Central Valley’s boys wrestling program will be sending 10 grapplers to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III Tournament.
Joey Zuniga, Angel Melgoza, Samuel Deleon, Mahkai Smith, Salvador Almazan and Caleb Beckhart were awarded individual berths after finishing in the top four at the Central California Conference Championships on Friday at Atwater High School.
Sunny Breshears and Isaiah Shirley will both compete at Divisionals as alternates after taking fifth at the CCC Finals.
Alternates Manjot Gill and Kenneth Orrin also finished fifth in their respective brackets. They’ll find out during weigh-ins if they’ll get an opportunity to compete at Divisionals.
“I’m happy for the kids that are moving on,” head coach Rob Beckhart said. “It doesn’t get any easier. We’ll keep working hard.”
Zuniga claimed the 138-pound title.
He posted a 3-0 record.
“Joey had to wrestle some tough matches,” Rob Beckhart said. “He did well.”
Zuniga bested Merced’s Zechariah Gonzales-Amaya (major decision, 13-3), Golden Valley’s Aaron Avila (pin, 3:51) and Buhach Colony’s Daniel Garcia (decision, 4-1).
“He changed his approach to matches,” coach Beckhart said. “He’s more traditional in his wrestling style.”
Melgoza took second at 175 pounds.
He posted a 1-1 record.
Melgoza bested Golden Valley’s Abel Lopez (decision, 4-0).
“Angel has a reputation of being a good wrestler,” Rob Beckhart said. “Most of the time, he’s able to come out on top. His length and strength cause guys to have fits with him.”
Deleon took third at 190 pounds.
He posted a 2-1 record.
Deleon bested Buhach Colony’s Daniel Perez-Sam (pin, 0:39) and Golden Valley’s Edwin Rios-Bustos (pin, 3:51).
Smith took third at 215 pounds.
He posted a 2-1 record.
Smith bested Patterson’s Tripp Skoien (pin, 2:00) and Atwater’s Eduardo Mendivil (pin, 3:11).
Almazan took third at 285 pounds.
He posted a 2-1 record.
Almazan won twice by pin (3:18, 4:08) against Merced’s Julian Mora.
Caleb Beckhart, a sophomore, took fourth at 126 pounds.
He posted a 1-2 record.
Beckhart bested El Capitan’s Isaac Barriga (decision, 7-2).
Breshears posted a 2-2 record at 144 pounds.
He won twice by pin (1:11, 3:54) against Atwater’s Jacob Sousa.
Shirley, a sophomore, posted a 1-2 record at 106 pounds.
He bested Atwater’s Julian Vera (decision, 15-9).
Gill posted a 1-2 record at 132 pounds.
He bested Buhach Colony’s Shane Sanchez (decision, 7-5).
Orrin posted an 0-2 record at 165 pounds.
The Hawks totaled 129 points while taking fourth in the team standings at the CCC Championships.
“I’m proud of them,” coach Beckhart said. “It’s a tough league.”
Dawgs move on
Three members of Ceres High’s boys wrestling program claimed individual medals at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday at Beyer.
McCoy Adams, Jonas Hayes and Angel Ventura finished in the top four in their respective weight classes on their way to securing berths to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Tournament.
Aiden Cisneros and Jaden Silva were named alternates for Divisionals.
Isaac Camorlinga’s season came to an abrupt end due to injury.
“Overall, I thought the team did great,” Bulldogs’ head coach Adam Borges said. “Everybody battled. I’m proud of the kids that moved on.”
Adams, a junior, took third with a 2-1 record in the 115-pound weight bracket.
He topped Johansen’s Rances Barlandas (pin, 2:02) and Los Banos’ Xander Solis (pin, 4:22).
Hayes, a junior, took fourth with an 0-2 record at 146 pounds.
Ventura, a junior, took fourth with an 0-2 record at 177 pounds.
Cisneros, a freshman, took fifth with a 2-3 record at 128 pounds.
He topped Beyer’s Chase Monjure (pin, 0:26) and Grace Davis’ Issac Alvarez (pin, 2:51).
Silva, a sophomore, took fifth with a 1-3 record at 287 pounds.
He topped Mountain House’s Sayed Noori (decision, 9-5).
Camorlinga, a junior, placed sixth with a 1-3 record at 134 pounds.
He injury defaulted after suffering a broken right arm in semifinals.
Camorlinga topped Beyer’s Silas Crocker (pin, 1:53).
Ceres High totaled 84 points on its way to finishing seventh overall in the team standings at the WAC Championships.
“We have a really young team,” Borges said. “All of the kids are improving.”
