Wrestling notes: Central Catholic, three other Stanislaus District teams win dual titles
Emilio Saavedra and the Central Catholic wrestling program have a message for the section: “We’re back”.
The coach in his fourth season has turned the program into a contender and is on a mission to make sure Central Catholic is known for much more than football.
Saavedra knows his stuff. He was a wrestling state champion for Modesto High at 138 pounds as a senior in 2014 and wrestled at nationally ranked Old Dominion University and Fresno State.
His résumé speaks for itself and he likely could have his choice of wrestling jobs around the state. He instead returned home to coach at Central Catholic four years ago for a gig in which he thought he would be coaching his younger brother, Nicholas.
The younger Saavedra brother instead took up boxing, but Emilio just couldn’t leave the Raiders’ wrestling community.
“I ended up feeling the love of these kids and the relationships that I took in with the kids, and I just couldn’t leave them hanging,” Saavedra said. “I had to be here for these kids, and since then, it’s just been a train rolling forward.”
Saavedra and his staff have poured into building the wrestling program and, as a result, the Raiders are having their best season in nearly 15 years.
Saturday, the Raiders participated in the Sac-Joaquin Section Team Duals, reaching the event after finishing as one of the top two teams in the Valley Oak League during the regular season.
Thanks to outstanding showings from wrestlers in each weight class, Central Catholic captured the Division IV title, the program’s first team section championship since 2009.
The Raiders beat Beyer 65-18 in the quarterfinals and Rosemont 54-28 in the semifinals, setting up a matchup with Will C. Wood of Vacaville in the final. Central Catholic fell behind early, but climbed back into the match. Aleena Nguyen pinned her opponent, taking the deficit from 30-15 to 30-21. The Raiders scored 11 more unanswered points to take a 32-30 lead and went on to win 44-36.
“It’s a really big deal,” Saavedra said. “I’m really happy because we’ve got a young team. Everyone’s returning for the most part. It’s been a long time, so I’m happy to bring it back to our school.”
He said he’s confident no one in California wrestles as many girls in boys competitions as his team.
Saturday Nguyen, Jillian Wells and Dulcy Martinez all competed in the Team Duals, an event for boys wrestling teams, and went an impressive 8-1 on the day with Wells and Nguyen going a perfect 6-0 combined in the three duals.
It’s no surprise that they are among the top in the state in their respective weight classes according to The California Wrestler.
Wells is the top wrestler at 100 pounds, Nguyen is No. 6 at 110 pounds and Martinez is the top wrestler at 125 pounds.
They played a big role in the Raiders bringing home a blue banner.
“Our lightweights came through and the girls really changed the momentum of the team,” Saavedra said.
Wells and Nguyen won back-to-back matches, which got the ball rolling. Eliazar Valdez and Kekoa Ogawa took victories as well. They continued to roll and Mehtaab Bhangu, a freshman, sealed the victory in the last match.
Combine top-ranked girls with four boys wrestlers in the top 30 in California in their respective weight classes and you’ve got a well-rounded Central Catholic outfit.
Raiders wrestlers have competed against the best in California at tournaments and have earned statement wins.
According to The California Wrestler, the boys team is No. 20 in the state.
The Raiders are all-in on sending multiple athletes to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters and the state meet in February.
“We are looking forward to the rest of the postseason and individual tournaments,” Saavedra said. “We’re just looking to get as many as we can as far as we can in the postseason and hopefully come out with some state titles.
Sophomores lead Pitman to D-II title
Pitman High is once again a Team Duals champion after asserting its dominance in the quarterfinals (82-0 over Stagg) and semis (66-3 over Linden) before pulling out a tight win to claim a Division II blue banner over Ponderosa.
Pride coach Adam Vasconcellos has respect for Ponderosa and the program it has built. He knew it would be a close dual and in order to win, Angel Villasenor, Brayden Silva and Mika Ontiveros needed to win their matchups.
“We knew this thing was going to be close,” Vasconcellos said. “We knew it was going to come down to those three and, somehow, we won all three of them to win this thing.”
Pitman, the No. 18 team in California, went down 12-0 early but recovered, scoring 24 straight points. Ponderosa took a 33-24 lead before the Pride stormed back. They scored the final 13 points.
Pitman has won three team titles in the past few seasons, meaning next year it moves up to Division I next year. Vasconcellos said now is the perfect time because this year’s team is led by a class of super sophomores.
Mason Ontiveros is No. 2 in California at 175 pounds, Carter Vannest is No. 11 at 190 pounds, Jeremiah Mora is No. 44 at 215 pounds and Troy Ceja is No. 13 at 285 pounds.
“The older kids are usually your leaders. We’re led by our sophomores,” Vasconcellos said. “We’re fortunate to have those guys leading our team every day. We’re fortunate to be young, but it can be nerve-racking at times, but I’ll take young.
“If we were ever going to (go up a division), it’s with our sophomore, going to be junior class. We’ve got two years with these boys so we’ve got to figure out how to get it done.”
Gregori back at Team Duals
Gregori boys wrestling coach Latrell Benjamin led the Jaguars through the spectacle that is the Sac-Joaquin Section Team Dual Wrestling Tournament this year for the first time since 2016. Only the top 2 in each league qualify for the Team Duals and for the past few seasons, Pitman and Turlock made the trip.
This year, Gregori knocked off the Bulldogs in their first CCAL Dual on Jan. 19 by less than five points. They knew their work wasn’t done with matchups against Enochs, Modesto and Downey still on their league schedule. They swept the rest of the league competitions to reach Saturday’s event.
“We were really happy when we won,” Benjamin said. “We went out there expecting to win, but Turlock didn’t take us lightly, so it was a good dual on both sides. … But we didn’t take anyone else lightly because we knew they were coming for us as well.”
