Twelve local wrestlers reached the CIF-State tournament with top finishes at the CIF-Southern Section Masters meets on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at Sonora High School in La Habra.
Four girls wrestlers won Masters titles and fourth others placed in the top four advance to the state meet. One boys wrestler won a Masters while three others placed in the top five to qualify for state.
The state tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 26-28, at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.
On Saturday, the Rio Mesa girls wrestling team led the local contingent with the program’s first two Masters champions and two qualifiers.
Senior Brooklyn Bittner, who captured a CIF-SS individual title at the Eastern Division finals on Feb. 13, punched her second straight trip to state by winning the 170-pound Gold Division crown. Alexia Hernandez, who placed fifth at the CIF-SS finals, became the first freshman in program history to reach state by winning the 120-pound Gold Division.
Michelle Flores, who finished second at the CIF-SS finals, took third in the 155-pound Blue Division. Allison Cortes, who won a CIF-SS individual title to reach the Masters, took fourth in the 235-pound Gold Division to reach the state meet for the second straight season.
Newbury Park senior Madison Black continued her perfect season by capturing the 130-pound Blue Division title. Black, who won a CIF-SS individual title at the Northern Division finals, won four matches to improve to 48-0 and reach the state meet for the third straight time. She finished seventh in the state last season.
Newbury Park’s Juliet Martin, who also won a CIF-SS individual title for the Panthers, finished fourth in the 125-pound Gold Division to secure her place in the state meet.
Two Pacifica wrestlers fresh off winning CIF-SS titles extended their sensational seasons by earning state berths. Samya Bazile finished second in the 155-pound Gold Division and Shaire Anzures was third in the 135-pound Blue Division.
Boys
The boys state qualifiers were led by Camarillo senior Josh Requena.
Requena won the 150-pound Gold Division title on Friday to secure his fourth straight state berth. Requena finished second in his weight class at the CIF-SS Northern Division finals on Feb. 14 at Moorpark High. The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit, who had won three straight CIF-SS titles until finishing second this season, reached the quarterfinals of the state meet last year.
After winning a CIF-SS title at the Northern Division finals, Moorpark senior Noah Huss secured a trip to state with a second-place finish in the 285-pound Blue Division.
Calabasas junior Micah Wegman took third in the 138-pound Gold Division to earn his second straight trip to state. Wegman, who won the first CIF-SS individual title by a Calabasas wrestler last season, finished second in the CIF-SS Coastal Division finals on Feb. 14.
After placing second in the Northern Division finals, Nordhoff freshman Xander Fronhofer took fifth in the 144-pound Gold Division to earn his first trip to state.
Four local boys wrestlers finished sixth to came up just short of a state berth: Ace Gibson of Simi Valley (132, Gold Division), Emmanuel Sandoval of Camarillo (190, Gold Division), Tomas Fulgentes of Royal (165, Blue Division), and Arel Francke of Calabasas (175, Blue Division).
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Twelve local wrestlers punch their tickets to state championships
Reporting by From staff reports, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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