STOCKTON — A slew of familiar faces, as well as a handful of newcomers, will be representing their respective high schools and the city of Turlock at this weekend’s CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.

Mechanics Bank Arena will play host to 14 grapplers from Pitman and Turlock high schools. The Pride make up 12 of those qualifiers, who each had to place in the top five of their respective weight classes at this past weekend’s Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament in Stockton. The Pride finished with four champions on Saturday and took home the boys’ team title to take home a record fifth blue banner of the season to hang in their gymnasium.

Taking home the titles of Masters champions were Edward Sheeran (138), 2024 state qualifiers Brodie Johnson (165) and Troy Ceja (285), 2024 state finalist Mason Ontiveros (175) and reigning state champion Baya Austin (140). 

Pitman also had a pair of second-place finishers at Masters — 2023 state finalist Gabby Austin (125) and 2024 state runner-up Lily Dizon (100). The youngest Austin sister, Annebella (235), as well as 2024 qualifier Carter Vannest (190), Isaac Padilla (150), and Jeremiah Mora (215) won their third-place matches, while Patricia Bray, another qualifier from a year ago, punched her ticket with a fourth-place finish at 115 pounds. Joining the plethora of Pride will be a pair of Bulldogs — Jack Locke (144) and 2024 qualifier Aliah Bertalotto (100).

Pitman won the boys’ team title with 231.1 points, 5.5 ahead of second-place Folsom. The girls also made a run at a blue banner of their own, but settled for third with 121.5 points, just five back of champion Tokay.

This week’s state meet, taking place Thursday through Saturday, means something different for each qualifier.

The dream of a historic repeat rings constant in Baya Austin’s mind. She won three of her four Masters matches by first-period fall. The exception was a medical forfeit from her opponent in the semifinal round. Sister Gabby, Dizon and Ontiveros, meanwhile, will get a chance at redemption for their shortcomings in recent state finals. 

Gabby Austin won her first two matches by falls in the first period, then muscled her way to a 4-0 decision over Alanna Harwell of St. Mary’s in the semifinal. She narrowly lost a 7-6 decision to Elk Grove’s Skye Schneider in the championship. Nearly the same results unfolded for Dizon, who pinned each of her first two opponents in the first round. She beat Folsom’s Pia Hill by 12-6 decision before dropping the final 6-1 to Franklin’s Giselle Solano. 

Ontiveros was his usual dominant self, pinning each of his first two opponents within the opening minute of action, then cruising to three straight technical falls. He outscored his last three opponents 56-9.

“I had a great run last year making it all the way to the finals,” Ontiveros told the Turlock Journal earlier this season. “Even though I wanted to win, the loss has made me even more hungry than ever, so I’m gonna go out there and battle as hard as I can and it’ll be hard to stop me.”

The state meet will be an event rooted in family for several grapplers. The Austin trio is just one example. Another comes in Ontiveros, who is the younger sibling of Alana Ontiveros, Pitman’s 2023 graduate who qualified to state three times. Mora is a part of the club, too, as his older brother, Juan (currently competing at the University of Oklahoma), also took three trips to Bakersfield, and was a state champion in 2021. 

As for Turlock’s Bertalotto, who placed fourth, she is the fourth sibling to advance to the state meet to represent the blue and gold. It began with oldest brother Isaac in 2012. Last year, Aliah joined twins Jeremiah and Isaiah (who also qualified in 2023) in Bakersfield for the first time. She secured her second straight trip with a 10-8 decision over Will C. Wood’s Sophia Villoria in the consolation semifinals Saturday, though she lost a 7-3 battle with Folsom’s Hill in the third-place match shortly after.

“During my matches, I kept thinking about my brothers and the three of them with me, because (Isaac) was also coaching,” Bertalotto said. “Now, it's just me, and I'm the only one heading up there, so it's like a rush of emotions. I look up to them a lot. They’re the reason why I joined wrestling.”

Johnson, a senior who transferred from Oakdale prior to last season, has an opportunity to make back-to-back podiums in a Pitman singlet. He placed eighth in 2024, and didn’t place as a freshman Mustang. His 2023 run with Oakdale was cut short due to an MCL injury in the Masters.

“I learned that I can fight through anything,” Johnson said. He won three matches by fall, and capped off his weekend with a 13-6 decision victory over Oakdale friend Gideon Gerber in the final. “I know I can place again… And I’m just looking forward to wrestling, giving it my all.”

Similar goes for Sheeran, Ceja, Vannest and Bray, who hope they can bring back hardware this time around.

“I have to come out and be my best version of myself, wrestle a full six minutes and just constantly go trying to score points,” said Ceja, a junior who won his first three Masters matches by fall before defeating Casa Roble’s Darren Dalton by 5-1 decision in the semifinal and Oakdale’s Matthew Cooley 4-2 in the title match. “It would mean a lot to place and be a champion. Ever since I was a little kid, I remember my dad taking me to the state tournament. I was little, like 8, and I remember walking in during the finals, and just how excited I was to be there, so it’ll be special.”

Sheeran, another junior, shared similar sentiments.

“It's definitely different expectations for me this time than last year,” he said. “I just feel like I’m in a lot better position mentally,  just a lot more confident… But it’s the same as any other tournament. Just going, looking to score and just wrestle my match, just have fun. That’s the sport.”

Annebella Austin, Padilla and Mora will display their skills on the state stage for the very first time. And the same goes for Locke, who experienced a roller coaster of emotions (and controversy) to secure fifth place and his ticket to Bakersfield.

In the consolation semifinal, Locke had thought he won a 6-4 decision over Folsom’s Matthew Loftis to qualify to state, but following a review, the result was overturned 15 minutes later after it was determined Loftis earned a near-fall before the final buzzer sounded. Locke then had to gear up for the fifth-place match, which happened to be against Pitman’s Mika Ontiveros. Despite Ontiveros beating Locke in their two meetings this year, the Turlock junior won by fall in the early stages of the third period.

“I was pretty nervous because I had to win again,” Locke said. “Winning, it feels pretty good. My grandpa was very happy.”

Sharing in that joy was Turlock head coach Ricky Gonzalez. “It was a challenging and emotional day, but his resilience shined through,” he said of Locke.

There will be no shortage of emotions as the gauntlet that is the state tournament progresses.

The CIF State Wrestling Championships from Mechanics Bank Arena will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with the start of the girls brackets. Boys brackets will get underway at noon. Friday at 9 a.m. will bring the beginning of consolation brackets for both boys and girls, while quarterfinals will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday is the final day of the tournament, with the consolation brackets continuing at 9 a.m. The semifinals of the championship brackets will start at 10:30 a.m., while 6:15 p.m. will be the start of the championship finals. 

Livestreams of each mat can be viewed throughout the three days at www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/cif/wrestling. For those looking to make the trip down to Bakersfield, tickets can be purchased the day of the event or in advance via the Mechanics Bank Arena Box Office and on AXS.com by searching “CIF State Wrestling.”