Clovis won the California state title Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, racking up 186 points to win its state-leading ninth title. Clovis and Selma each had two champs, while Clovis had nine wrestlers place in the top eight. Bakersfield was second with 177 points and placed eight wrestlers. Selma, De La Salle and Lemoore rounded out the top five in team scoring.
Here's a finals recap:
103Johnson Mai North (Torrance) 6, Isaiah Locsin Live Oak (Morgan Hill) 4Mai, a junior and Southern Section champion, went up 5-0 then got a bit complacent, but made sure to earn the win over Locsin, a freshman. Mai (40-2) beat Locsin (48-4) 3-1 earlier this season.
Chico High School's Nahshon Garrett(112 pounds) won his second straight California state wrestling title.
Photo by Craig Morley
Josh Rodriguez Righetti (Santa Maria) 0Garrett, the Northern Section champ, earned his second consecutive title in a dominating performance over Rodriguez, the Southern Section champ who is a junior. Twice he used a high single and trip to smash Rodriguez (44-4) down to the mat for takedowns. Garrett, a senior, jumped into a hug with coach Keith Rollins after the win. Garrett (51-3) beat Rodriguez 8-1 earlier this year.
119 Daniel Gaytan Clovis 6,
Stevan Knoblauch Clovis West (Fresno) 3These two are from the Tri River Athletic Conference and know each other well. They wrestled four times and each won twice. The highly anticipated matchup got the crowd pumped up and the wrestling was fast-paced. Knoblauch (46-6) scored a takedown one minute in and Gaytan escaped to make it 2-1 after one period. Gaytan (48-7) escaped in the third to make it 4-3 and cemented the win with a takedown at the edge of the mat that elicited his coaches to get the crowd to make some noise.
125Alex Cisneros Selma 2, Vince Rodriguez Clovis North (Fresno) 1 (OT)Cisneros (44-1) scored an escape right before the buzzer in overtime to take the triumph, and he will have the chance to become the second California wrestler to win four state titles next year. Rodriguez, headed to George Mason on a scholarship for wrestling, finished the season 50-5 and was a state finalist last year. These two also went to overtime in the Central Section final with Cisneros winning 2-1 in triple overtime.
130Nick Pena (Selma) 6, Cody Tow Union Mine (El Dorado) 3Both wrestlers earned their fourth medals at the state meet, as Tow took sixth twice and seventh once while Pena won it all and placed sixth and third. Pena beat Tow during their freshman year. Tow struck first with a takedown using a throw but Pena escaped to make it 2-1 after one period. Pena escaped again in the second to make it 2-2 then got a two-point nearfall in the third. Tow escaped to make it 4-3 but Pena registered a takedown on a single-leg shot to forge the winning margin. Tow (34-2) was third in the Sac-Joaquin Section, Pena (35-5) was second in the Central Section.
135Chris Mecate Redlands East Valley 7, Shane Yacuta Porterville 2The match was tied at two apiece before Mecate ripped off five straight points to seal his third state medal and exact revenge for a 1-0 loss years ago. Mecate (35-2) was sixth in 2009 and fifth last year and is a two-time Southern Section champion. Yacuta (40-2) finished the season 49-3 and was a Central Section champion. Both are seniors.
140Isaiah Martinez Lemoore 18, Nick Cano St. Francis (Mountain View) 10Nobody beat Martinez this season, as he capped off a 50-0 record with a commanding performance. He's just a sophomore, so there could be more titles in his future. Martinez scored a takedown eight seconds into the match and never slowed down. Central Coast Section champ Cano (39-2) did his part, too, helping balloon the score. It was 7-5 after the first period with flurries of fast action and then 15-6 after two periods, with Martinez scoring nearfall points. Martinez pinned Cano in overtime earlier this year. Both placed third last year.
