia Valencia 53-12 in the finals.
I'll have a story in Sunday's section, but it was impossible to mention all 23 wrestlers who competed for Bloomington in one or more matches on Saturday. All told, Bloomington's individuals were 30-12 in their 42 matches. Pretty impressive.

So, here's a rundown, on who wrestled for Bloomington and how they did:
106 pounds: Jorge Carbajal 1-0 (pin)
Miles Avila-Johnson 2-0 (both by pin)
113: Jose Santiago 0-1 (pin)
Johnny Foster 2-0 (by pin and by decision)
120: Angel Sida 0-2 (pin in both)
Carlos Garcia 1-0 (major decision)
126: Albert Arce 1-0 (decision in OT)
Jonathan Gutierrez 2-0 (pin and decision)
132: Brian Alvarez 0-1 (by major decision)
Miguel Medina 2-0 (by major decision and pin)
138: Uzo Owuama 3-0 (decision, technical fall, default)
145: Jorge Medina 3-0 (1 minor decision, 2 major decisions)
152: Derek Abeln 1-0 (by pin)
Alejandro Guerrero 0-2 (both by minor decision)
160: Emanuel Cruz 0-1 (by pin)
Antonio Leon 0-2 (both in OT)
170: Marcus Vargas 3-0 (all by pin)
182: Angel Villarreal 3-0 (1 major decision, 2 minor decisions)
195: Tyrik Easley 1-2 (all by pin)
220: Samuel Aviles 1-0 (in OT)
Derrick Jones 2-0 (major decision, pin)
285: Ronnie Warren 1-0 (minor decision)
Khaelin Webb 1-1 (both by pin)

Victor Valley, meanwhile was top-seeded and competing at Palmdale Quartz Hill in D4.
The Jackrabbits won easily in the finals. Coach C.T. Campbell said his team built a 37-3 lead over second-seeded Ventura, then Ventura chose to forfeit the final four matches.
In the semifinals against San Jacinto however, it was a different story.
The Jackrabbits trailed and needed to win their final four matches to pull out the victory. and needed three pins to do so. They got the two pins and a decision so they entered their final bout trailing 32-28 but Danny Delgado got the pin at 126 pounds to give Victor Valley the victory.
Congratulations to both teams.

Here are some of the San Bernardino County results from Saturday's two biggest wrestling meets: 5 Counties at Fountain Valley and the Temecula Valley's Battle For The Belt.

County teams at Fountain Valley: 4. Victor Valley 118, 13. Etiwanda 84.5, 18. Chino Hills 71, 26T. Rim of the World 60.5, 37T. Ayala 52, 47. Apple Valley 41.5, 56. Colony 32, 58 T. Serrano 31.
Fountain Valley county placers:
106: 6. Anthony Soto, Colony
113: 3. Christian Martin, Chino Hills; 6. Robert Romo, Apple Valley.
126: 2. Danny Delgado, Victor Valley.
138: 6. Christian Smith, Rim of the World
145: 2. Seth Whisner, Rim of the World; 6. Michael Lopez, Victor Valley
160: 2. Bryan Garcia, Arroyo Valley.
171: 5. S. Donley, Serrano; 7. Blake Fifer, Victor Valley; 8. Brody Goens, Chino Hills.
182: 8. Anthony Ballinger, Apple Valley.
220: 1. J.J. Everard, Etiwanda; 3. L. Northrup, Ayala.

County teams at Temecula Valley: 7. Sultana 105, 12. Alta Loma 92, 20T. Bloomington 70, 25. Oak Hills 60, 38T. Hesperia 42, 50. Miller 33, 56. Carter 29,
Temecula Valley county placers:
106: 5. Anthony Roybal, Hesperia.
113: 6. Slaytr Gonzalez, Sultana.
126: 7. Michael Rodriguez, Alta Loma.
138: 5. Jacob Leon, Alta Loma.
152: 6. Corey Griego, Sultana.
160: 6. Matt Williams, Sultana
170: 8. Jonathan Diaz, Miller.
182: 8. Anthony Hernandez, Oak Hills.
195: 1. Robert Marchese, Oak Hills (upper weight MVP); 5. Anthony Flores, Alta Loma.
220: 4. Zac Williams, Sultana; 5. Derrick Jones, Bloomington.
285: 6. Kenneth Clark, Carter

