Here's a bracket-by-bracket look at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Championship to be held Friday and Saturday at the Stockton Arena.
The top seven in each 32-man division will advance to the CIF State Championships next weekend in Bakersfield.
106 -- Gionn Peralta of Vacaville, top-ranked in the state, dropped into the 106s. That's good news for 12th-ranked sophomore Nico Colunga of Oakdale -- he wouldn't collide with Peralta until the finals. But to get there, Colunga must beat a series of D-1 wrestlers.
113 -- The Stanislaus District seeds four divisional champions -- Modesto freshman Israel Saavedra, Jason Valdovinos of Turlock, Gabe Balderas of Ceres (No. 8 in state) and Caleb Storey of Bret Harte. None are better than Saavedra, ranked first in the section and No. 2 in the state. Balderas and Anthony Hernandez of Vacaville could meet in semis.
120 -- Oakdale senior Ronnie Stevens, one of two sons of coach Brian Stevens competing at the Masters, is ranked ninth in the state after missing his junior year due to a wrist injury. He's positioned in the opposite bracket of defending champion Kasey Klaus of Vacaville. The winner of Andrew Brennan of Summerville vs. Christian Vasquez of Golden Valley gets Klaus in the second round.
126 -- Turlock junior Rafael Herrera placed eighth at Masters last year, one win away from state. He's bracketed away from Victor Trujillo (No. 3 in state) and Ponderosa freshman Jimmy Scarr. Gregori's Cadence Mitchell (No. 34 in state) could face Oakdale's Max Stevens (No. 31 in state) in the second round.
132 -- All entries are thankful that Modesto junior Emilio Saavedra, a two-time state medalist, missed weight at the MMCs. Escalon's Tyler Lawrence (ranked 13th in state) faces a second-round challenge in Lukeavery Ward of Antelope. Divisional champ Mark Taijeron of Merced and Turlock's 14th-ranked Isaac Bertalotto, rivals all season, would not renew their series until the title match.
138 -- It's arguably the most stacked draw in the tournament -- 11 ranked in the top 40. Do the math. At least four won't advance. The talent will complicate matters for Central Catholic's 12th-ranked Joey Abbate, Enoch's 30th-ranked McCoy Kent, Bret Harte's Giovanni Murillo, Escalon's Jason Robbins and others. Can favored Jonny Callas of Nevada Union (last year's 126-pound Masters champion) emerge?
145 -- Oakdale's 6th-ranked Tyler Noon and Hughson senior Andrew Patrick (ranked 21st) join the favorites here. In Noon's way are Mike Kintz of El Camino and Lorenzo De La Riva of Folsom. In Patrick's way is Hayden Fry of Vacaville (4th at 132 last year).
152 -- District wrestlers are bunched in the lower 16 -- Logan Wolfley of Pitman, Latrell Benjamin of Gregori, Taylor Fugit of Ripon (Fugit vs. Benjamin in first round), Justin Barnes of Bret Harte and Tyler Malone of Oakdale. Along with them is two-time Masters champion and current state No. 1 Shayne Tucker of Bella Vista.
160 -- Central Catholic's No. 3-ranked Ray Lomas, the 145-pound Masters champion in 2012, dropped late in the season and leads 10 state-ranked wrestlers here, including veteran Justin Brown of Calaveras. Kyle Thorpe of Awater vs. Brown is a potential quarterfinals matchup. Meanwhile, at the top of the bracket is No. 2-ranked Nicholas Fiegener of Folsom.
170 -- It's another talent-rich bracket featuring defending Masters champion Peter Santos, No. 2 in state, of Oakmont. Fascinating stat regarding 11th-ranked Escalon senior Johnathon Costa -- he qualified for state as a freshman at 103! Costa could meet Oak Ridge's Keaton Subjeck, ranked third, in the semis.
182 -- Antonio Melo, a divisional champion who's lost only three times all season, could give Hilmar its first state qualifier in two decades. He's dropped recently but will still face state-ranked contenders from the second round forward. Nick Troquato of Ponderosa and Chris Lai of Vacaville, both seniors, probably are the wrestlers to beat.
195 -- Ripon senior Trevor Smith, the 182-pound Masters champion and sixth in state last year, encouraged his fans with an impressive divisional title. Victories could lead him to a semifinal bout against Scott Votino of Elk Grove. Jeramy Sweany of Vacaville, No. 1 in state, spices the bottom of the bracket along with Hondo Arpoika of Oakdale, Dean Duivenvoorden of Gregori, Jojo Ochoa of Atwater and Luke Brewer of Bret Harte. Arpoika vs. Duivenvoorden in second round is a possibility.
220 -- Ricardo Garcia of Turlock, ranked 22nd in state, gained momentum with a divisional title. He eventually must beat favored Jordan Sepeda of Natomas, a Masters champion two years ago who's recovered from shoulder problems (he was third last year). Watch for Oakdale's Zach Fallentine.
285 -- Carlos Gutierrez of Buhach Colony and Ricky Flores of Turlock are longshots along with Jorge Estrada of Beyer, Dillon Tarvin of Modesto Christian, Armando Morales of Ceres and sophomore Jarred Kirk of Calaveras. If Flores wins opener, he could meet 6th-ranked Jaharee Taylor of Elk Grove.
-- RON AGOSTINI
E-Mail
Print
