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Thirty-five local grapplers punch tickets to section championships
Pitman wrestling Lily Dizon
Pitman's Lily Dizon bested Tokay's Madison Eastwood during their second-round matchup in the 100-pound weight bracket of the Sac-Joaquin Section South Regional Girls Wrestling Tournament Friday morning at Central Valley High School. Dizon, a freshman, took first place in her weight bracket and will move on to the Masters Tournament next weekend in Stockton (DALE BUTLER/The Journal).

The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament this weekend will feature a plethora of area wrestlers after an eventful two days of boys divisional and girls regional action.

The wrestling programs of Pitman, Turlock, Hilmar and Hughson will send a total of 35 wrestlers to the Masters at the Stockton Arena on Friday and Saturday. Leading the way with the most qualifiers are the Pride, who will be sending 20 student-athletes to the tournament, including all 14 of their boys varsity wrestlers. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will be sending 10 wrestlers, while the Huskies will send three and the Yellowjackets two.

The Pride and Bulldog boys each competed at the D-2 divisionals at Pitman High School. The Pride’s 14 qualifiers are Shalveen Prassad (106), Joshua Teodosio (113), R.J. Wilharm (120), David Jimenez (126), Angel Villasenor (132), Brayden Silva (138), Mika Ontiveros (144), Abriel Padilla (150), Xadian Padilla (157), Brodie Johnson (165), Mason Ontiveros (175), Carter Vannest (190), Jeremiah Mora (215) and Troy Ceja (285). Of that group, Wilharm, Johnson and Mason Ontiveros earned first place finishes. Johnson and Ontiveros swept their brackets with four pins each. Mike Ontiveros, Xadian Padilla and Vannest were runners-up. Abriel Padilla, Silva and Ceja each finished third.

The Bulldogs saw Cole Cronon (113), Cruz Contreras (120), Eliseo Martinez (126), Jack Locke (132), Jeremiah Bertalotto (138), Isaiah Bertalotto (144), Shane Petty (157), Cesar Barajas (165) and Elijah Watson (215) qualify. Isaiah Bertalotto and Watson stood atop of their respective podiums. They each won by fall twice and muscled out a pair of decisions. Second-place finishers were Jeremiah Bertalotto and Cronon. 

Over at the D-5 tournament at Rosemont High in Sacramento, Hilmar’s Cody Bray (215) and Dustin Carmo (106) secured spots for the weekend. Carmo finished in second place while Bray earned first place, with all four of his wins by pin. Though Hughson didn’t have a first-place finisher, qualifying for Masters was Brady Kline (165), Nicholas Perez (175) and Diego Castillo (190). Kline and Perez were runners-up, while Castillo finished third.

Back in Stanislaus County at Central Valley High School in Ceres for the South Regional Girls Tournament, the Pride led the way with six qualifiers — Lindsey Carolan (140), Baya Austin (130), Alina Dizon (115), Patricia Bray (110), Lexie Capote (105) and Lily Dizon (100). Lily Dizon was the lone Pitman first-place finisher, earning a pin over Turlock’s Aliah Bertalotto in the championship round. With the second place medal, Bertalotto will be the lone female representative for the Bulldogs in Stockton. Capote and Austin finished in second place of their respective division while Carolan grabbed third place.

The Masters Tournament runs from Friday through Saturday, with action kicking off each day at 9 a.m. and doors to the Stockton Arena opening to the public at 8 a.m.