Central Valley High School boys wrestling standout Ruben Valenzuela has been voted the Central California Conference’s MVP. 

“It’s no surprise at all,” Hawks’ head coach Rob Beckhart said. “I didn’t even have to advocate for him. It was a no-brainer the other coaches were going to give him that. His body of work speaks for itself.”

Valenzuela repeated as the CCC’s 184-pound champion senior year.

He also took first as a sophomore.

He would have most likely been a three-time league champion but no playoffs were staged during the 2020-21 school year due to COVID-19.

“We’re in a tough league,” Beckhart said. “Winning one title is hard enough.”

Valenzuela won all six of his CCC dual matches during the 2021-22 season.

“He was very dominant,” Beckhart said.

Already considered Central Valley’s all-time greatest male wrestler, Valenzuela added to his resume this season.

“He was more confident this year,” Beckhart said. “He just wanted to wrestle. He didn’t care who it was.”

Valenzuela made program history in February by becoming the Hawks’ first two-time, state qualifier.

He captured his second Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III title.

He placed first for the third time at the Ceres Invitational.

He brought home a championship belt buckle from the James Riddle Memorial Tournament.

He took second at the Asics Southern California Challenge.

He climbed to as high as No. 6 in the state rankings in December.

“He’s really cemented himself as the best talent we’ve had in the room,” Beckhart said. “It’s a tribute to his dedication and willingness to sacrifice for the program. He turned into a leader. He’s always had a good support system with family and coaches.

Valenzuela compiled a 32-7 record his final year with the Hawks.

He finished with a career record of 110-25.

“Ruben is the face of our program,” Beckhart said. “It’s going to take somebody special to come in and accomplish half of what he’s done. It’s sad to see it end. He was fun to be around. He always wanted to get better. He loved competition. He had a great career. He had over 100 varsity wins.”