Ceres High’s varsity boys wrestling team qualified seven individuals for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Tournament.

Brian Ayala, Edison Jimenez, Diego Armas, Angel Figueroa, Nicholas Angulo, Joshua Ofisa and Fernando Gonzales advanced after finishing in the top four in their respective weight classes at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday at Los Banos.

Ayala placed second while competing in the 138-pound division.

He posted a 2-1 record.

Ayala bested Beyer’s Jack Lawrence (decision (6-1) and Pacheco’s Adrian Chaparro (technical fall, 15-0).

He lost to Grace Davis’ Ethyn Petsch by default.

Ayala missed the majority of the year with an ankle injury that was re-aggravated in the finals at the WAC tourney.

“Brian was the only one to make it to the finals,” Coach Casey Paulino said. “He hasn’t wrestled since the beginning of the season. He’s been showing up every day at practice. He’s been doing push-ups and sit-ups and riding the bike on the side while the rest of the team is conditioning. He’s always had a good work ethic.”

Jimenez (145s, 3-1), Armas (152s, 3-1), Figueroa (170s, 3-1) and Angulo (182s, 3-1) all took third.

Jimenez bested Los Banos’ Deven Silveira twice (pin, pin) and won once by forfeit.

Armas bested Grace Davis’ Alfred Valdez twice (9-6, 10-7) and Los Banos’ Augustin Perez (pin) once.

Figueroa bested Grace Davis’ Amman Faizi (pin) and Pacheco’s Angel Orozco (pin), and won once by forfeit.

Angulo bested Grace Davis’ Fernando Jimenez (pin) and Pacheco’s Kevin Reyes (pin), and won once by forfeit.

Ofisa (195s, 2-2) took fourth.

He bested Lathrop’s Jose Avila (pin) and won once by forfeit.

Gonzales (160s, 2-2) took fourth.

He bested Los Banos’ Alexis Rodriguez (pin) and won by forfeit.

Ceres High’s Arturo Estrada (120s, 2-2) and Jose Cisneros (126s, 1-3) took fifth and sixth, respectively.

The Bulldogs totaled 126.5 points while taking fifth in the team standings.

Ceres High finished ahead of Los Banos (113), Johansen (98) and Lathrop (65).

Grace Davis (270), Pacheco (202), Beyer (182) and Mountain House (139) placed first, second, third and fourth, respectively.

Ceres High will compete at the Division-IV Tournament this Friday and Saturday at Beyer High School.