The Ceres Pups Wrestling Club hosted the Winter Smackdown on Dec. 8 at Ceres High School’s Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

The San Joaquin Wrestling Association folkstyle tournament featured more than a dozen clubs and 240 male and female grapplers.

“We hosted it the same weekend as the Ceres Invitational,” said Steve Festa, tourney director/Pups founder/former head coach of Ceres High’s wrestling program. “It was pretty special. We’ve really put an emphasis on our youth program. We have a good reputation of running a fun tournament. It’s well-organized.”

The Pups had two individual champions and a host of placers.

On the boys’ side, Parker Borges finished first with a 3-0 record in the 12-and-under weight bracket for 88-to-91-pounders.

He won all three of his matches by pin.

Landon Ormonde (49-53 pounds, 3-0 record) finished first in the 10-and-under division.

Eden Gandarilla (56s, 2-1) finished second.

Shawn Janis (145s, 2-1) finished second in the 14-and-under division.

Eli Swartz (174-187s, 1-1) finished second in the 12-and-under division.

Tama Tavares (57-60s, 2-1) second), Logan Ives (57-59s, 1-1), Eddie Purkis (46-48s, 2-1) and Cruz Bridges (42-44s, 1-1) all finished second in 8-and-under brackets.

Tyris Williams (62-67s, 0-3) and Matthew Stephenson (62-68s, 0-3) both finished fourth in the 10-and-under class.

Jeremiah Young (95-103s, 0-3) finished fourth in the 12-and-under class.

Unable to compete in the 11-and-under class due to a leg injury, fifth-grader Tanner Brister rooted from the sidelines.

“He was there to support his teammates,” Festa said. “He’s one of our best wrestlers.”

On the girls’ side, Aiden Nunez (71-76s, 1-1 record) finished second in the 12&under division.

Younger sister Jazlyn Nunez (69-74s, 1-1) finished second in the 10&under weight class.

Mia Valentina Orellana Campollo (98-100s, 0-2) both finished second.

“The kids worked hard,” Festa said. “They had a lot of fun. That’s really important.”

The Pups are coached by Adam Borges, Tony Ormonde and Josh Swartz.