For the second straight year, the Pitman varsity wrestling team is sitting atop the Central California Athletic League after defeating Turlock 49-20 in the final regular season dual of the year on Wednesday night. And unlike in 2023, the Pride won’t have to share the title with their crosstown rival, as they cemented a 5-0 league record while dropping the Bulldogs to 3-2.
Pitman won nine of the 14 matches on the night, including seven by pin. Setting the tone was 108-pounder Lily Dizon, who carries a No. 2 state ranking in her weight class. In the first match of the night, she pinned Aliah Bertalotto 41 seconds into the second period.
“She just has a different pace to her. She’s special,” Pitman head coach Adam Vasconcelos said of Dizon. “She has wrestled that way all year, going out there to set a really high pace, which is exciting to watch. She loves competing and is always ready to scrap.”
Decision victories by R.J. Wilharm (128) and Angel Villasenor (134) helped the Pride maintain a 13-7 lead. Turlock’s seven points came courtesy of decision wins by Cole Cronon (115) and Cruz Contreras (122).
The Bulldogs were able to jump out ahead thanks to the Bertalotto twins, Isaiah and Jeremiah. At 140 pounds, Jeremiah muscled his way to a 13-5 decision victory over Brayden Silva. In the very next match at 146 pounds, Isaiah pinned Mika Ontiveros in the first period to put the ‘Dogs ahead 19-17. It was only Isaiah’s second event of the season after he spent nearly six months nursing a leg injury.
From that point on, it was all Pitman, though, as they closed out the dual winning six of the last seven matches, all by pin. 152-pounder Abriel Padilla started the onslaught with a second period pin of Logan Silva. Xadian Padilla (159), Brodie Johnson (167), Mason Ontiveros (177), Carter Vannest (192) and Troy Ceja (265) earned the remainder of the falls.
Turlock’s lone victory in the upper-weight classes was a 7-0 decision win by Eli Watson over Jeremiah Mora at 217 pounds. Watson is the 17th ranked 217-pounder in the state.
“For some other teams, they struggle to fill those upper weights. But fortunately, we’ve had kids that have come through our youth club that are bigger kids. So we just have a murderer's row up top. If we can get some wins down low, or in our middle uppers, it’s tough sailing for our opponents the rest of the way,” Vasconcelos said.
Abriel Padilla spoke about his mindset heading into his match knowing he had an opportunity to give his team the lead for good considering his team’s most dominant wrestlers were waiting in the wings.
“For me, it’s about staying confident in my training and knowing that I have everything to succeed. I just have to integrate it into a match. I know it's going to work, I just need to make sure it happens, and that’s what I did today,” he said.
“Our team, we've all been practicing hard. We've been putting hours in the wrestling room and our weight room,” Padilla continued. “I feel like our strength training shows prominently in the matches. We have muscle everywhere on the mat. But everyone above me and below me in the weight classes, they've all been putting in work and they're all doing good. It’s showing.”
The Pride will now turn their attention to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Team Dual Championships at Lincoln High School in Stockton today, where they hope to repeat as champions. They will compete in the Division II bracket, which features Gregori (Modesto), Franklin (Elk Grove), River City (Sacramento), Stagg (Stockton), Bella Vista (Fair Oaks), Linden and Ponderosa (Shingle Springs). A team Section banner would be the fifth earned in program history.
“We’re all set for Section duals and trying to get another blue banner in here for our high school,” Vasconcelos said. “We need our guys to stay focused and be on top of our weight management for the weekend. It's going to be a tough go, but we’re ready for the challenge.”