Gregori earned a 45-24 win over Bella Vista in the Division II quarterfinals, securing the program’s first ever Team Duals victory. The Jaguars finished third in their bracket.
“It feels really good to get back and winning the first match in Gregori history is really cool,” Benjamin said. “Everybody was excited about it.”
Oakdale vs Vacaville for D-I blue banner
Oakdale and Vacaville once again are two top-15 teams in California. They met in Saturday’s premier event, the Division I final. The Mustangs beat McClatchy in the quarterfinals and Folsom in the semis. Vacaville bested Lincoln and Del Oro to get to the final. Last season, Oakdale earned the team title at the Team Dual and scored the most overall points at Masters.
Saturday, the Bulldogs got out to a 9-0 lead before Oakdale went on a run that included a pair of pins to take a 15-12 lead. After that, Vacaville took momentum, scoring 12 unanswered points as part of a run that gave the Bulldogs a 24-21 lead. The Bulldogs pulled away late, securing a 40-21 win.
Top wrestlers at Team Duals
Saturday’s event featured a number of the top boys teams and individuals in California. Here is a list of the Stanislaus District participants ranked among the best in the state according to The California Wrestler:
TEAM RANKINGS
(State Ranking) School
(12) Oakdale
(18) Pitman
(20) Central Catholic
PLAYER RANKINGS
(State Ranking) Name | School | Year
113 pounds
(19) Eliazar Valdez | Central Catholic |Freshman
(46) Ahmad Faizi | Davis | Junior
120 pounds
(14) Kekoa Ogawa | Central Catholic | Junior
126 pounds
(9) Eziequel Vela | Oakdale | Senior
132 pounds
(1) Victor Alexander Gutierrez | Central Catholic | Sophomore
(20) Jesse Meza | Oakdale | Sophomore
138 pounds
(10) Jeremiah Bertalotto | Turlock | Senior
(26) Demarcus Turner | Davis | Senior
(44) Anthony Martinez | Oakdale | Senior
157 pounds
(9) Brodie Johnson | Pitman | Junior
165 pounds
(14) Gideon Gerber | Oakdale | Junior
(25) Noah Montez | Central Catholic | Senior
175 pounds
(2) Mason Ontiveros | Pitman | Sophomore
(9) Carlos Garcia | Oakdale | Senior
(10) Nicholas Perez | Hughson | Senior
190 pounds
(6) Wes Burford | Oakdale | Sophomore
(11) Carter Vannest | Pitman | Sophomore
215 pounds
(6) Elias Corona | Oakdale | Senior
(19) Elijah Watson | Turlock | Senior
(44) Jeremiah Mora | Pitman | Sophomore
285 pounds
(6) Emilio Johnson | Oakdale | Senior
(13) Troy Ceja | Pitman | Sophomore
Upcoming postseason information
Saturday’s Team Duals marked the beginning of the 2023-24 wrestling postseason. Next, teams take part in their league championships. League winners in each weight class advance to divisional postseasons, where they fight for championships and spots at the section’s masters tournament. Divisions I through IV playoffs are Saturday, Feb. 10. Division V is Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10.
The Division I tournament is at Folsom High School and will see the Delta League, SFL and TCAL compete.
The Division II tournament the CCAL, CVS, MEL and Metro League wrestle at Pitman High.
Division III teams from the CAL, CCC, FVL and VOL meet at Manteca High for their tournament.
The Division IV tournament is at Cordova High School between schools in the GEL, GSL, SJAA and WAC.
In the Division V tournament at Rosemont High School Feb. 9-10, the MLL, PVL, SVC and TVL, SAL and CVCL/SDL compete.
In girls wrestling, North and South Regionals are Feb. 9-10. South Regionals are at Central Valley High School and North Regionals are at Foothill High School.
Boys and girls will all compete at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Feb. 16-17. Champions will be crowned Feb. 17. State qualifiers will also be determined at the section meet. The CIF State Wrestling Championships are Feb. 22-24 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, Calif.
More wrestling notes and rankings
▪ Merced and Golden Valley high schools wrestled for the Division III championship in a rematch of the Central California Conference dual Jan. 23. Merced beat Golden Valley 38-27, overcoming the Cougars for the first time in 22 matchups. Saturday, Golden Valley won again, beating Merced in one of the day’s most competitive matches, 37-36.
▪ It was only fitting Escalon’s Division IV blue banner was won by a senior leader who coach Derek Scott says is such a great kid that he can’t bring himself to yell at him. Matthew Rangel needed a pin to secure the Cougars a team title and came through with just that. The kid who Scott says “you want to see do well” turned a six-point lead into a 12-point win in the Cougars final bout of the day, sealing a 39-27 win.
▪ Just days after blowing out Delhi in a league dual, Big Valley Christian faced the Hawks in Saturday’s Division VI team championship match. The Lions and Hawks battled in a tight match which the Lions won, 40-36.
Girls rankings
Central Catholic, Davis and Pitman are among Stanislaus District schools with girls who are among the top wrestlers in California for their respective weight classes.
At 100 pounds, Central Catholic’s Jillian Wells is No. 1 and Pitman’s Lily Dizon is No. 2.
At 105 pounds, Davis’ Jazmine Turner is No. 3.
At 110 pounds, Aleena Nguyen of Central Catholic is No. 6.
At 125 pounds, Central Catholic’s Dulcy Martinez is No. 1 and Pitman’s Gabryella Austin is No. 8.
At 130 pounds, Pitman’s Baya Austin is No. 1 and Davis’ Sophia Hejnal is No. 8.
At 170 pounds, Gregori’s Mikayla Lancaster is No. 2.
At 235 pounds, Central Valley’s Brianna Espinoza is No. 6.