OK, here they are, for better or for worse.
I compiled the first Top 5 rankings for the county in the winter sports. They are running in Thursday's paper. Due to coaches not submitting results, some of the rankings are based on CIF polls as much as anything. Rialto girls basketball, unranked despite being 14-1, is the biggest slight I've found in the CIF polls. Are there others?
Boys basketball
1. Etiwanda
2. Chino Hills
3. Eisenhower
4. Summit
5. Silverado

Girls basketball
1. Etiwanda
2. Summit (beat Corona Centennial)
3. Rialto (lost to Corona Centennial)
4. Cajon
5. Eisenhower

Boys soccer
1. Fontana (beat Redlands East Valley)
2. Redlands East Valley (beat Oak Hills on penalty kicks in the San Gorgonio Tournament)
3. Oak Hills
4. Cajon
5. Colton

Girls soccer
1. Los Osos
2. Granite Hills
3. Serrano
4. Ayala
5. Ontario Christian

Girls water polo
1. Los Osos
2. Upland
3. Ayala
4. Redlands East Valley
5. Cajon

Dual-meet wrestling
(which is not in Thursday's paper)
1. Oak Hills
2. Sultana
3. Alta Loma
4. Bloomington
5. San Gorgonio

Carter heavyweight wrestler Kenny Clark is currently competing with the California Cadet National Team in a national tournament at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. Clark, who recently won the state Greco-Roman championship, will be competing until June 26 according to Carter wrestling coach Kevin Henessey.

Carter will also be hosting a two-day wrestling camp Friday and Saturday at the school, with University of Minnesota wrestlers Tyler Safratowich and Manny Rivera (a Rosemead native) working with prospective campers. The camp runs in the morning and afternoon both days.

Five county wrestlers excelled at the NHSCA Wrestling Nationals last weekend. Leading the way was Oak Hills 171-pounder Robert Marchese, who finished second in the junior division. Redlands East Valley senior Chris Mecate, the state champions in the 135-pound division, finished in third in the senior division at nationals, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Terrel Wilbourn of St. Charles, Mo. 6-4. Mecate defeated Bakersfield's Timmy Box -- who he defeated in the state semifinals -- 7-4 in the third-place match.

Oak Hills had two other wrestlers place in their respective divisions, with Ray Delgado placing fifth at 112 pounds in the senior division and Justin Gilliam placing third in the heavyweight division in the freshman division. Rim of the World junior Christian Smith also finished sixth in the junior division.

Oak Hills junior wrestler Robert Marchese, competing at the NSCA National Wrestling Championship, Junior Division, in Virginia Beach, Virginia has advanced all the way to the finals.

Marchese, who was seventh at the state meet four weeks ago, had to win five matches in the 171-pound weight class to reach Friday's final. The medal rounds for the juniors are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. PDT today.

Marchese won his first two matches of the tournament 12-3 and 11-1, then won by fall. His last two were close: 9-7 and 3-1 to advance to the final where he'll face California State champion Nikko Reyes of Fresno Clovis West. Marchese and Reyes did not meet in the state tournament.

Oak Hills freshman heavyweight Justin Gillham, competing in the Freshman division of nationals, advanced all the way to the semifinals, before losing 2-1 on Thursday. He'll be competing in consolation today before wrestling for a medal.

The Senior Division gets underway Friday, including 135-pound state champion Chris Mecate of Redlands East Valley.

Carter had a couple of underclassmen wrestlers excel in tournaments earlier this month, as sophomore heavyweight Kenny Clark won the state title as the state Frosh/Soph competition in Fresno March 12 while 106-pound junior Carlos Navarro won the state title at the junior tournament that same weekend in Lemoore.

Clark, who finished fifth at CIF and won a match at Masters, ripped through the field in the state's most prestigious tournaments for underclassmen.

