Central Valley varsity boys wrestlers Ruben Valenzuela and Natanael Lezama both brought home medals from the 44th James Riddle Classic.

Hosted by Oakdale High School on Dec. 14, the tournament featured hundreds of grapplers from 42 different teams.

Valenzuela finished runner-up in the 182-pound weight bracket.

He compiled a 3-1 record.

“Being a sophomore and getting second at the Riddle Classic is a great feat,” said coach Jesse Vazquez.

Valenzuela lost by technical fall to Oakmont’s Sean Myles in the finals.

He won by pin against Summerville’s Jonathan Gruver in the semifinals.

Valenzuela won by decision against Big Valley’s Gavin Boone in the quarterfinals and pin against Laguna Creek’s Caden Carpaneto in the second round.

“Ruben had a good performance,” Vazquez said. “He lost to a kid ranked seventh in the state. It showed us what we need to work on.”

Lezama, a senior, took fifth at 220 pounds.

He posted a 4-1 record.

He won by pin against Patterson’s Aaron Botkins during the fifth-place match.

Lezama also pinned Oakdale’s Geno Sarale, Downey’s Andres Robles and Oakmont’s Hayden Abbruzzese.

He lost by pin to Durham’s Jacob Christensen.

“Overall, Natanael had a great tournament,” Vazquez said.

Central Valley had a total of 10 grapplers compete at the Riddle Classic.

Davian Lemus won two of four matches at 126 pounds.

He pinned Hilmar’s Luis Vargas and Bear River’s Derek Warner.

Lemus lost by technical fall to Oakmont’s Kyle Obien and pin to Atwater’s Jacob Herrera.

Juan Melgoza won one of three matches at 132 pounds.

He pinned Lodi’s Lance Elliott.

Melgoza lost by major decision to Turlock’s William Giron and decision to Durham’s Maverick Davis.

Eric Rivera won one of his three matches at 145 pounds.

He earned a decision victory against Wood’s Dennis Marroquin.

He lost by decision to Granada’s Naeem Salemi and pin to De La Salle’s Aiden Linder.

Roman Ramirez won one of his three matches at 160 pounds.

He earned a major-decision victory against Summerville’s Ashton Bias.

Ramirez lost by forfeit to Oakdale’s Seth Borba and Bear River’s Jacob Vaughan.

Juan Lezama won one of three matches at 195 pounds.

He pinned Oakdale’s Ben Molina.

Lezama lost by pin to Dinuba’s J.J. Martinez and decision to Palma’s Javier Avila.

Enriquez Gonzales, Nic Genasci and Jonathan Torres all dropped both of their matches.

The Hawks totaled 62 points while finishing 13th overall in the team standings.

“It was a really tough tournament,” Vazquez said. “The boys did their best.”