Local female wrestlers Lilly Avalos, Alana Ontiveros, Mikayla Lancaster and Mackenzie Gilbert will provide assistance as camp counselors at the Fifth Annual California Champ Camp, Aug. 1-2, at Ceres High School.
“A big goal as a girls wrestling coach is to continue to grow the sport,” said Curtis Hulstine, camp director/Bulldogs’ head coach. “We got four local girls that have wrestled in college that can be role models for the younger girls. The younger girls get to see they can wrestle beyond youth and high school.”
The California Champ Camp is open to male and female wrestlers, ages 4-18.
Staged at Central Valley High School, the 2025 camp had a record 139 participants.
A total of six high school wrestling teams attended the clinic, including Ceres High, Central Valley, Hughson, Modesto High, Pitman and Golden Valley
The 2024 camp’s enrollment size was 86.
The California Camp Champ will feature female clinicians for the fourth year in a row.
“Every year we see more girls at the camp,” Hulstine said. “That directly correlates with us having female counselors there. The older girls are motivating the younger girls. The boys are going to learn from them (Avalos, Ontiveros, Lancaster and Gilbert) too.”
Avalos finished in sixth place while representing Vanguard University in the 131-pound weight bracket at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Regional VI Wrestling Tournament.
The 131-pound junior compiled a 30-12 record on the season.
Avalos was one of 20 student-athletes selected to the 2025-26 Allstate National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Good Works Team for the winter sports seasons.
She was recognized for demonstrating levels of volunteerism and civic engagement above and beyond her success and achievements in the classroom and competition.
Avalos had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.64.
She just completed her third year as a fellow in Vanguard University’s College Corps Program, which helps create debt-free pathways through college while engaging students in community service.
Avalos has also been a frequent volunteer at the Costa Mesa Senior Citizens Center for Meals on Wheels.
Lancaster (Menlo College) placed eighth in the 160-pound weight bracket at the 2026 U.S. Open in Las Vegas as a sophomore.
She claimed her second straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championship title.
Lancaster posted a 20-8 overall record.
She earned first-team all-MPSF honors for the second consecutive season.
Lancaster was named the MPSF Women’s Wrestling Freshman of the Year in 2024-25.
She won 12 of 15 matches.
Gilbert (Waldorf University) qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championships as a 103-pound freshman.
She placed second at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament.
Gilbert was selected to the GPAC Second Team.
Ontiveros (Menlo College) amassed a 7-4 overall record as a 160-pound sophomore in 2024-25.
She placed sixth at the Menlo Women’s Open.
Ontiveros won six of seven matches freshman year.
She took third at the West Coast Tournament of Champions.
Avalos and Ontiveros won CIF State titles with Pitman High School in 2023 and 2021, respectively.
Lancaster’s highest finish at state was third during her junior year at Gregori (2023).
Gilbert qualified for state in the ninth grade at Modesto High School.
“We’re super appreciative of the girls,” Hulstine said. “They want to give back.”
“We’re trying to show there’s a future in the sport of girls wrestling,” he added. “Girls wrestling has grown so much. It’s still growing every year. When I was in high school, girls wrestling wasn’t a sport. If you were a girl, you wrestled on the boys teams.”
Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s grappling programs will run the Champ Camp for the first time.
“We’ve passed the torch,” said Steve Festa, Ceres Pups Wrestling Club founder/president/coach. “We all want the same things. We want all of our kids to get better.”
Day One of the 2026 clinic will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Day Two will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wrestlers will be split into two groups: beginners (K-6) and advanced (7-12).
“All the kids will warm up together,” Festa said. “Then, the kids will be separated based on their experience. Our clinicians will be rotating and working with all the wrestlers at both levels.”
Evan Wick will serve as the lead instructor at the Fifth Annual California Champ Camp.
“I’m excited to share what I’ve learned and help the next generation of champions,” the four-time NCAA Division-I All-American grappler stated.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the athletes to learn from one of the best,” Festa added.
Wick captured the 174-pound title while representing the United States Men’s Freestyle Team at the 2025 Senior Pan-American Championships in Mexico.
He wrestled for the University of Wisconsin before finishing his career at Cal Poly.
Wick compiled a 23-1 record during his lone season with the Mustangs in 2021-22.
He won five of six matches en route to a third-place finish in the 165-pound weight bracket at the NCAA Division-I National Championships.
He also finished first at the Pac-12 Tournament.
Wick took third at the NCAA finals in 2018 and fourth as a sophomore in 2019 while representing the Badgers.
He had a collegiate record of 133-22.
Wick was a three-time state placer at the CIF Championships during his time at San Marino High School.
He claimed the 152-pound crown as a senior in 2016.
Wick won the Real American Freestyle (RAF) inaugural middleweight championship in August of 2025.
To register for the Champ Camp, visit cerespups.org.
Cost is $120 per grappler or $1,000 per high school team (14 wrestlers).
“It’s not just a camp for Ceres wrestlers,” Festa said. “It’s a camp for all local wrestlers in our area. It’s for everyone.”
