Merced, Los Banos girls wrestlers earn section Masters titles. What’s next?
Two Merced County female wrestlers won championships at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championship on Saturday at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton.
Merced High junior Maya Rodriguez won the 100-pound championship; Los Banos’ Angelina Borelli claimed the 125-pound title.
Rodriguez pulled off an escape with 22 seconds left in the title match for a thrilling 1-0 win over Folsom’s Pia Hill. Rodriguez had finished in seventh place as a sophomore.
Borelli defeated Del Oro’s Kaiya Maggini 4-3 in their championship match. Borelli is ranked third in the nation at her weight class.
Rodriguez and Borelli will now head to the CIF State Championship tournament, which starts Thursday morning at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.
Rodriguez will face Kaila Robles-Rials of Presentation High in San Jose in her opening-round match.
Borelli will face April Gao of St. Francis of Mountain View in the opening round.
Two others Merced County female wrestlers qualified for the state tournament.
Golden Valley’s Neveah Rodriguez finished third at 105 pounds and also qualified for the state championships. The senior defeated Twelve Bridges’ Lauren Catlis 6-1 in the third-place match. She will face Alethia Tolentino of Coastal Academy in Oceanside in the first round.
Pacheco’s Melaya Soto finished third at 170 pounds with a 9-4 win over Nevada Union’s Elizabeth Valentine in the third-place game.
Two Merced County male wrestlers qualified for the state tournament: Los Banos’ Luke Borelli and Michael Coelho.
Tough losses for Stone Ridge Christian
It was a tough weekend for Stone Ridge Christian teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. The girls basketball team lost to Foresthill 46-41 in Friday night’s Division 6 quarterfinals. The Stone Ridge Christian boys basketball team lost its Division 5 quarterfinal matchup 66-59 to Fortune Early College on Friday.
On Saturday, the Stone Ridge Christian girls soccer team lost in the Division 6 championship game, 3-1 to top-seeded Ripon Christian. The Knights took a 1-0 lead at halftime but Ripon Christian scored three unanswered goals in the second half.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 12:19 PM.
