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Alba, four CHS wrestlers qualify for Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships
Dawgs finish 7th in team standings at D-IV tournament
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Ceres High had five wrestlers advance to Masters, including Luis Camarillo (pictured). Camarillo placed fourth in the 120-pound bracket at Divisionals this past week.

Ceres High sophomore grappler John Alba continued his remarkable run through the postseason gauntlet.

Seeded fourth, Alba won all three of his matches en route to a first-place finish in the 152-pound weight bracket at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Varsity Wrestling Championships last week at Foothill High School.

John also took first at the WAC finals on Feb. 13.

"He had some tough losses early in the season," Bulldogs head coach Steve Festa said. "He kept working hard to get better. He's at an elite level now. He's also having fun."

Alba and Bulldog teammates Rudy Gonzales, Abel Morales, Diego Diaz and Luis Camarillo secured berths to the Masters tournament, to be staged this Friday and Saturday at the Stockton Arena.

The top four individuals in each weight class at Divisionals earned the right to compete for at least one more week.

"We knew exactly what we needed to do," Festa said. "It was a grind. Everybody stepped up. Everybody pushed hard. We're not done. We can get better."

Alba won by pin over Liberty Ranch's Cody Thornburg and Union's Mine's Daniel Ward, and major decision over El Dorado's Connor Russell.

Gonzales finished third overall with a 3-1 mark at 215 pounds.

Rudy won by pin over Lincoln's Wyatt Dornbush and Bear River's Sam Elizondo, and decision over Central Valley's Jason Beckhart. He lost by technical fall to Rosemont's Bryan Knowles.

Morales (195 pounds, 2-2 record), Diego Diaz (170s, 4-2) and Camarillo (120s, 4-2) all took fourth in their respective weight classes.

Alba won by pin over Placer's Kyle Penney and decision over Foothill's Isaiah Banks. He lost by pin to El Dorado's Alex LeBaron and Rosemont's Marcus Hudson.

Diego won by pin over Liberty Ranch's Derek Bonslett and El Capitan's Vincent Vang, and decision over Los Banos' Paul Reyes and Central Valley's Gabriel Martinez. He lost by pin to Foothill's Steve Acebo and Rosemont's Nicholas Ruddock.

Luis won by pin over Liberty Ranch's AJ Harris and El Dorado's Declan Russell, and by decision over Lincoln's Austin Freymond. He also collected a forfeit victory. Camarillo lost by pin to Foothill's William Peterson and by decision to Central Valley's Christian Oliver.

Ceres High's Aaron Page, Brian Becerra, Tyler Fleming, Aiden Moore, Daniel Raya, Jaden Cooper, Spencer Nelson and Brian Quintanilla had their seasons cut short at Divisionals.

Page (126s, 4-2) and Becerra (113s, 3-2) both placed fifth.

Aaron won by pin over Foothill's Erick Zaragoza, technical fall over Colfax's Judah Hardesty, and decision over Livingston's John Maldanado and Bear River's Travis Carpenter. He lost by technical fall to Cordova's Derek Burton and decision to Los Banos' Isaiah Jimenez.

Fleming (106s, 2-2), Moore (138s, 2-2), Raya (145s, 1-2), Cooper (132s, 0-2), Nelson (160s, 0-2) and Quintanilla (285s, 0-2) didn't place.

Tyler won by pin over Liberty Ranch's Roman Rose and decision over Rosemont's Anthony Trabucco. He lost by pin to Bear River's Noah Danieli and decision to Cordova's Zachary Guerrero.

Daniel won by decision over Lincoln's Ramon Cardinas. He lost by pin to El Dorado's Dan Carey and Union Mine's Cameron Cathy.

Jaden lost by pin to Placer's Joshua Mason and Central Valley's Angel Gonzales.

Spencer lost by decision to Patteron's Michael Boschi and pin to Cordova's John Graf.

Brian lost by pin to Center's Coery Vincent and Foothill's Jordan Costa.

Ceres High totaled 102.5 points while finishing in seventh as a team at Divisionals.

Rosemont (130), Los Banos (122), Cordova (121.5), El Dorado (119), Central Valley (111.5) and Foothill (111) took first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

"I'm very proud of my team's effort," Festa said. "It was very impressive. The guys were focused. Every day is about getting better."