Central Valley High School staged its First Annual Varsity Girls Wrestling Dual Tournament on Dec. 22.

A total of 12 different schools participated, including CVHS, Modesto High, Atwater, Golden Valley, El Capitan, Los Banos, Ripon, Porterville, Sanger and Del Oro. Menlo-Atherton had two teams compete.

 “I want to give the girls the same opportunities the boys have,” Hawks’ head coach Rob Beckhart said. “If the sport is going to progress at all, you have to provide the same competition for both.”

The host Hawks compiled a 1-4 record en route to a ninth-place finish at the inaugural event.

 Del Oro, Golden Valley, Sanger and Atwater claimed team trophies by taking first, second, third and fourth, respectively. 

“We could have placed a little higher if we had our regular lineup,” Beckhart said. “We had some kids out with injuries and for the holidays.”

Central Valley topped Menlo-Atherton’s B-team (36-30).

The Hawks lost to Del Oro (72-6), Los Banos (33-33), Ripon (38-36) and El Capitan (33-33). Los Banos and El Capitan won by pin criteria over Central Valley. Ripon edged Central Valley by just two points.

“It was a good experience for the girls,” Beckhart said. 

Beckhart founded and organized the Central Valley Girls Dual Tournament.

“Last year, I started talking about it,” he said. “I asked coaches if they would be interested. That’s where it started. I’d like to see it become a top-notch tournament. The goal is to grow to 16 teams.” 

A total of four mats were used during the 2018 event.

The tourney started at 10 a.m. and ended at 3:30 p.m.

“I heard nothing but positive comments about the format and how it was fun,” Beckhart said. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to grow.”