Redlands East Valley senior Chris Mecate is his school's first-ever state finalist in wrestling after downing Timmy Box of Bakersfield 11-5 in the 135 pound semifinals at the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield Saturday morning.

Mecate entered the tournament ranked No. 1, while Box was ranked No. 3
Mecate, who has fifth and sixth-place medals from his junior and freshman years, respectively, will face No. 2- ranked Shane Yacuta of Porterville in the championship match tonight.

A total of seven county wrestlers made it to Day 2. Mecate and Oak Hills' Ray Delgado (119) were the lone semifinalists. Delgado, ranked sixth, was pinned in his semifinal by second-ranked Daniel Gaytan of Clovis in 51 seconds. Delgado will wrestle in consolation.
Delgado had two teammates make it to Saturday. Robert Marchese (171), an eighth-place finisher last year, clinched a spot in the top eight. Gerardo Aguirre (215) lost in consolation and is out.
Bloomington's Juan Alvarado (152) won his first match Saturday 5-1 to earn a spot in the top 8. Etiwanda's J.J. Everard (215) and Los Osos' Jon Solano (160) were eliminated Saturday morning.

Redlands East Valley senior Chris Mecate (135 pounds) and Oak Hills senior Ray Delgado (119) both advanced to the semifinals at the CIF State Championships Friday in Bakersfield.
Check back with this blog Saturday for updates on Mecate, Delgado and the other county wrestlers.
Both Mecate and Delgado secured a spot in the top six, and still have a shot at a state title.
But overall, it was a rough day for San Bernardino County wrestlers.
Of the 25 state qualfiers for the county, only seven made it to day 2.
Joining Mecate and Delgado today, but competing in consolation are: Bloomington's Juan Alvarado (152), Los Osos' Jon Solano (160), Oak Hills' Robert Marchese (171), Etiwanda's J.J. Everard (215) and Oak Hills' Gerardo Aguirre (215).
Marchese was his school's first state placer last year, and Solano is hoping to be his school's first this year. Colony, Kaiser and Chino Hills all had wrestlers at state hoping to be the first from their schools to place, but none made it to day 2.

After the first day of the CIF-SS Masters Wrestling Championships at Temecula Valley, 12 wrestlers from the county have advanced to the semifinals and clinched a spot among the top six. The top 9 in each weight class advance to the CIF State Championships at Bakersfield next weekend. There are 18 others from the county alive in consolation. In each weight class, there are 12 wrestlers who make it to day 2.

County semifinalists: 103: Christian Martin (Chino Hills), 119: Timmy Maldonado (Los Osos) vs. Ray Delgado (Oak Hills), 135: Eric Dunlap (Cajon, despite finishing 5th last week), Chris Mecate (Redlands East Valley); 140: Eli Mack (Alta Loma), Seth Whisner (Rim of the World), 145: Michael Gonzalez (Sultana); 160: Jon Solano (Los Osos); 171: Robert Marchese (Oak Hills), Ryan McWatters (Sultana); 189: Anthony Flores (Kaiser).

Others still alive: 103: Anthony Roybal (Hesperia), Anthony Soto (Colony), 125: Edward Lopez (Victor Valley), Spencer Glasheen (Upland), Gilbert Gomez (Colony); 130: Michael Rodriguez (Alta Loma); 135: Jacob Leon (Alta Loma); 145: Alex Cruz (Bloomington); 152: Juan Alvarado (Bloomington); 160: Zach Vom Steeg (Oak Hills), Edward Randolph (Bloomington); 171: Brody Goens (Chino HIlls); 189: Marin Padilla (Bloomington); 215: Garrardo Aguirre (Oak Hills), J.J. Everard (Etiwanda), Rene Sanchez (Bloomington); Heavyweight: Martin Gonzalez (Montclair), Anthony Jimenez (Oak Hills).

Leading teams with wrestlers alive: Oak Hills 5, Bloomington 5, Alta Loma 3.

The Bloomington wrestling team won the CIF-SS Division 5 championship this evening at Anaheim Western High School, outpointing top-seeding Valencia 41-19 in the finals. The second-seeded Bruins were led by Israel Rodriguez, who will be competing in the CIF Individual meet in the 112-pound class.

