Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s boys wrestling programs claimed a combined five individual medals at the Ceres Invitational on Friday.
The host Bulldogs finished 14th overall in the team standings, which was two spots ahead of the crosstown-rival Hawks.
Ceres High and Central Valley earned 66 and 59 points, respectively.
Pitman (255), Oakdale (254.5) and Monache (210.5) placed 1-2-3.
The top eight individuals in each weight class medaled.
“Everyone worked hard,” Bulldogs’ head coach Casey Paulino said. “They did exactly what we wanted them to do. They represented us to the best of their ability.”
“A lot of our kids are first-year wrestlers,” Hawks’ leader Rob Beckhart said. “They don’t have a lot of experience at this level. The more matches they have, the better they’ll be all-round.”
Joey Zuniga, Albert Gonzales and Angel Melgoza led the Hawks.
Arturo Estrada and McCoy Adams turned in standout performances for the Bulldogs.
Zuniga took fifth with a 3-2 record in the 126-pound bracket.
Gonzales took sixth with a 3-3 record at 138 pounds.
Melgoza took seventh with a 4-1 record at 152 pounds.
Estrada took third with a 4-1 record at 132 pounds.
Adams took fifth with a 3-2 record at 106 pounds.
Central Valley’s David Contreras (2-2, 113s), Kenneth Orrin (1-2, 170s), Julian Gonzalez (1-2, 160s), Julian Lugo (1-2, 145s), Caleb Beckhart (1-2, 120s), Damian Tapia (0-2, 285s), Mahkai Smith (0-2, 220s), Kyle Crum (0-2, 195s), Trey Anderson (0-2, 182s), Daniel Jimenez (0-2, 170s), , Elijah Lee (0-2, 145s), Jonathan Macias (0-2, 138s) and Jose Avila (0-2, 106s), and Ceres High’s Jaylin Jackson (2-2, 285s), Daniel Baker (1-2, 182s), Jaime Torres (1-2, 170s), Issac Bravo (1-2, 126s), Parker Borges (1-2, 113s), Hunter Hammons (0-2, 220s), Nathan Miranda (0-2, 195s), Abraham Rodriguez (0-2, 160s), Omar Maciel (0-2, 152s), Joseph Alcala (0-2, 145s), Dakota Adams (0-2, 138s), Oscar Chavez (0-2, 120s), Calen Adams (0-2, 113s) and Evan Letras (0-2, 106s) also competed at the Ceres Invitational.
The Ceres High tournament featured wrestlers from 29 different schools.
“The competition was a lot tougher this year,” Paulino said.
