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Hawks earn second-place wrestling trophy
CV grapplers excel on mats in Stockton
cvwrestling2.tiff
The members of Central Valley High Schools wrestling program pose for a group photo following their second-place finish at the Bear Creek Invitational last Friday in Stockton. - photo by Contributed to the Courier

Central Valley High School's varsity wrestling program finished in the top three at the Bear Creek Invitational on Friday.

The Hawks compiled a near-perfect 4-1 record while taking second during the dual-meet portion of the tournament.

"Four years ago, we took second as well," head coach Rob Beckhart said. "I'm kind of surprised by the results. We're not really where we want to be yet. We're still trying to figure out our lineup for league."

Central Valley defeated crosstown-rival Ceres High 57-23 in Round V.

The Hawks lost 48-26 to Tokay in the semifinals.

Central Valley picked up wins versus Bear Creek (40-30), St. Mary's (50-7) and Franklin (58-18).

The Hawks swept 11 of 13 individual matches while dominating St. Mary's.

Central Valley topped Franklin in the opening round.

The Hawks improved their dual-meet record to 6-1.

"I just wanted to see our kids wrestle tough," coach Beckhart said.

Cordova wins medal
Central Valley senior Lexy Cordova compiled a 3-1 record on her way to a runner-up finish in the 132-pound division at the Bear Creek Girls Tournament on Saturday.

She lost by decision (5-2) in the finals.

Cordova won three times by pin.

"She competed well," Beckhart said.

Bulldogs do well
Ceres High's new-look varsity wrestling team placed fourth overall with a 3-2 record at the Bear Creek Invitational.
Tokay, Central Valley and Bear Creek finished first, second and third, respectively.

"We have a very young team," head coach Steve Festa said. "Eight of the 14 guys in our lineup are freshmen or first-year wrestlers. It's important they get this experience. It's about learning, improving and building confidence. I'm challenging them and they're responding."

The Bulldogs compiled a 3-0 record in Pool A.

Ceres High beat Lincoln (42-39), St. Mary's (40-33) and Atwater (49-28).

The Bulldogs lost to Bear Creek (39-32) and Central Valley (57-23) in the medal rounds.

Delete - Merge UpbodycopyCeres High's Nick Santibanez (133 pounds) and Abel Morales (285s/222s) posted identical 5-0 records.

Morales won by pin (3:19) over Central Valley's Cesar Yepiz.

Santibanez won by technical fall (15-0) over Hawk Abel Garcia.

The Bulldogs rested five starters during the crosstown dual. "We beat some tough teams," Festa said.