Jesse Vazquez has been promoted to head coach of Central Valley’s boys wrestling program.

Vazquez assisted Rob Beckhart for the past seven seasons.

“Rob is still a huge part of the program,” Vazquez said. “I’m doing all of the coaching. He’s doing all the paperwork and scheduling. We lean on each other a lot.”

The Hawks’ top returners are Ruben Valenzuela (So., 182s), Kyle Hendrix (Sr., 152s), Natanael Lezama (Sr., 285s), Juan Lezama (Sr., 195s), Juan Melgoza (So., 132s) Thomas Carrillo (Sr., 220s) and Eric Rivera (Jr., 145s).

Valenzuela advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament, finished fourth at the Division-III Championships and placed second at the CCC finals.

Hendrix qualified for Masters, took seventh at Divisionals and was fourth in league.

Natanael Lezama, Juan Lezama and Melgoza placed first, second and seventh, respectively, at the conference tourney.

Central Valley’s top newcomer is Jonathan Torres (106s).

The Hawks finished third in the CCC’s overall standings a year ago.

Central Valley placed third during the conference tournament and dual season.

The Hawks had 10 grapplers qualify for Divisionals, five for Masters and one for state.

Central Valley enjoyed its best season to date in 2016-17 when it finished first at the Division-IV Tournament and Team Dual championships. The Hawks also claimed their second straight Western Athletic Conference overall title.

“We’re going to have a great season,” Vazquez said. “I see us getting back to where we were three years ago. We have a good group of kids. They’re fighters. Everything is going to fall into place in a couple years.”