It’s been quite a run for the Golden Valley girls wrestling team.
On the heels of winning the South Yosemite Horizon League title, the Bulldogs won six individual titles at the SYC championships and followed that with an Area II title on their home floor last weekend.
On Saturday, Golden Valley added to its magical season with a team title at the Central Section Masters Championships in Morro Bay, edging past second-place Selma 113-112 when senior Audrey Chavez won by fall at 2:39 to upset top-seeded Leilani Lemus of Clovis in the 160-pound final.
"There were a lot of factors that went into play to get to where we are now," coach Juan Gamino said. "But that win by Audrey was a big factor. We were expecting to need a few pins in the finals and Audrey and CeCe were able to pull that off."
Chavez joined teammate Ce Ariah Sands as Masters champion, giving the Bulldogs enough points to win the team title even after top-seeded Naomi Roby of Golden Valley was upended in the 189 final.
It is the Bulldogs' second Masters title in school history, winning its first in 2019.
"All this week going into it we thought we had a decent chance of placing top 5 at least," Gamino. "And we all just kind of told ourselves that we all have a job to do, whether it's being in the finals or coming back in the consolation rounds. And everyone performed their job to the best of their ability. Lucky for us, their best got us the title."
Sands won all four of her matches by fall, capped by a victory in 3:28 over No. 3 Kirin Smith of Clovis West in the final. Chavez was equally as dominant, winning on an injury default and then pinning her final three opponents.
Roby had won her first two matches by fall and led 7-2 in the final against No. 2 Salana Camacho of Visalia-Golden West. But Camacho scored two points for a reversal and three more for a nearfall before holding on for an 8-7 decision.
Highland also had a strong tournament, finishing third, just 5.5 points behind Golden Valley with 107.5.
Three Scots reached the finals, Monee Cordero (101), Elisa Velasco Garcia and Vanessa Alvarado (126), but all three had to settle for a runner-up finish.
Garces’ Kaydence Boyd, who won the 126-pound class as a junior for Highland last year, defeated Alvarado by fall at 1:38 to win her second straight Masters championship.
Shafter’s Julissa Gonzalez finished runner-up at 137, with Ridgeview’s Fernanda Canedo placing second at 235. In all, 19 area wrestlers qualified for next weekend’s CIF State Championships at Mechanics Bank Arena.
Central Section Masters Girls Wrestling Championships
TEAM: 1. Golden Valley 113; 2. Selma 112; 3. Highland 107.5; 4. Visalia-Redwood 96; 5. Visalia-Golden West 93; 6. Sanger 88; 7. Santa Maria-Pioneer Valley 85; 8. Fresno-Central 80.5; 9. Clovis East 71; 10. Clovis-Buchanan 69. Others: 12, Centennial 59; 14. Foothill 49; 15. Ridgeview 48; 16. Garces 42; 19. Liberty 30; 21. Shafter 29; 25. Wasco 25; 27. Mira Monte 22; 37. Frontier 15; 39. West 14; 42. Tehachapi 13; 48. East 9; 53. Bakersfield 6; 56. Kennedy 5; 58. Arvin 4; 64. North 2; 65. Independence 1.
STATE QUALIFIERS (top 4 in each division)
101: 2. Monee Cordero, Highland; 4. Kaila Delfin, Garces.
121: 2. Elisa Velasco Garcia, Highland; 4. Vanessa Fakrogha, Liberty.
126: 1. Kaydence Boyd, Garces; 2. Vanessa Alvarado, Highland.
131: 1. Ce Ariah Sands, Golden Valley.
137: 2. Julissa Gonzalez, Shafter; 3. Isabella Maldonado, Foothill.
143: 3. Alessandra Alvarado, Highland.
150: 3. Julieta Echeverria, Wasco.
160: 1. Audrey Chavez, Golden Valley; 3. Joanna Liberal, Centennial.
170: 3. Julissa Perez, Mira Monte; 4. Jianna Chavez, Ridgeview.
189: 2. Naomi Roby, Golden Valley; 3. Briana Alvarado, Highland.
235: 2. Fernanda Canedo, Ridgeview.