Tony Rotundo/wrestlersarewarriors.com

Last weekend was the prestigous Doc Buchanan Wrestling Invtiational in Clovis. There were only two county teams entered in the event: Redlands East Valley and Sultana, and each brought home an individual champion.
REV's Chris Mecate (pictured above at the tournament) won the 135-pound weight class, defeating Bakersfield's Natrelle Demison 6-4 in overtime in the final, and defeating several ranked wrestlers earlier in the event. Demison entered the event ranked No. 1 in the state at 130 pounds.The placers at 135 included Demison, Mecate (ranked No. 4), third place Wiliam Fox of Gilroy (ranked No. 6), fourth place Shane Tate of Oakdale (No. 3), sixth place Nikkolas Pena of Selma (ranked No. 1 at 140) and seventh place Andrew Perez of Pitman (No. 5),
Sultana's Michael Gonzalez took home the title at 145, defeating David Meza of Buena Park 9-5 in the finals. Gonzalez was ranked 10th at 145 pounds before the event, while Meza was sixth at 140.
The only other placer from the county was REV's Taylor Rippy, who was sixth at 171 pounds.

Redlands East Valley wrestler Chris Mecate and volleyball player Krista Vansant will sign National Letters of Intent tomorrow morning as part of the beginning of the Fall Signing Period. Mecate will sign with Old Dominion in the principal's office at 7 a.m. while Vansant will sign with the University of Washington at 7:30 a.m. in Kurt Bruich's office.

Still no state champions in wrestling from San Bernardino County since Rim's Ricky Turk in 2002, but the county produced five state placers on Saturday in Bakersfield: Sultana's Matt Welch (fourth, 112), Barstow's Sean Silva (fourth, 119, 2nd time placing in state), REV's Chris Mecate (fifth, 125), Oak Hills' Robert Marchese (eighth, 160, school's first-ever state placer) and Sultana's Manuel Mazariegos (7th, heavyweight).
It's the first time Sultana's had 2 state placers in the same meet. Not a bad showing. And Welch was impressive a year after he was ineligible due to grades.
I do think, however, Rialto's Giordan Porter got a raw deal in his last match. He should've been awarded a takedown with 12 seconds left, when the referee ruled him out of bounds and he ended up losing by one point.
Sometimes you need to avoid back luck and you need to get a good draw to place. Porter and Colony's Cody Dixon, 2 CIF-SS Masters champions, were both victims of that.

Here's how the San Bernardino County wrestlers fared so far through two championship rounds at the CIF State championships in Bakersfield on Friday. Two losses on the first day and you're eliminated. Some wrestlers didn't have to wrestle until the second round.
Sultana's 5 wrestlers have not lost yet (8-0)

Matt Welch, Sultana (112)
won by pin 1:14, won by pin :28
Ray Delgado, Oak Hills (112)
won 10-2
Richie Cascante, San Gorgonio (112)
did not make weight, was eliminated
Sean Silva, Barstow (119)
won 10-0
Tim Maldonado, Los Osos (119)
won 11-6, lost 12-4
Alec Smith, Sultana (125)
won 13-4
Chris Mecate, Redlands East Valley (125)
won via tech. fall 18-3, won via tech. fall 15-0
Pedro Vazquez, REV (130)
won 6-5, lost 12-5
Michael Gonzalez, Sultana (135)
won via default, won via pin, 3:29
Juan Alvarado, Bloomington (152)
lost via pin, 2:45
Ryan McWatters, Sultana (152)
won 11-1, won 8-5
Cody Dixon, Colony (160)
lost to No. 3-ranked Bryce Hammond, 15-1
Chris Sloat, Hesperia (160)
won via pin 1:03, won 7-0
Robert Marchese, Oak Hills (160)
won 5-3
Andrew Hudson, Redlands East Valley (215)
lost to No. 6 Paul Buchanan, 3-1
Giordan Porter, Rialto (heavyweight)
won via pin in 1:46
Manuel Mazariegos, Sultana (heavyweight)
won 5-3

Pacific wrestler Samantha Cardoza won the 108-pound title at the CIF-State girls Southern Regional wrestling championships this past weekend at Covina Northview High School, heading a list of county athletes participating in the event.

