Turlock siblings making family trip to state; over 30 locals advance after SJS Masters final
The Bertalottos of Turlock High are taking a family trip to Bakersfield this week for the CIF State Wrestling Championships at Mechanics Bank Arena.
Senior fraternal twins Jeremiah and Isaiah and their younger sister, sophomore Aliah, all qualified for the big dance after finishing in the top six of their respective weight classes at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17.
Jeremiah won the 138-pound masters championship, going 5-0 on the weekend. Isaiah finished as the 144-pound runner-up and went 4-1. Aliah finished sixth in the 100-pound weight class, sneaking into state but qualifying nonetheless.
The wrestlers won’t be going alone. Their older brother, Isaac, is joining them as one of the Bulldogs’ coaches.
“It feels good that we all punched our ticket for state and it’s a bonus that our older brother is coaching us, so he’s right there with us,” Jeremiah said.
Isaac paved the way. An accomplished high school wrestler who went on to wrestle at and graduate from Minot State University, he embraced the chance to join the Turlock coaching staff last season with the hopes of leading his siblings to the biggest wrestling tournament of the year. He plans to move back to Minot this summer to teach.
“It was a unique situation to be able to coach three of my siblings,” he said. “We all came up through the sport and I really wanted to capitalize because we only get these opportunities once. We have a chance to do something special and hopefully get some medals.”
Aliah said she knew she wanted to wrestle after seeing her older brothers come home from practice.
“I just said to my dad I wanted to wrestle,” she said. “I do look up to them a lot. It’s special.”
If you ask them who’s best, each will point to himself or herself and confidently say, “I’m the best.”
On a stage like Masters with the stakes so high, all four felt nerves, each in a different way.
“I was nervous because as a coach, you’ve kind of just got to watch it happen and hope for the best,” Isaac said. “I’m way more nervous as a coach than as a wrestler.”
The twins have persevered through injuries this season, while their younger sister has managed to stay healthy. Last season, Jeremiah and Isaiah competed at state, while Aliah just missed the cut as a freshman, finishing seventh. Wednesday, they pack up and head out to compete against the best from around California.
“It’s cool we’re all here together as a family,” Isaiah said. “We’re only in high school one time, so it’s good we’re all making it this year.”
Central Catholic’s Gutierrez’s work ethic takes him to the top
Victor-Alexander Gutierrez was up at 3 a.m. Saturday to prepare for another full day of wrestling. But he’s used to it. The Central Catholic wrestler ranked No. 1 at 132 pounds starts nearly every day that early and often works out three times a day to make sure he keeps his top spot. A strong work ethic for a sophomore.
“It’s mostly five times a week. I’m constantly working and getting better,” he said.
The day starts with a workout from 3 to 4:15 a.m., then he goes to school and practices with his team. When he gets home, he makes time for one more workout from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
He’s inspired by arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Floyd Mayweather. After watching his documentary on Showtime, Gutierrez said he made the change.
“He was always up working out at 3 a.m. I mean, he’s undefeated, and so far it’s been working. I’ve been winning and putting the work in.
He finished second last season at Masters and finished No. 12 in the state.
Wrestling is his release, where he can take his mind off school and enjoy his sport for a few hours a day. The results speak for themselves.
“When I step in the ring, it all kind of disappears,” he said. “I’m just working and having fun. I’m really humbled to be in the position I am. I always give thanks to God for pushing me. … But just because I’m No. 1, I don’t think I get to slack off. If anything, I push harder because I know people are trying to take me out.”
Gregori’s Lancaster earns third trip to Bakersfield
When Gregori’s Mikayla Lancaster stood up from the mat after her 170-pound championship match, she smiled and put up three fingers. Those in the know around the Sac-Joaquin Section wrestling world knew exactly what that meant: The Gregori senior is a state qualifier for the third year in a row.
Lancaster won her second straight Masters championship Saturday — she finished as the runner-up as a sophomore — and was all business from the first whistle.
She attacked Chrystina Ballejos of Sheldon from the jump, bounding back and forth in anticipation whenever there was a pause in the wrestling. The second straight section championship capped a dominant weekend in which Lancaster went 4-0, winning her first three matches by fall in just over two minutes total. She beat Ballejos by fall in 5:07.
Lancaster is the No. 2 ranked 170-pound wrestler in the state entering the weekend.
