Fifteen area wrestlers qualify for state from Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet

Merced County will be well represented at this week’s CIF State Meet after 15 wrestling qualified for a trip to Bakersfield from the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet at the Stockton Arena on Saturday.

Five boys and 10 girls punched their tickets to state as the Sac-Joaquin Section held the boys and girls Masters Meet at the same location for the first time.

Qualifying for the boys was Pacheco’s Jose Navarra (132 pounds, fourth), Golden Valley’s Willie Ward-Williams (138, fifth) and Aristeo Prado (285, sixth) and Hilmar’s Efrain Duena (182, third) and Mark Labass (195, sixth).

The top six finishers in each division in both boys and girls qualified for the state meet.

Three Atwater girls are headed to Bakersfield in Ulyette Curiel (126, sixth), Brianna Juarez (150, fourth) and Yisela Vera-Rojas (235, sixth).

The Falcons trio will be joined by Mariposa’s Skylee Butler (121, fifth), Los Banos’ Kiana Daniels (126, second) and Klaudet Zevala (189, third), Delhi’s Naomi Cortez (126, fifth), Golden Valley’s Samantha Arevalo (143, sixth) and Buhach Colony’s Najeh Russo (170, sixth).

The state meet will be held Thursday through Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

This story was originally published February 23, 2020 at 8:54 AM.