Centennial's Hicks celebrates birthday with Doc Buchanan title
| Sunday, Jan 11 2009 02:14 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:41 PM
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Seth Hicks of Centennial won the 135-pound title at the Central Section Yosemite Divisional in Lemoore.
CLOVIS -- Each Saturday night takedown -- and there were a half-dozen -- was like a celebration and an announcement all wrapped into one for Centennial wrestler Seth Hicks.
Not only was it Hicks' 18th birthday, you see, but he had reached the 135-pound finals of the prestigious Doc Buchanan Invitational at Clovis High School, where he dominated Mountain View-St. Francis' Nick Cano 14-6 with a flurry of quick shots and trips.
"We have formal (dance for Centennial) today too, so it's like, man, I've got a lot going today," said Hicks, who gave up the dance to wrestle. "Formal, tournament and my birthday."
The resonance from Hicks' victory will last longer than the birthday.
He beat the state's No. 2 wrestler, Cody Bollinger of Hesperia-Sultana, in the first round of last year's 140-pound state championships but hurt himself in the process. He wrestled one more match, was pinned, and defaulted out of the tournament.
His 25-0 record thus far in 2008-09, and his performance at the Doc B, are good indicators that Hicks intends to finish a run to the state podium at Rabobank Arena this time around.
"Last year is like, man, coulda, woulda," Hicks said. "... My whole mindset is different this year. I'm running in the morning constantly, and I never used to do that. Everything just clicked this year. My goal is to go undefeated."
Hicks, ranked third in the state at 135 by The California Wrestler, was the only Kern County wrestler to win his bracket and earn the traditional Doc B trophy, a cowboy hat from former Clovis Unified School District superintendent and tournament namesake Doc Buchanan.
"It's awesome," said Mike Hicks, Centennial's coach and Seth's dad. "His friends got him a little birthday cake with one candle, and that was fun. He's really more positive, more focused. It's his senior year, and so he realizes there's a lot riding on how he does."
Liberty's Greg Kapler also made a bit of a statement. He pinned four opponents on the way to the finals, running his record to 26-0 with 19 pins, six technical falls and a major decision. But in the finals here, he ran into Ben Mandell of Orangevale-Casa Robles, who took Kapler down quickly and then held on for a 4-3 victory despite two stalling warnings at the end of the match when he sunk into a shell while in bottom position.
"He caught me a little off-guard, that first takedown, and the ref scored it a little bit quick," Kapler said. "I still thought I could win the match, but he basically stalled the rest of the match."
In the team race, Clovis-Buchanan won its third Doc B title in four years, taking the crown from defending state champion Clovis by 3.5 points, 228.5 to 225. The Cougars lost a sizable lead when they went 1-for-8 in championship and third-place matches.
Bakersfield High limped to a tie for 10th place with just one finalist, 215-pounder Brian Schoene. The Drillers entered the tournament ranked sixth in the state but totaled just 91 points, less than half of what Clovis and Buchanan earned.
Schoene, who had three pins Friday and a 3-1 semifinal victory earlier in the day, nearly had a couple of takedowns in his championship match against top-seeded Drew Meulman of Mountain View-St. Francis. But Meulman squeaked around him both times, then dominated Schoene from top position and won 6-0.
It was Schoene's first loss of the season against 20 wins.
"He wrestled that kid a couple of times last year, and he's actually closed the gap," Bakersfield coach Andy Varner said. "We just have to figure out a way to beat him at the state tournament."
The Drillers received podium finishes from Jonah Cruz (third at 145), Jose Ramirez (fourth at 160) and Bryce Hammond (sixth at 152). They were hurt by the absence of 112-pound freshman Natrell Demison, who was injured and didn't enter the tourney, and Hammond, who reached the semifinals Friday but, increasingly bothered by a nagging ankle injury, defaulted all three of his matches Saturday.
"The tournament served its purpose -- we saw where we're at and where we need to go," Varner said. "You always have a little higher expectations than how it turns out, but it's like we tell the kids, these matches here prepare you for the end of the year."
Foothill had a pair of place-winners in Derik Rizo, who lost a close semifinal match to eventual 130 champion Raul Estrada of Madera South, then came through the consolation bracket to take third; and heavyweight Angel Posadas, who placed seventh.
Other local wrestlers to place were Shafter's Rene Medina, who placed sixth at 171 after reaching the semifinals; and the Centennial duo of Austin Ballard and Dalton Endes, who were eighth at 140 and 152, respectively. Endes lost in the Doc B championship last year. Centennial finished 16th with 71 points.