Enochs, Turlock wrestle for 215 title
Oakdale’s Elias Corona and Turlock’s Elijah Watson battled for the 215-pound section title in what turned out to be a comfortable win for the Oakdale wrestler. The two seniors were sitting atop their weight class after they each went 4-0 in their first matches of the weekend. Corona won by fall three times and won by decision (9-0) once. Watson won the first-round match by tech fall and won the other three by fall.
In the final, Corona won by decision, 7-0.
Enochs’ lone state qualifier is first-timer
From alternate to state qualifier, Enochs’ Mckenzie Clinkenbeard has seen it all.
Last year, she didn’t even attend the Masters Tournament as she was an alternate for the Enochs varsity team during her freshman season. In her first Masters, Clinkenbeard is headed to state after finishing fourth at 145 pounds. She admits there were some nerves.
“Coming into it, yeah,” she said. “But after my first match, I got used to the pressure and just ran from there.”
She is coached by her dad, Ryan, and girls coach Gianna Tuers, who knew Clinkenbeard’s success has been coming for years.
“It’s her drive and her work ethic, she comes to practice every single day and gives it her all,” Tuers said. “I wrestled with her, she was in middle school when I was a senior, and she’s always had that drive to get better. We tell her something in a match and she implements it in practice.”
Clinkenbeard’s dad recalls when his daughter made it to the middle school state tournament, but high school is different. Even though she knows she has two more years, she still wants to make the most of the opportunity.
“I want to at least win a couple matches,” she said. “If I place, it would be fun. … Just go out there, try my best and go from there.”
Top-ranked Davis and Pitman girls battle for titles
Davis and Pitman wrestled for first in two different weight classes Saturday afternoon. At 105 pounds, Davis’ Jazmine Turner went up against Lexie Capote. Turner battled through an ankle injury during the match but could not find the extra gear. They wrestled in an even match, but Capote took the 7-3 win.
Turner, a junior, is No. 4 in California, while Capote, a senior, is seventh in the latest rankings.
Davis senior Sophia Hejnal bested Pitman sophomore Yzabella Austin for the second straight time this season in the 130-pound class. About a week and a half before Masters, the two faced off, with Hejnal getting an upset win. Going into Saturday’s first-place battle, Austin was the state’s No. 1 wrestler and Hejnal was No. 8. The Modesto wrestler knew Austin would adjust in the rematch.
Austin got out to a quick 4-0 lead, but Hejnal bounced back, scoring five unanswered points to take the section title in a 5-4 decision. In the newest rankings heading into state, Hejnal is up to fifth in California and Austin is No. 6.
Local state qualifiers
Six boys and six girls from each weight class qualified for the State Tournament Feb. 22-24 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. Girls headliners include a three-time qualifier in Gregori’s Mikayla Lancaster and a first timer in Mckenzie Clinkenbeard of Enochs. On the boys side, Oakdale qualified seven, three wrestlers qualified at 144 pounds and a pair of Valley Oak League wrestlers qualified at 132 pounds.
Pitman sends a program record 10 total qualifiers to this weekend’s state tournament. Here is the full list of Stanislaus District qualifiers:
Boys
120: Kekoa Ogawa (Central Catholic)
126: Eziequel Vela (Oakdale)
132: Victor-Alexander Gutierrez (Central Catholic), Jesse Meza (Oakdale)
138: Jeremiah Bertalotto (Turlock)
144: Isaiah Bertalotto (Turlock), Joseph Lopez (Patterson) and Matthew Rangel (Escalon)
157: Gideon Gerber (Oakdale)
165: Brodie Johnson (Pitman) and Carlos Garcia (Oakdale)
175: Mason Ontiveros (Pitman) and Nicholas Perez (Hughson)
190: Wes Burford (Oakdale) and Carter Vannest (Pitman)
215: Elias Corona (Oakdale) and Elijah Watson (Turlock)
285: Troy Ceja (Pitman)
Girls
100: Jillian Wells (Central Catholic), Lily Dizon (Pitman) and Aliah Bertalotto (Turlock)
105: Lexie Capote (Pitman), Jazmine Turner (Davis) and Ashley Dumas (Gregori)
110: Aleena Ngyuen (Central Catholic) and Patricia Bray (Pitman)
125: Dulcy Martinez (Central Catholic)
130: Sophia Hejnal (Davis) and Yzabella Austin (Pitman)
140: Lindsey Carolan (Pitman) and Giana Breshears (Central Valley)
145: Mckenzie Clinkenbeard (Enochs)
170: Mikayla Lancaster (Gregori) and Alicia Espinoza (Central Valley)
235: Brianna Espinoza (Central Valley)
