Ruben Valenzuela made program history this past week by becoming the Central Valley High School boys wrestling team’s first-ever, two-time state qualifier.

The 184-pound senior punched his ticket to the CIF State Meet with a sixth-place finish at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships on Saturday at Stockton Arena.

“He locked up a berth on the first day,” said Coach Rob Beckhart. “It was fun to watch.”

“There’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into it (wrestling),” he added. “Not a lot of people will choose to do that.”

Valenzuela compiled a 3-3 record at Masters.

He improved his overall record to 32-5.

Valenzuela collected wins against St. Mary’s Joseph Macedo (pin), El Dorado’s Nathan long (pin) and Oak Ridge’s Conner Dasmann (pin).

He forfeited his final two matches due to illness after losing to Vacaville’s Francisco Ochoa (decision) in the semifinals.

“Ruben had a medical issue,” Beckhart said. “He was vomiting and light-headed. He didn’t feel good. We decided to err on the side of caution. We sent him to the doctor to make sure he was okay. He got cleared and back in time for the fifth-place match. I told him there was nothing to gain by letting him wrestle. He had already qualified for state.”

“Our focus is to try to get him back to where he needs to be for this weekend,” he added. “We’re not going to push him too hard.”

Central Valley’s Nick Genasci just missed securing a berth to the state meet.

The 113-pound senior claimed an eighth-place medal.

He took eighth at Divisionals the previous weekend.

“Nick was one win away from going to state,” Beckhart said. “I think he’s satisfied with what he accomplished. He exceeded his expectations.”

Genasci compiled a 4-3 record at Masters.

He collected wins against Delhi’s Roberto Chan (decision), Pacheco’s Jonathan Rodriguez (pin), Sheldon’s Sumit Rana (pin) and Franklin’s Jackson Calvert (forfeit).

Genasci lost to Del Oro’s Jagger French (pin), West’s Micah Viloria (pin) and Oakmont’s Tanner Stone (forfeit).

Genasci posted a 32-16 overall record during his final season with the Hawks.

“He placed at every tournament,” Beckhart said. “He earned eight medals this year.”

Genasci lost 19 of 20 matches as a freshman.

“His turnaround is pretty remarkable,” Beckhart said. “He surprised us and himself. It’s a good example for the other kids. He stuck with it and didn’t quit. He was committed. He improved so much. He became a reliable part of our program.”

Central Valley’s Adan Garcia, Enrique Gonzalez and Anthony Malagon also competed at Masters.

Garcia compiled a 2-2 record at 126 pounds.

Garcia beat Woodcreek’s Dylan Perrault (decision) and Pioneer’s Cael Sanders (pin).

He lost to Franklin’s Ahmaad Lewis (pin) and Monterey Trails’ Changhao Xu (decision).

Gonzalez compiled a 1-2 record at 132 pounds.

He beat Vanden’s Nathaniel Soria (pin).

Gonzalez lost to Bret Harte’s Alex Worth (pin) and Granite Bay’s Benjamin Quilpa (pin).

Malagon compiled a 1-2 record at 195 pounds.

He beat West’s Jaron Chavarria (pin).

Malagon lost to Turlock’s Luis Macias (pin) and Tokay’s Francisco Marin (sudden victory).