Central Valley High School juniors Giana Breshears and Alicia Espinoza showed improvement while making their third and second appearances, respectively, at the CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships.

The three-day tournament was staged, Feb. 27-March 1, at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.

Breshears and Espinoza both fell three wins shy of becoming first-time state medalists.

“We’re extremely happy with their overall performance,” head coach Brandy Cordova said. “They have nothing to be disappointed about. They had excellent seasons.”

“You learn more when you lose than when you win,” she added. “They’ll continue to work hard to make sure they get back to state.”

Breshears compiled a 1-2 record in the 130-pound weight bracket.

Winless at state as a freshman, Breshears won one of three matches at 140 pounds as a sophomore.

She closed the competitive gap at state junior year.

“Some of the girls in her weight class were scary,” Cordova said. “She stood toe-to-toe with them.”

Breshears opened the tournament with an impressive win against Franklin’s Lluvia Vulchis. She prevailed by technical fall (20-3).

Breshears lost by first-round pin (1:31) to eventual state-champion Samantha Sachs of Glendora.

“Giana gave her a good match,” Cordova said. 

Breshears was eliminated from state after losing by second-round pin (3:56) to Long Beach Poly’s Dalila Preciado.

“I wrestled so much better (at state) this year,” she said. “The last match I lost, I was up until the final 30 seconds. I got caught in a throw. I should have won.”

Espinoza won one of three matches at 190 pounds.

She posted a 1-2 record while competing at state in the 170-pound division as a sophomore.

Espinoza opened the 2025 tournament with a loss to state runner-up Juliana Marquez of Gabrielino High School. She got pinned in the opening round (1:09).

Espinoza bounced back with a first-round pin (0:40) versus College Park’s Bernice Lucero.

She dropped her final match to Santiago’s Cesia Torres (pin, 2:16).

“It wasn’t my best performance,” Espinoza said. “I believe I could’ve done a lot better, but I’m still proud that I made it back.”

“Given all my setbacks and downs this year, I think I did better at state than last year,” she added.

Breshears and Espinoza both added to their already-impressive resumes this winter.

Breshears posted a 32-9 overall record.

She qualified for state for the third year in a row.

She finished fourth at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament.

Breshears placed first at South Regionals for the second time in three years.

She took second at the Western Athletic Conference Championships.

Breshears worked with former Central Valley wrestler Adan Garcia during the postseason.

“I got so much better because of him,” she said. “I worked on aggression. He changed my mentality on how to wrestle. Everything improved.”

“If Giana makes it (to Bakersfield) senior year, she’ll be the only four-time state-qualifier (in program history),” Cordova added

Espinoza posted a 24-13 overall record.

She qualified for state for the second straight season.

She finished third at Masters and second at South Regionals 

Espinoza won her third straight league championship.

She competed in a heavier weight class during the latter part of junior year.

“She was learning how to wrestle differently,” Cordova said. “You do more pummeling and throws. You don’t do a lot of shots.”

Breshears and Espinoza could join elite company next winter becoming state-medalists. They’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Brianna Espinoza (2025, 2024) and Nayeli Pelayo (2018). 

Brianna Espinoza, Alicia’s older sister, made history this winter by becoming Central Valley’s first-ever two-time state placer.

“I have to work harder than I ever have before,” Alicia Espinoza said.

“I’m going to place for sure,” Breshears added. “I can’t live with regrets.”