Hesperia's Paulo Valdez reaches 106-pound semifinals at CIF State Wrestling Championships
Hesperia’s Paulo Valdez is having quite the sophomore season.
The 106-pounder scored an 8-5 decision victory over Del Oro’s Siraj Siduh in the quarterfinals at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield.
The quarterfinal matchup pitted Valdez, the No. 4 seed in the division, against the No. 5 seed.
Despite guaranteeing a spot on the podium in the 106-pound division, Valdez wasn’t much into celebrating after the match.
“The job’s not done,” Valdez said. “I still have two more victories to go to reach my goal.”
It’s a mindset that stems from Valdez’s favorite athlete — Kobe Bryant.
Valdez draws inspiration of determination and striving to being the hardest worker is a page of Bryant’s “Mamba mentality,” which is trusting hard work when it matters most.
It’s what got him into the semifinals match against Rocklin Zinkin, who is the No. 1 seed in the division.
Valdez likes his chances against Zinkin.
“I’m feeling good and feeling confident,” he said from his hotel room in Bakersfield. “I’ve gotta come out, stay aggressive, keep the tempo high. I’ve gotta go out there and just be me.”
Hesperia’s head coach Gino Griffith simply agreed.
“He’s just got to be him and if he does that he will be OK,” Griffith said. “He’s just a goer. He doesn’t quit, doesn’t stop. Even if he finds himself in a bad spot, he always keeps battling.”
Valdez has lost just one match this season, that was back in December at the Tournament of Champions, in Sonora. Valdez lost a 7-6 decision in the semifinals to Abram Cline, of Granite Hills, who is ranked No. 2 in the division. Cline is also in the semifinals, taking on No. 6 Clarence Moore, of Branham.
Valdez took third place at that tournament, and since then hasn’t lost a match with first-place finishes at the Mojave River League Finals, at the CIF-Southern Section Inland Division tournament as well as the CIF-SS Masters Meet.
“He deserves it because he works so hard,” Griffith said. “You know, just being at this tournament is special, and as an underclassmen to guarantee a spot on the podium is a huge deal.”
To reach Friday’s quarterfinal, Valdez has strung together three victories over the first two days of action. He began by pinning Frontier’s Levi Mazzei, and then later in the day pulled off a 4-3 decision over No. 13 Manuel Martir, of De La Salle.
“He’s had some tough ones, that one-point match, and the quarterfinals was a pretty good one as well,” Griffith said. “They’ve been some battles, for sure.”
Meanwhile, Zinkin’s two victories on Thursday were a technical fall and a 4-2 decision. In the quarterfinals, he beat No. 8 Anthony Castillo, of Central, by a 10-0 major decision.
He fights Saturday in the semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia's Paulo Valdez reaches 106-pound semifinals at CIF State Wrestling Championships
