Wrestlers from Ceres, Modesto, Hughson, Turlock, Hilmar and Idaho attended the Fifth Annual California Champ Camp this past weekend at Ceres High School.
“For our area, I don’t think any other camps are offering the same level of clinicians,” Central Valley head coach Rob Beckhart said. “The big thing is having exposure to that type of talent. It’s good for the kids to hear from someone that is doing it. The clinicians talked a lot about mental mindset and sports nutrition. They stuck around after the camp to answer questions, sign autographs and take pictures.”
Over 100 boys and girls, aged 4-18, signed up for this year’s camp, which was staged at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Cost was $120 per grappler or $1,000 per high school team (14 wrestlers).
“It was awesome seeing a bunch of local kids trying to get better,” said Curtis Hulstine, California Champ Camp director/Ceres High girls wrestling head coach. “The campers were engaged and did a good job executing the technique they were taught.”
Former Cal Poly men’s wrestling standouts Evan Wick and Trevor Tinker served as head clinicians at the California Champ Camp.
“It’s one of the coolest experiences I’ve had coaching,” said Wick, who provides instruction at four to five clinics throughout the United States every year. “It’s one of the biggest camps I’ve coached at. They have such a great support system.”
“They (Wick and Tinker) were willing to invest their time in our community,” Hulstine added. “They showed a lot of high-level technique.”
Wick and Tinker both passed on their knowledge at the two-day camp.
Wick captured the 174-pound title while representing the United States Men’s Freestyle Team at the 2025 Senior Pan-American Championships in Mexico.
He wrestled for the University of Wisconsin before finishing his career at Cal Poly.
Wick compiled a 23-1 record during his lone season with the Mustangs in 2021-22.
He won five of six matches en route to a third-place finish in the 165-pound weight bracket at the NCAA Division-I National Championships.
He also finished first at the Pac-12 Tournament.
Wick took third at the NCAA finals in 2018 and fourth as a sophomore in 2019 while representing the Badgers.
He had a collegiate record of 133-22.
Wick was a three-time state placer at the CIF Championships during his time at San Marino High School.
He claimed the 152-pound crown as a senior in 2016.
Wick won the Real American Freestyle (RAF) inaugural middleweight championship in August of 2025.
Tinker, a Cal Poly Regional Training Center clinician, was a four-time NCAA Division-I National Tournament qualifier with the Mustangs (2023-26).
The 6-foot-7 285-pounder won his second straight Pac-12 heavyweight title during his final season.
Tinker had a career record of 73-40.
“I wanted to give back to the Ceres Pups and Ceres high school teams,” four-time NCAA Division-I All-American Wick said. “The kids had a great time. I had a great time. It was fun.”
“There’s not a lot of Division-I wrestling programs in California,” Beckhart stated. “The fact those guys (Wick and Tinker) wanted to come over here and show us what they do is really special.”
The California Camp Champ also featured female instructors for the fourth year in a row.
Lilly Avalos (Pitman High School/Vanguard University), Alana Ontiveros (Pitman High School/Menlo College), Mikayla Lancaster (Menlo College/Gregori High School) and Mackenzie Gilbert (Modesto High/Waldorf University) provided assistance as camp counselors.
Avalos finished in sixth place while representing Vanguard University in the 131-pound weight bracket at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Regional VI Wrestling Tournament.
The 131-pound junior compiled a 30-12 record on the season.
Lancaster placed eighth in the 160-pound weight bracket at the 2026 U.S. Open in Las Vegas during her sophomore year at Menlo College.
She claimed her second straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championship title.
Lancaster posted a 20-8 overall record.
She earned first-team all-MPSF honors for the second consecutive season.
Lancaster was named the MPSF Women’s Wrestling Freshman of the year in 2024-25.
She won 12 of 15 matches.
Gilbert qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championships as a 103-pound freshman at Waldorf University.
She placed second at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament.
Gilbert was selected to the GPAC Second Team.
Ontiveros amassed a 7-4 overall record as a 160-pound sophomore at Menlo College in 2024-25.
She placed sixth at the Menlo Women’s Open.
Ontiveros won six of seven matches freshman year.
She took third at the West Coast Tournament of Champions.
Avalos and Ontiveros won CIF State titles with Pitman High School in 2023 and 2021, respectively.
Lancaster’s highest finish at state was third during her junior year at Gregori (2023).
Gilbert qualified for state in the ninth grade at Modesto High School.
“Every year we see more girls at the camp,” Hulstine said. “That directly correlates with us having female counselors there. The older girls are motivating the younger girls.”
The California Champ Camp was co-hosted by Ceres High and Central Valley.
The Bulldogs and Hawks were in charge of running the clinic for the first time.
“We’ve passed the torch,” said Steve Festa, Ceres Pups Wrestling Club founder, president and coach. “We all want the same things. We want all of our kids to get better.”
“It’s nice being able to work with our crosstown-rivals,” Beckhart added. “We’re all on the same page.”
Day One of the 2026 clinic ran from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Day Two ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wrestlers were split into two groups: beginners (K-6) and advanced (7-12).
Wick stressed the importance of being a good competitor whether you win or lose.
“You have to be tough enough to handle setbacks,” he said.
Wick decided to help out at the California Champ Camp after being contacted by Festa and talking with former Cal Poly colleague/Central Valley High School wrestler Ethan Rotondo.
Wick and Rotondo coached together for two seasons (2023-25) at the college level.
Wick and Festa met for the first time at the Azevedo-Hitchcock Camp over a decade ago.
“I’ve known coach Festa for a while,” Wick said. “He helped me out at the Azevedo-Hitchcock camps when I was a freshman and sophomore in high school. I wanted to give back and help the Ceres Pups and Ceres high school teams.”
Wick would be open to returning to Ceres next summer.
“I’d love to come back,” he said. “The coaches are so awesome. There’s a lot of great history there and optimism for the sport in the future.”
