The first leg of the 2025 prep wrestling postseason is in the books, and the Pitman, Turlock, Hughson, Denair and Hilmar programs will be sending a combined 78 student-athletes to the divisional and regional rounds this weekend.
Central California Athletic League
The league home to Pitman and Turlock will be represented by 44 grapplers from the two schools at this weekend's boys divisional and girls regional tournaments.
The Pride, who returned most of their starting dual lineups from a season ago, dominated the league meet with 17 first-place finishers. They were reigning state champion Baya Austin (142), 2024 state finalists Lily Dizon (100) and Mason Ontiveros (177), 2023 state finalist Gabby Austin (125), 2024 state qualifiers Troy Ceja (HWT), Carter Vannest (192), Brodie Johnson (167), Xadian Padilla (159) and Edward Sheeran (140), as well as Gabriel Camacho (108), RJ Wilharm (128), Mika Ontiveros (146), Isaac Padilla (152), Jeremiah Mora (217), Melanie Delgado (110), Patricia Bray (115) and Annabelle Austin (HWT).
The Bulldogs had three champions of their own in 113-pounder Cole Cronan and female grapplers Karley Wool (135) and Emilia Siliveira Montes (170).
Turlock’s runners-up were Gage Barletta (122), Ferris Quijada (134), Robert Hernandez (140), Jack Locke (144), Levi Cook (217), Freddy Lina (HWT), Leah Marshall (235), Athena Minjares (110) and 2024 state qualifier Aliah Bertalotto (100). The only runners-up for Pitman came on the girls’ side in Leila Avalos (120), Alina Dizon (130), Shyla Volk-Wood (147) and Alexis Rivas-Ayala (157).
Third-place finishers Shalveen Prassad (115), Ethan Lopez (134), Emily Martinez (105) and Isa Fuentes (115) of the Pride and Jaden Perez (128), Cesar Barajas (152), McKenna Beavers (140) of the Bulldogs, as well as fourth-placers Isaiah Vasquez (122) of Pitman and Shane Petty (159), Lauren Olvera (120) and Aubrey Plascencia (105) of Turlock, also qualified for the weekend’s events.
The 44 qualifiers are the most in history between the two programs.
Trans-Valley League
Twenty-three student athletes between Hilmar and Hughson high schools advanced to this weekend’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division V meet by earning finishes in the top four.
The host Huskies produced four first-place wrestlers Saturday at the TVL tournament — Caden Bowerman (126), Landon Mason (138), Caleb Parshall (150) and Daniel Zapien (175). Additionally, Zapien was named Outstanding Wrestler for the upper weights.
Taking home silver medals were Ethan Gagnier (106), Cameron Thornberry (144), Xavier Hernandez (165) and Carlos Zapien (190). Dominic Lopez (120) and Bryce Caulkins (215) each earned third while Gideon Benitez (157) and heavyweight Ryan Lankford each advanced with fourth-place finishes.
Hilmar’s program advanced four — Jake Nunes (108), Hunter Greunke (159), Isaiah Gill (192) and Logan Von Aspern (134). All but Aspern earned third, while the sophomore finished fourth.
The Yellowjackets will also be sending nine girls to the Sac-Joaquin Section South Regional tournament in Ceres this weekend. Catarina Teixeira (120), Chloe Azevedo (145) and Karley Segura (235) were all first-place winners in their weight classes. Sophia Azevedo (115), Nora Jorge (130) and Arely Ambriz (190) were runners-up, and Gloria Ledezma-Arreola (155) earned a third-place finish.
Southern Athletic League
The Denair High wrestling program, which has undergone a dramatic rebuild over the last three years under head coach Bryan Herrington, will be sending 11 wrestlers to the D-5 Divisionals this weekend.
Each grappler had to have placed in the top three of their respective weight class to qualify, and of that Denair bunch, four won their league titles while another two were finalists in their brackets.
Standing atop their podiums Saturday at Stone Ridge Christian High in Merced was Jesse Ruelas (138), Adrian Enciso (165), Even Coronel (190) and Brianna Thomas (170). Runners-up were Eduardo Zacharias (285), Josiah Ruelas (106) and Mackenzie Miguel (120). Other qualifiers for the Coyotes were Kale High (113), Chace Butler (132), Chris Vilichis-Perez (175) and Ernesto Silva (215).
Divisionals and Regionals
The Central California Athletic League’s boys wrestlers, including those from Turlock and Pitman, won’t have to travel to take part in this weekend’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II tournament, as it will be hosted by Turlock High School. The action there gets underway at 9 a.m. and will last most of the day Saturday. Those who place in the top eight of their respective weight classes will punch their tickets to the section’s Masters tournament.
The boys from Trans-Valley and Southern leagues will be competing at the Division V level, with that tournament taking place at Calaveras High School in San Andreas. This particular meet runs over the course of Friday and Saturday, with action starting at 9 a.m. each day. Additionally, only the top four from each weight class will advance to the Masters.
As for the ladies across the state, they will participate in regional tournaments ahead of the Masters. All qualifiers from the CCAL, TVL and SAL will be taking part in the Sac-Joaquin Section South Regional, which takes place Friday and Saturday from Central Valley High School in Ceres. Like in the boys’ D-1 event, only the top eight student-athletes from each weight division will advance to Masters.
The Sac-Joaquin Section Masters will take place on Feb. 21 and 22 from Stockton Arena.
