By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Wrestlers Hulstine,Tubera finish in top 8 at Big Valley
Placeholder Image
Ceres High's Curtis Hulstine and Central Valley's Victor Tubera placed at the Big Valley Classic wrestling tournament in Stockton last week.

Hulstine, a junior, posted a 5-2 record en route to a fourth-place finish in the 119-pound division.

"Pretty impressive performance," Bulldogs head coach Jon Nowicki said. "He did a great job wrestling and beating some tough kids. Before, he had raw talent. Now, he's taking what we taught him and he's becoming a really good wrestler."

Both of Curtis' losses came against Central Catholic's Steven Widmer, the Sac-Joaquin Section's No. 6 ranked 119-pound grappler. Hulstine lost by pin (4:02) to Widmer during the third-place match. Curtis dropped a 5-3 decision to Steven in the quarterfinals.

Curtis collected wins against Granite Bay's Ian Mook (pin, 1:14), Buhach Colony's Mikey Guzman (decision, 5-0), Prospect's Brian Santana (decision, 8-2), Douglas County's Tim Souza (decision in overtime, 2-1) and Natomas' Alex Steelman (decision, 8-1).

Hulstine has finished first three times and fourth twice during his junior campaign.

"He didn't place at a tournament for the entire first half of the season last year," Nowicki said. "One of his biggest improvements is his aggressiveness. Curtis definitely has the opportunity to be the best wrestler I've ever coached. He wants to learn."

Tubera, a senior, took eighth with a 4-3 mark at 145 pounds.

"I'm not happy at all," Victor said. "I should have at least took third. My first two losses were by a total of two points."

Tubera fell 4-3 to Liberty's Nick Gizzo in the third round and 2-1 to Del Campo's John Vyborny in the seventh round.

Douglas County's Eddie Kollar pinned Victor in 42 seconds for seventh place.

"It was devastating," he said. "That's not how I wanted to end the tournament."

Tubera won by major decision against Heritage's Clayton Hambrick (13-2), and decision over Oakmont's Hirvin Gonzales (10-6), Vacaville's Brent Rees (7-0) and Prospect's David Silver (3-1).

Ceres High finished 31st overall in the team standings with 66 points.

Keegan Overbey was the only other Bulldog that advanced to the second day of the tournament.

He posted a 3-2 record at 130 pounds. Keegan won by decision, technical fall and pin.

"He was one match away from placing," Nowicki said. "He did pretty good."

Ceres High's Christian Rodriguez, Tony Spinella, Albert Melendez, Wesley Schwieger, Jordan Apodoca, Brian Naylor, Shawn Amirfar, Christian Moore and Diego Garcia were eliminated from the competition on Saturday.

Rodriguez compiled a 3-2 record at 140 pounds. His three wins came by pin.

Spinella won two of four matches at 145 pounds. His victories came via technical fall and decision.

Melendez (1-2 record, 285 pounds), Schwieger (1-2, 103) and Apodoca (1-2, 152) won by major decision, decision and forfeit, respectively.

Naylor (0-2, 125), Amirfar (0-2, 135), Moore (0-2, 171) and Garcia (0-2, 215) failed to win a match.

Central Valley finished in 52nd place (29 points) at the 57-team event.

Central Catholic won the team title.

Brian Creek (1-2, 285), Jamie Lomeli (1-2, 135), Alex Alvarez (1-2, 119) and Josh Beckhart (1-2, 215) amassed identical records.

Creek won by pin (1:27) over Atwater's Richard Sanchez.

Lomeli won by pin (2:57) over Atwater's Surrinder Chahal.

Alvarez won by decision (12-6) over Enochs' Ricky Miranda.

Beckhart won by decision (3-0) over Ceres High's Diego Garcia.

Toby Gotskind (0-2, 103), Cody Melton (0-2, 125), Gilbert Soares (0-2, 130), Tony Cordova (0-2, 140), Vince Lopez (0-2, 152), Robert Burrows (0-2, 160), Scott Myatt (0-2, 171) and Evan Elliott (0-2, 189) posted a combined record of 0-16 during competition.