Cardoza defeated Oceanside's Kalin Knight-Alvarez in the final, with Redlands East Valley's Alexis Rodriguez finishing third. Upland's Gabriella Gongora finished second in the 154-pound division to La Serna's Jackie Williams while Sultana's Sarah Bollinger took third at 132 pounds.

Redlands East Valley, buoyed by three placers in Rodriguez, Lauren Chavez (5th, 103) and Jase Osterblad (8th, 114), had the highest county team finish, taking 13th with 55 points.

In addition to T.J.'s previous post about REV's Chris Mecate (seeded third) winning the 119 pound title at the Five Counties Wrestling Invitational last Friday, there were seven more wrestlers from the county who placed at state.

The were three county wrestlers placing in the 112 pound class, as Oak Hills' unseeded Ray Delgado was second, Sultana's unseeded Matt Welch was fifth and Ayala's unseeded Andrew Delgado was eighth.

At 135 pounds, Victor Valley's unseeded Chris Swayze took seventh, while Carter's Chuck Wilson, also unseeded was eighth at 140. REV's sixth-seeded Andrew Hudson took seventh at 215 and Sultana's fifth-seeded Manny Mazariegos was third at heavyweight.

There were eight wrestlers in each weight class seeded prior to the event, and the top eight placed. As far as I can tell, Mecate, Hudson and Mazariegos were the only county wrestlers who were seeded, yet not only did they all place, but five others from the county who were unseeded placed.

Looks to me like county wrestlers are deserving of a little more respect than what was given to them at the seeding meeting.

Redlands East Valley junior wrestler Chris Mecate continued his impressive season, taking first place in the 119-pound division at this past weekend's Five Counties Tournament at Fountain Valley High School according to an e-mail sent to me by his father, Perry Mecate.

Mecate, ranked third in the state coming into the tournament, bested the two wrestlers ranked ahead of him Saturday, defeating No. 2-seeded Bryan Grubbs of Carlsbad La Costa Canyon 3-2 in the semifinals and No. 1 seeded Zach Zimmer of Clovis West 3-1 in the championship match to grab the title.

Rialto senior Giordan Porter pulled a unique doubleheader this past Saturday. Porter, a star wrestle for the Knights and a standout offensive lineman for Rialto this past football season, wrestled for the Knights at the Estancia tournament in the morning/early afternoon before heading to Corona High School to play for the San Bernardino All-Star football team in the Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic that evening.

Porter, who wrestles in the heavyweight division, has been a force on the mat this season, moving his record to 22-0 after winning the heavyweight division and the Most Valuable Wrestler award at Estancia Saturday. According to an e-mail by Rialto wrestling coach Todd Harris, Porter has pinned 21 of 22 opponents and defeated the 22nd by a technical fall.

The Bloomington wrestling team turned some heads at the 2009 Tom Bravo Invitational this past weekend at Los Osos High School, winning the meet with 222 points -- 98 more than second-place Chino.

The Bruins had four weight-class champions -- Eddie Reyes (103 pounds), Daniel Aguirre (125), Phillip Hendrix IV (130) and Rene Sanchez (215).

Redlands East Valley junior wrestler Chris Mecate won first place in the 119-pound class at the Super 32 high school wrestling tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Saturday. Mecate was the best of a field of 145 wrestlers in the 119-pound class from all over the country. According to Mecate's father Perry, Chris defeated two All-Americans, two state champions and three other state placers en route to the title. The 119-pound class included eight All-Americans, 23 state champions, 57 state placers and 68 regional placers, respectively.

Pacific sophomore wrestler Samantha Cardoza compete in the CIF-SS girls wrestling championships at Oxnard High School, finishing fifth in the 108-pound division.

Cardoza has competed in each edition of the two-year event, with this year being the first time she has placed. Now she has the option of either going to the girls' state event in two weeks in Sacramento or staying with the boys varsity team, where she competes in the 112-pound weight class.