Yzabella Austin and Mason Ontiveros found themselves in familiar territory on Friday night, leaving Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield unbeaten through the first two days of the CIF State Wrestling Championships. They are two of three Pitman High wrestlers that remain in contention for state championships, the other being Carter Vannest, who has already secured his first state podium of his career.
Austin, better known by many as “Baya,” is still holding her crown tightly. Last year’s undisputed 130-pound champion is back, this time threatening for the 140-pound title after pinning her first three opponents of the week.
Displaying similar dominance has been Ontiveros, a runner-up last year who remains in the 175-pound division. The junior earned two pins and a technical fall in the first three rounds, and punched his ticket to the semifinals with a majority decision.
Vannest, who didn’t place at last year’s event, has strung together three wins all in different fashions, whether it be by fall, technical fall, or muscling out a decision.
Although not in contention for state titles, multiple local grapplers remain hopefuls for podium positions. They are Pitman’s Masters champions Troy Ceja (285), Brodie Johnson (165) and Edward Sheeran (138).
Eliminated in the consolation brackets from the Pride were 2023 state finalist Gabby Austin (125), 2024 state finalist Lily Dizon (100), Patricia Bray (115), Annebella Austin (235), Jeremiah Mora (215) and Isaac Padilla (150), as well as Turlock High’s Jack Locke (144) and Aliah Bertalotto (100).
Austin began her run to what she hopes will be a second straight state title with a pin of Sarah Harthorn of Golden Valley (Bakersfield) 38 seconds into the second period. It took just 37 seconds total to pin South San Francisco’s Khloe Meisenbach the next round. In the quarterfinal, she earned a fall against Sumaya Lazaro midway through the second period.
Ontiveros, ranked third at 175, did not have the luxury of receiving a first round bye, and promptly put his head down and went to work. He cruised to a 16-1 technical fall over Liberty Bakersfield’s Ronin Davis. Menlo-Atherton’s Eric Ruiz was his next victim, as he was pinned 38 seconds into action. Ontiveros earned another fall with just seconds to spare in the first period of his Round of 16 match against Cardinal Newman’s Jonah Bertolo. He then muscled a 9-1 decision against Junior Bumanglag of Granite Hills.
Vannest, a junior who like Ontiveros, has verbally committed to compete collegiately at the University of Oklahoma, began his state run in the Round of 32. His first opponent, Evan James Keppler of Edison, was pinned just over a minute in. He then secured a 20-4 technical fall over Northview’s Michael Vasselle with two seconds to go in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he earned a 7-3 decision over Primo Catalano of Fountain Valley.
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 day and can be found at www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/cif/wrestling. Those in Bakersfield can purchase tickets via the Mechanics Bank Arena Box Office and on AXS.com by searching “CIF State Wrestling.”
