BAKERSFIELD -- Chris Urquizo defeated Calvary Chapel's Tigran Adzhemyan 9-5 in the semifinals of the CIF State championships on Saturday morning to advance to tonight's finals.
The Merced senior will square off against Buchanan's Fabbian Martin, who pinned Central Catholic's T.J. Belton is 37 seconds in the other 152-pound semifinal.
Urquizo struck first with a takedown and took a 2-1 lead into the second period.
The lead grew to 5-1 after Urquizo put Adzhemyan on his back to start the second period for three nearfall points.
However, the Calvary Chapel senior scored on a reversal and later added another takedown to close the gap to 6-5 heading into the final round.
Adzhemyan allowed Urquizo an escape to start the third and Urquizo extended the lead to 9-5 with a takedown midway through the third. Urquizo then rode out Adzhemyan to clinch a berth in the finals.
Urquizo finished second in the state in 2007. He came into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the state. Adzhemyan is ranked fourth in the state.
Urquizo is 46-3 this season.
