Estrada, Monteiro, Murillo win Masters titles; BHS, Frontier, South finish in top 10
Feb. 18—It was a big day for area wrestlers, with three locals capturing titles at the two-day Central Section Masters boys wrestling championships on Saturday at Clovis-Buchanan.
Bakersfield High's Tye Monteiro and Michael Murillo won individual championships and helped the Drillers place third behind national powers Clovis-Buchanan and Clovis.
Monteiro, the runner-up at 182 in last year's CIF State Championships, won his first four matches by fall before disposing of No. 2 Tyler Hodges of Clovis with a 12-6 decision in the 184-pound final.
Murillo, who was third in the state at 195 last year, also won his first four matches by fall before ending No. 2 Kannon Campbell of Clovis-Buchanan in the 222 final.
A total of 39 area wrestlers qualified to compete in the 3-day CIF State Championships at Mechanics Bank Arena that starts Thursday and run through Saturday night.
Aiden Simmons also reached the final at 128, but lost to top-seeded Joseph Toscano of Buchanan in a 3-0 decision.
The Drillers had 10 of their 14 state qualifiers place in the top five, including third-place finishers Christian Herrera (134), Beau Priest (147), Austin Simmons (154) and Jake Honey (162). It is the first time in school history that the school has qualified a wrestler in all 14 weight classes, according to coach Adam Fierro.
Defending state champion Miguel Estrada of Frontier also won an individual title, scoring a 5-1 decision over No. 3 Devin Alexander of Buchanan in the 147 final. Estrada defeated Bakersfield's Beau Priest by major decision in the semifinals. Priest recovered to place fourth.
Estrada's performance highlighted a strong showing by the Titans, who tied for fifth with Clovis North as a team.
Levi Mazzei (fifth at 108), Tobias Lombera (ninth at 122), Luie Acosta-Tackett (eighth at 134), Jackson Naven (seventh at 162), Bryan Velasquez-Arredondo (fifth at 172) and Brock Rios (fourth at 184) also qualified for the state tournament.
South High finished ninth overall as a team, qualifying five for next weekend, including Junior Bojorquez (fourth at 172) and Daniel Reza (sixth at 134).
Central Section Masters wrestling championships
Day 2, at Clovis-Buchanan, Saturday's final results
TEAM: 1. Clovis-Buchanan 369.5; 2. Clovis 317; 3. Bakersfield 279.5; 4. Fresno-Central 152.5; 5. Clovis North, Frontier 135.5; 7. Clovis West 110; 8. Dinuba 98; 9. South 74; 10. Visalia-Redwood 72. Others: 13. Highland 61; 22. Golden Valley 44; 25. Chavez 33; 26. Wasco 31; 29. Arvin 23; 32. Kennedy 20; 37. Centennial 19; 39. Shafter 18; 45. Independence, Liberty 13; 49. Garces 12; 52. East 11.5; 53. Stockdale 11; 59. Kern Valley 7; 59. Tehachapi 7; 66. Ridgeview; 71. Bakersfield Christian, McFarland 3; 82. Delano 0.
INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS (Area wrestler results)
108: 5. Levi Mazzei, Frontier; 9. Daniel Benavides, Bakersfield.
115: 6. Anthony Ayon, Golden Valley; 9. Eric Rivera, Highland; 10. Caleb Mcelroy, Bakersfield.
122: 8. Isaac Ronquillo, Bakersfield; 9. Tobias Lombera, Frontier; 10. Daniel Parra, South.
128: 2. Aiden Simmons, Bakersfield; 7. Jonathan Woods, Highland; 8. Ernest Grant, South.
134: 3. Christian Herrera, Bakersfield; 6. Daniel Reza, South; 8. Luie Acosta-Tackett, Frontier.
140: 5. Braden Priest, Bakersfield; 8. Sonny Lora, South.
147: 1. Miguel Estrada, Frontier; 3. Beau Priest, Bakersfield; 10. Isaac Quiroz, Independence.
154: 3. Austin Simmons, Bakersfield; 6. Adrian Juarez, Highland; 9. Silas Orozco, Stockdale.
162: 3. Jake Honey, Bakersfield; 7. Jackson Naven, Frontier.
172: 4. Junior Bojorquez, South; 5. Bryan Velasquez-Arredondo, Frontier; 7. Kai Vasquez, Bakersfield.
184: 1. Tye Monteiro, Bakersfield; 4. Brock Rios, Frontier; 6. Rafael Roman-Amador, Shafter; 7. Xavier Gonzalez, Arvin.
197: 4. DJ Weimer, Bakersfield; 5. Jace Demacabalin, Kennedy; 9. Ramiro Lopez, Wasco.
222: 1. Michael Murillo, Bakersfield; 5. Angel Cervantes, Highland.
287: 4. Adam Stanley, Bakersfield; 7. Andres Rodriguez, Chavez; 9. Silas Atkins, Centennial.