145Jake Elliott Oakmont (Roseville) 4, Jesse Baldazo Liberty (Brentwood) 2There wasn't a ton of action in this matchup. No scoring happened in the first period. Baldazo (48-5) opened the scoring with a second-period escape and Elliott (39-1) got the benefit of a very close call on a takedown on the edge of the mat to make it 2-1 entering the third. Elliott, a junior and Sac-Joaquin Section champ, was down to start the third and earned two points for a standing reversal 30 seconds into the period. Elliott won 6-3 over Baldazo earlier this season. Baldazo placed eighth last year at the state meet and is a two-time North Coast Section champ.
152Joey Davis Santa Fe (Santa Fe Springs) 9, Victor Pereira Newark Memorial 5Davis (47-1) was second last year and bettered his standing this year. He led 2-0 after one period then escaped 7 seconds into the second period to go up 3-0. Pereira (50-4), who placed fifth last year, used a single leg shot and a leg sweep to narrow it to 3-2 but Davis immediately escaped. Pereira tied it back up by sinking a leg ride but lost control, and then Davis made it 7-4 with a takedown. With 1:06 left, Pereira got away to make it 7-5 but Davis shot for a double-leg takedown in the final seconds to solidify the win.
160Bryce Hammond Bakersfield 7, Vince Waldhauser Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 3This was a rematch of last year's 160-pound final and once again the hometown wrestler came out on top. Hammond (34-0) earned a takedown 20 seconds in with a go-behind and Waldhauser (53-2) escaped in the second period to make it 2-1. Hammond chose down for the third period and escaped before racking up a takedown. Waldhauser got away, only to be taken down again, and he picked up an escape near the end to make it 7-3. Waldhauser was seventh as a sophomore, and Hammond was fourth. Both of Waldhauser's losses were to Hammond this year.
171Nikko Reyes (Clovis West) 7, Justin Lozano (Selma) 2Reyes (49-1) had to work hard in the second period to score the first points, circling aggressively for 15 seconds before getting behind Lozano for a takedown. It was 2-1 after two periods. In the third, Reyes escaped and used a double-leg shot on the edge of the mat for a takedown. Lozano (20-3) got away with 36 seconds left but got taken down with 6 seconds left. Reyes was third last year, Lozano was fifth. The two met in the Central Section final and the result was about the same.
189Morgan McIntosh Calvary Chapel (Santa Ana) 26, Preston Quam San Clemente 11 (tech fall, 5:51)The question wasn't so much if Quam could win, but if he could score an offensive point. McIntosh (46-0) has been reported to be unscored upon in two years, not factoring in escapes. He certainly showed his dominance in the final, taking Quam (57-7) down and letting him up, then taking him down again and .... you get the picture. It was McIntosh's third straight title, and his fourth medal, as he was fifth as a freshman. Quam placed fifth last year and it was his first year wrestling. He has competed in jiu-jitsu and judo.
215William Knowles (Calvary Chapel) 5, Austin Lobsinger West Valley (Cottonwood) 4Knowles earned his second straight title and third medal overall, as he controlled his opponent despite giving up a point for an illegal slam. Knowles (45-1) took Lobsinger down a little more than a minute in and Lobsinger got away before the illegal throw made it 2-2. Knowles escaped from a scramble in the second to make it 3-2 going into the third period. Lobsinger (43-4) chose down and got to his feet to escape and make it 3-3 with 1:42 left but Knowles earned a takedown on a single-leg shot with 36 seconds left. Lobsinger escaped 6 seconds later but couldn't get a takedown in the final seconds. Lobsinger, the Northern Section champ, didn't even qualify for state last year, placing fourth in his section.
285Nick Nevills Clovis 5, Gabi Musallam Mira Mesa (San Diego) 0Nevills (48-4) started his assault on four championships by controlling the heavyweight final for a state title in his freshman year. Musallam came in ranked 15th in the state and was second in the San Diego Section. On top of that, he is the first Mira Mesa wrestler to place at the state meet.
