By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
The Vacaville Bulldogs began the defense of their CIF state wrestling championship by doing the same thing they do every year during the second weekend in February – they won the Monticello Empire League championship.
The Bulldogs have won 31 MEL titles in their history and Saturday’s win was convincing as any of the previous 30 championship seasons. Vacaville put 11 wrestlers in the finals and finished with 11 champions. The impressive performance gave Vacaville 286.5 points for the tournament, finishing well ahead of second place Napa with 214.
The Bulldogs compete in the Division 1 tournament this weekend at Franklin High School in Elk Grove. Vacaville also the dual meet championship in Division 1 with a 49-21 win over Elk Grove. The Bulldogs also defeated Folsom 50-27 in the semifinals.
Another Division 1 team to watch is Turlock, which won the Central California Conference championship over Golden Valley. Turlock scored 239.5 points and had champions.
Oak Ridge edged Ponderosa 33-29 for the Division 2 dual championship. The two Sierra Valley Conference rivals also dominated the league championships last weekend. Oak Ridge held the edge in the lightweights while the Bruins ruled in the upper weight classes. Both schools had six champions while Union Mine had the other two.
Casa Roble topped Rodriguez 49-30 for the Division 3 dual championships. The Mustangs won the Solano County Athletic Conference title while the Rams battled Bella Vista for the Capital Athletic League title. Casa Roble had three champions while Bella Vista had six.
In Division 4, Sonora topped Oakdale 44-33 for the dual meet crown. Both teams had five champions at the Valley Oak League championships.
Central Catholic easily won the Division 5 dual title with a 48-16 win over Escalon. The Raiders also won 10 weight classes, including Louis Bland at 173 and Dominic Galas at 287, to claim the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Results for Sac-Joaquin Section league finals can be found here.
Central Section
The Clovis Cougars won six weight classes to claim first place in the Tri-River Athletic Conference with 268.5 points. The Cougars topped Buchanan, which had 227.5 points and four champions. Clovis West finished farther back with 163 points and three champs.
Clovis placed 12 wrestlers in the finals and had Clinton McAlester (114 pounds), Scott Sakaguchi (142), Josh Esparza (162), Tommy Burriel (173), Brett Sanchez (217) and Jonathen Zamora (287) win gold
Meanwhile Bakersfield captured the Southeast Yosemite League title with 241.5 points. East Bakersfield finished second with 201. The Drillers had seven champions.
The closest battle in the Central Section league championships came in the North Sequoia League where Kerman edged Madera South by four points (197-193). Kerman had five champions, but placed 10 wrestlers in the finals. Madera South had three champions and Washington Union had five.
Selma dominated the Central Sequoia League finals with nine champions while Monache topped Porterville, 247-205.5, to win the East Yosemite League.
Central Section league champions can be found here.
Central Coast Section
Los Gatos dominated the Santa Clara Valley tournament, scoring 291.5 points and topping second place Fremont by 108 points.
The Wildcats had six champions, including Nick Kalpin at 217 pounds.
Saint Francis dominated the West Catholic Athletic League, scoring 234 points. The Lancers put nine wrestlers in the finals and had six champions.
Gilroy was also dominant in the Tri-County Athletic League, topping San Benito 268.5 to 233. Gilroy had seven champions while San Benito had three.
El Camino won its first league wrestling championship in close to 40 years, edging Terra Nova 155-151.5 for the Peninsula Athletic League title.
El Camino had six champions while Hillsdale had three.
Central Coast Section league finals can be found here.
Northern Section
The Red Bluff Spartans have won the Northern Section three times in the past four years and they are looking to add a fourth title this year. The Spartans ran away with the Eastern Athletic League championship last week, scoring 208.5 points to second place Chico’s 144.
The Spartans put nine wrestlers in the finals and finished with three champions. The league championships were spread evenly across the league with Foothill, Chico, Pleasant Valley, Enterprise and Oroville all winning two weight classes apiece.
Sutter, Corning, Willows, Modoc and Chester all won their respective leagues as well. Sutter had seven champs to win the Butte View League while Corning had six champions in winning the Northern Athletic League. Willows edged Durham 156-152 thanks to six gold medalists at the Sacramento Valley League meet. Modoc won by nearly 100 points in the Shasta Cascade League and had six champs. Chester also had six champions to win the Mid-Valley League.
Northern Section league champions can be found here.
North Coast Section
Liberty of Brentwood knocked off Granada 34-24 to capture the North Coast Section dual meet championship despite finishing in third place in its own league.
Liberty overcame a 24-10 deficit with its strong group of lightweights to top Granada for the crown. Liberty scored the final 24 points of the match for the win.
Meanwhile De La Salle topped Livermore 37-31 to claim the 2A championship. The Spartans got a pin from heavyweight Trevor Harvey and a technical pin from Tito Pica to tie the match at 31-31. Livermore had to forfeit the 103-pound match, giving De La Salle the win.
Sonoma won its first ever Redwood Empire 2A championship, beating Petaluma 43-19 in the finals.
Willits claimed the Class A championship, topping Justin-Siena 45-27 for the title.