Ceres High School's varsity wrestling team had high hopes heading into the second week of the Western Athletic Conference dual-meet season.

The Bulldogs had to settle for a split after winning one of their two matches.

"This is only the third (WAC) dual of the season," Ceres High standout junior grappler John Alba said. "We have three more. It's still up for grabs."

The Bulldogs improved to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference standings following Wednesday's 69-12 pasting of Pacheco at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs dropped just two of 14 matches while dominating the Panthers.

Spencer Nelson won by pin (1:00) against Diego Sabraneos at 170 pounds.

Ethan Letras won by pin (1:08) against Jeremy Frost at 145 pounds.

Conner Johnson won by pin (1:13) against Daniel Aparicio at 195 pounds.

Jaden Cooper won by pin (2:56) against Kyle Savage at 138 pounds.

Daniel McElwain won by pin (3:41) against Michael Fa at 220 pounds.

Diego Diaz won by pin (4:45) against Gabriel Casarez at 182 pounds.

Alba won by forfeit at 152 pounds.

Brian Becerra won by third-period injury default against Christian Grijalva at 132 pounds.

Frankie Mendez won by forfeit at 106 pounds.

Shanald Lal won by forfeit at 113 pounds.

Michael Vargas won by forfeit at 120 pounds.

Tony Gonzalez won by forfeit at 285 pounds.

Luis Camarillo lost by pin (2:54) to Anthony Velazquez at 126 pounds.

Isaac Soto lost by pin (4:12) to Erick Ramirez at 160 pounds.

Ceres High won just four of 14 matches in losing 53-21 to host Central Valley on Jan. 12.

"We tried out hardest and that's all that matters," said Alba, who won by pin (3:25) against Jose Castillo at 152 pounds. "No one gave up on the mat."

Mendez won by pin (1:25) against Trent Craig at 106 pounds.

Nelson won by pin (3:59) against Andrew Marquez at 170 pounds.

Camarillo won by decision (11-5) against Brandon Senseney at 126 pounds.

Ahead 11-0, Camarillo nearly lost by pin in the final minute.

Becerra lost by decision (4-3) to Angel Gonzales at 132 pounds.

Gonzales secured the victory just before time expired in the third period.

Cooper lost by major decision (9-1) to Sev Vazquez at 138 pounds.

Letras lost by major decision (15-5) to Christian Oliver at 145 pounds.

Lal lost by pin (4:56) to Wilbur Arellano at 113 pounds.

Johnson lost by pin (4:35) to Jason Beckhart at 220 pounds.

Diaz lost by pin (3:29) to Gabriel Martinez at 182 pounds.

McElwain lost by pin (2:31) to David Lezama at 285 pounds.

Aiden Moore lost by pin (1:11) to Alex Alvarado at 160 pounds.

Vargas lost by pin (0:59) to Luis Saucedo at 120 pounds.

Ceres High lost by forfeit at 195 pounds.

The Bulldogs failed in their attempt to snap the Hawks' 13-match unbeaten streak in WAC dual-meet competition.

"Central Valley has a very good team," Alba said. "We really wanted to end the streak. We felt a lot of pressure. We know how well they've been performing. We should have made it more competitive. We could have fought off our backs harder and capitalized on their mistakes. This loss will make us more pumped for every match to come. We'll be hungry to win."