Five-minute guide to the CIF State Wrestling Championships
| Thursday, Mar 04 2010 11:16 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Mar 04 2010 11:26 PM
(All rankings from The California Wrestler.)
Twice would be nice
Conquering the state meet once is great. Doing it twice puts you in the company of just 57 California wrestling legends. Four more wrestlers can join that list this year:
Alex Cisneros, sophomore, Selma, 112 pounds -- He became just the sixth freshman to win a state title with his 11-1 decision at 103 pounds against Clovis West's Stevan Knoblauch last year. He hasn't lost to an in-state opponent in his high school career and could become just the second wrestler to win four titles, after Bakersfield's Darrell Vasquez did it from 1999-2002.
Jesse Delgado, senior, Gilroy, 125 -- After reaching the 112-pound semifinals as a sophomore, he won the same weight class last year with a 6-5 finals decision over Estevan Cabanas of Moreno Valley-Canyon Springs.
Morgan McIntosh, junior, Santa Ana-Calvary Chapel, 189 -- His 12-7 victory in last year's 171-pound final was by far his closest match in a dominating performance. Wins this year and next would put him in elite company: Just 14 wrestlers have won three state titles.
Cody Rodebaugh, senior, Felton-San Lorenzo Valley, 145 -- Last year, he took out a defending champ, Vlad Dombrovskyy of Sacramento-Natomas, at 140. Now Rodebaugh becomes the hunted, and unlike the others on this list, he's not ranked No. 1; that honor belongs to Vacaville's Tyler Johnson.
Five to file away
Sure, you'll keep your eyes on the team race, the defending champion and your own team, but don't lose sight of these emotional or historical storylines, either:
Poway's heavy heart -- As defending team champion Poway was winning the San Diego Section Masters meet last week, search parties were looking for their classmate, 17-year-old senior Chelsea King. On Tuesday, searchers found what they believe to be King's body in a local park, and the next day, a registered sex offender was charged with rape and murder in the case. Several Titan wrestlers were friends with King and will wrestle this weekend with her memory on their minds.
Freshman take flight -- Seven ninth-graders are ranked in the top eight in California, including five at 103 pounds. Could any become the state's seventh freshman state champion? The highest-ranked is Frontier's Vincent Gomez, No. 2 at 103; Bakersfield's Coleman Hammond, No. 5 at 145, could become the second-heaviest freshman champ, next to Louis Bland, who won at 152 for Modesto-Central Catholic in 2004.
Zimmer looks to finish the job -- No competitor has been closer to a state title without tasting it than Clovis West senior Zach Zimmer. Zimmer lost a 5-4 decision in the championship as a 103-pound sophomore, and he lost by two points in last year's 112-pound semifinals. He enters this year's 119-pound bracket as No. 1.
The usual suspects -- Only five schools have won multiple state championships, and four of them are ranked in this year's top 10. The fifth, Clovis West, is No. 11. There's a good chance either Clovis (eight state titles) or Bakersfield (two) will add to its collection, but don't count out Santa Ana-Calvary Chapel (seven) or Poway (four).
Brotherly love -- At least 10 sets of brothers made it to the state meet, but only one is a set of three: sophomore Johnson, senior Kenny and senior Danny Mai from North Torrance will go for gold at 103, 112 and 130 pounds, respectively. Bakersfield's Coleman and Bryce Hammond are the only state-ranked brothers (Coleman is No. 5 at 145 and Bryce No. 3 at 160), but the Moitas from Concord-De La Salle are close -- Vinny Moita is No. 7 at 112 and brother Joe is honorable mention at 103.
Early-bird specials
The quarterfinals don't start till 7:30 tonight, but there will be plenty of riveting action early in the day. You won't need your cup of coffee if you catch these five first- or second-round matches that will make wrestling fans' mouths water:
Jonas Gaytan, Clovis, vs. Damien Gomez, Downey-Warren, 103 pounds, first round -- It will be one of the first matches called today, and it immediately impacts the team race. Gaytan, given honorable mention in the state rankings, is one wrestler the Cougars will count on for points in the team race, but his draw is tough: Gomez is ranked No. 7.
Jeff Lanier, Bakersfield, vs. Jake Damon, Temecula Valley, 125, first round -- Turnabout's fair play, and here's the first chance for Bakersfield to make some noise. Like Gaytan, Lanier is receiving honorable mention in the rankings. Like Gaytan, he drew a tough first match in No. 8 Damon.
Shane Yacuta, Porterville, vs. Jorge Barajas, Mountain View-St. Francis, 130, first round -- The Central Section had eight returning state qualifiers wrestling 130 this year, so it's no surprise that one ended up making life difficult for another top seed. No. 7 Yacuta against No. 6 Barajas, the Central Coast Section champion, is the only first-round meeting of ranked wrestlers.
Lance Castaneda, Frontier, vs. Denzel Hawkins, Corona-Centennial, 152, first round -- Here's a common theme: Wrestlers who were upset in their section tournaments often ended up with tougher draws. Castaneda has had an impressive year, and he once remarked he felt like at his best he could beat anyone. He'll get an early chance to prove it: Hawkins is ranked No. 1.
Cody Dixon, Ontario-Colony, vs. Bryce Hammond, Bakersfield, 160, second round -- Hammond is undefeated and ranked No. 3, and it would be No. 1 if it weren't for an elbow injury he's been nursing for two weeks. He's been defaulting past tougher matches in the section meets to rest the elbow, but he'll have no such luxury here: Dixon is the Southern Section champion.
If you can't be at Rabobank Arena -- or if you're there with a cell phone and want a guide to the action -- log on to people.bakersfield.com/home/blog/zewing, where Californian staff writer Zach Ewing will be blogging the state meet live.
