IN SPORTS: TOKAY GIRLS SECOND IN WRESTLING
STOCKTON — Jazmin Ruiz didn’t tip-Toe into the finals of the SacJoaquin Section Girls Wrestler Masters.
The Tokay High wrestler, a senior competing in 111-pound class, faced Vallejo’s Prescillia Toe for the third time this season. But on Saturday, Ruiz shined, along with three Tokay wrestlers. Ruiz relied more on strategy that led to a 5-0 decision win over Toe to capture the Tigers’ lone title at McNair High’s gym.
Ruiz is one of four Tokay wrestlers who have earned a berth into the California Interscholastic Federation State Girls Wrestling Championships. Joining is her sister, Yesenia, who took fourth place in the 126-weight class. Teammates Jessica Gutierrez (143) and Cassidy Curtis (235) took fifth place in their respective weight classes. The top five wrestlers in each weight class earn a trip to the state meet.
Tokay’s bid of a third consecutive section team title fell by just eight points. Del Oro of Loomis captured the blue banner with 97.5 points, fol-
lowed by Tokay at second place at 89.5. Elk Grove was third at 85 points, Rodriguez of Fairfield fourth at 71 and the Tigers’ Tri-City Athletic League foe, Lincoln, took fifth place at 59 points.
“It’s a good feeling knowing that we were there,” said Tokay coach George Bozovich of competing for the team section crown. “We’re in a really good situation, and I’m excited about it.”
In the first period, Jazmin Ruiz applied pressure on Toe’s arms after Ruiz took her down on the mat. That allowed Ruiz to record a near fall and a 2-0 lead.
“It was a good way to stop them from shooting, and it worked the first time I did it,” Ruiz said. “I wanted to be able to hold her down this time. The last two times I couldn’t hold her down, I couldn’t shoot; she would always get away.”
The final three points came in the second period, thanks to an escape and another near fall, which led to winning by a 5-0 decision and picked up the Tigers’ lone individual championship.
“Coming in, I was nervous,” said Ruiz of facing Toe for the third time. “But I was just counting on what I know. I was prepared for a tough match. That was not how I expected it come out.”
Tokay assistant coach Hector Valle added, “It was going to come down to a close match. It was a statecaliber match. It was good to get that win. I can’t be more proud of her of how she’s been wrestling.”
Yesenia Ruiz, who went 4-2 at the two day tournament, faced Armijo of Fairfield’s Dyanna Gutierrez for third place. Gutierrez dominated the first period, which led to takedowns and near falls for a 9-0 lead. Halfway through the second period, Gutierrez pinned Ruiz for the win.
Jessica Gutierrez met Downey of Modesto’s Serenity Angeles for fifth place, as each wrestler knew the winner would earn a state berth. A takedown gave Gutierrez a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. Angeles’ lone point came on an escape.
After Gutierrez recorded another takedown for a 4-1 lead, Angeles rallied back in the second period with a near fall to make it 4-3. But two more near falls gave Gutierrez a 6-3 win, which was followed by breaking down in tears of joy in joining the Ruiz sisters.
“I’ve been working so hard,” said Gutierrez, a senior who went 4-2 during the two day tournament. “Even if we (her and Angeles) were out of breath, we just kept on going.”
Like Jazmin Ruiz’s rivalry with Toe, this was the third meeting between Gutierrez and Angeles, who won the first two matches.
“I told myself ‘I’m not going to let her win this time,’” Gutierrez said. “I had to be better. My coaches kept motivating me, and they always they tell me to keep pushing through, no matter what.”
Curtiss, a freshman who also went 4-2, took on Franklin’s Efrena Guerrero. Curtiss’ start found Guerrero jump out to a 2-0 lead, on a reversal. But halfway through the second period, while both on the mat, Curtiss pinned Guerrero for the win.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Bozovich said. “I’ve told the girls ‘day by day, let’s get better.’ It’s a process.”
Bozovich feels that Tokay would’ve won its third consecutive section title, and fourth in five years, had it not been for some girls who didn’t make weight at weigh-in on Friday morning, before the start of the tournament.
Advancing to the tournament for Lodi were Elizabeth Decko (121), Julie Lopez (131), Jeovana Garcia (150) and Hannah Wooldridge (160), all of whom placed in the top eight at the South Divisional tournament earlier this month. But none of them advanced to the second day of the Masters’ tournament.
Galt and Liberty Ranch had no representatives at the Masters’ tournament.
The CIF state tournament will be held this Friday and Saturday at the Visalia Convention Center in Visalia.