Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s boys wrestling teams faced off during the final week of the Western Athletic Conference regular season.

The host Hawks led from start to finish en route to cruising to a 54-22 win over the crosstown-rival Bulldogs on Senior Day last Wednesday.

“The kids were prepared,” Central Valley head coach Rob Beckhart said. “They wrestled well. They did what they needed to do to get the job done. Overall, we have a little more experience in terms of our roster. They’re pretty young over there. They’re going to keep getting better and better.”

“Going into the match, I thought it would be closer,” said Ceres High leader Adam Borges. “Overall, the kids did well. But they could have done better.”

The Hawks finished third in the WAC dual-meet standings with a 5-2 record.

The Bulldogs placed fifth in league with a 3-4 mark.

Grace Davis (7-0), Johansen (6-1), Beyer (4-3), Livingston (2-5), Lathrop (1-6) and Pacheco (0-7) took first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Grace Davis and Johansen both qualified for team sections.

“I’m proud of the kids for how they wrestled,” Beckhart said. “They learned a lot throughout the season. We have to keep developing our crew to be able to compete.”

“To be honest with you, I’m happy with how we performed,” Borges said. “We would have liked to have a winning record. We have a young team. They’re getting better each day. They’re giving it their all.”

Central Valley won 10 of the 14 individual matches versus Ceres High.

Angel Melgoza, Sal Almazan, Anthony Diaz, Carlos Zepeda, Sean Vernon, Rotceh Mendez, Caleb Beckhart, Zachary Esparza, Emilio Castillo and Isaac Davalos contributed to the Hawks’ point total.

Melgoza won by pin (0:18) against Ivan Martinez during their 215-pound matchup.

Almazan won by pin (1:03) against Hunter Hammons at 285 pounds.

Diaz won by pin (1:58) against Joao Honorio at 150 pounds.

Zepeda won by pin (2:30) against Abraham Rodriguez at 175 pounds.

Vernon won by pin (4:59) against Dakota Pickett at 157 pounds.

Mendez won by forfeit at 132 pounds.

Beckhart won by technical fall (17-1) against Daniel Tubera at 138 pounds.

Esparza won by technical fall (17-1) against Isai Medina at 165 pounds.

Castillo won by major decision (15-3) against Calen Adams at 120 pounds.

Davalos won by major decision (17-7) against Michael King at 113 pounds.

Jaime Torres, McCoy Adams, James Roark and Parker Borges contributed to the Bulldogs’ point total.

Torres won by pin (2:00) against David Alvarado at 190 pounds.

Adams won by pin (2:27) against Jayden Mattox at 126 pounds.

Roark won by pin (2:35) against Steven Zapien at 106 pounds.

Borges won by major decision (16-5) against Sunny Breshears at 144 pounds.

Approximately 10 Hawk senior wrestlers were recognized before Central Valley’s last home dual meet of the season, including Melgoza, Diaz, Zepeda, Esparza, Zadrian Arreola, Victor Duran, Manjot Gill, Julian Gonzalez and Sukhinder Sohal.

“They’ve worked hard all season long,” said coach Beckhart.

Central Valley and Ceres High competed in front of a large crowd.

“It was exciting to see the gym full,” coach Borges said. “As a coach, you try not to put as much emphasis on us being rival schools. The kids usually do. They’re always amped up for the crosstown rivalry.”

“What’s cool about it (the crosstown matchup) is all the kids know each other,” Rob Beckhart stated. “Both sides work hard. We were able to come out on top this year.”

“I’m happy more and more people are starting to get interested in wrestling,” Adam Borges added.

The Hawks and Bulldogs will compete at the WAC Championships this Saturday at Livingston High.