EIGHT WRESTLERS GOING TO STATE
STOCKTON — Cassidy Curtiss had a tough battle that Tokay High girls wrestling coach George Bozovich feels will only make her stronger.
Raven Edwards and the Lodi High girls wrestling team made a statement.
Curtiss and Edwards are two of a combined seven area wrestlers — along with one from Liberty Ranch — who placed in the top six of their weight classes at the SacJoaquin Section Masters Championship at Stockton Arena on Saturday.
As a team, Tokay took second place with 99 points. Orland, one of the few Northern Section high schools that field a girls wrestling team, won the Masters with 107 points. Orland also competed at the SacJoaquin Section regional tournament at Central Valley High of Ceres on Feb. 15.
Elk Grove took third place at 76 points. Del Oro of Loomis, in Placer County, was fourth at 69 points and Pitman of Turlock rounded out the top five with 67.5 points. Lodi had an 11th place finish with an even 50 points.
The top eight in each weight class earned medals. But only the top six earn a trip to the California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships, which will be held at Mechanics Bank Arena — formerly known as Rabobank Arena — in Bakersfield. This meet begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Edwards, a junior, took third place in the 137-pound class. She will join Flame teammates Anna Rodriguez (131), who took fourth place at the tournament.
Curtiss (235-pounds) joins teammates Gabrielle Medeiros (101), Samira Mason (111) and Madelyn Evans (143). Medeiros took fourth place. Mason and
Evans each had fifth place finishes.
Curtiss was the lone area girl in the area to compete for a championship. She faced Elk Grove’s Annika Miles, who recorded a 3-0 decision for the title.
The match was knotted at 0-0 until the second round. Then Miles recorded a near fall for a 20 lead. Miles’ final point was an escape in the third round.
“That girl is one of the top girls in the state,” said Bozovich of Miles.
Entering the second day of the Masters, Tokay led by more than 12 points in team points. But earlier losses in the tournament of two other Tokay wrestlers, plus Orland racking up wins on the second day led to Tokay taking second place.
“We lost some good ones,” Bozovich said. “We needed Cassidy to win and the Orland girl (Nyla Thitphaneth) to lose. I believe we would’ve been up by one, if not it would’ve been a tie. But hey, we’ve had a long season.”
Thitphaneth won her third place match.
Before reaching the finals, Curtiss pinned Thitphaneth in the first round. Miles also won her semifinal match by pin in the first round.
Bozovich pointed out that advancing to the state meet is now mental for Cassidy and the other three Tokay wrestlers.
“We just keep moving on,” Bozovich said. “We take one tournament at a time, one match at a time. Whatever the outcome is, it is. I think greatness comes in longevity.”
Now Tokay, plus Lodi and Liberty Ranch, prepare for the state meet.
“We leave Wednesday,” Bozovich said. “Now it’s the mental game. Everybody is beat up, everyone is hurt. I think those (four) have a chance to place, and that would be nice, you know?”
Raven Edwards
Edwards took charge early in her 3rd place match against Nevada Union’s Amanda Beall. A series of near falls and escapes gave Edwards a 7-0 lead after the first round.
“I know that going defensive, usually the first person with an offensive move is a take down and took it to my advantage,” said Edwards, who went 4-1 at the Masters.
Edwards’ continued scoring points in the second round, which led to a 9-1 lead over Beall. The third round ended with Edwards posting an 11-1 major decision.
Reflecting back on her performance over two days at the Masters, Edwards is delighted to advance to the state meet.
“That was my goal,” said Edwards, who went 0-2 at the Masters last winter. “My teammates, they stayed with me.”
Edwards’ only loss was in the semifinals to Central Catholic of Modesto’s Faalia Martinez, who pinned Edwards 30 seconds into the second round.
Rodriguez was also in the third place match, as she faced Chavez’s Taydem Khamjoi. In the first round, Khamjoi jumped out to a 3-0 lead. She expanded her score over Rodriguez to an 80 score. Khamjoi, who almost pinned Rodriguez toward the end of the second round, completed the job 20 seconds into the third round for the win.
More Tigers
Medeiros faced Sheldon of Sacramento’s Simone Infante in the 3rd place match. Infante walked off the mat with a 12-1 major decision win over Medeiros.
Mason and Evans earned their trip to the state meet, as each took fifth place in their weight classes.
Mason defeated Sierra of Manteca’s Cami Jarmon by forfeit in their fifth place match. Evans pinned Golden Valley of Merced’s Samantha Arevalo in the second round.
Liberty Ranch’s Itzel MedinaValdez (106) competed in the third place match against Elk Grove’s Loretta Lopez, who won by pin in the second round.
Lodi’s Pamela Decko (101) just missed earning a CIF State berth with a 7th place finish. Decko, a three-sport athlete in cross-country and track and field, pinned Pioneer of Woodland’s Yarira Vega in the second round of their match.
Tokay’s Katelyn Collette (106) also earned a medal at 7th place, just missing the state meet cut. Grant of Sacramento’s Jade Nguyen posted an 18-2 technical fall win over Collette in their medal match.
Another Liberty Ranch wrestler who placed but missed the cut to the state meet is Julisa Deltoro (111), who also took 7th place. In her final match at the Masters, Deltoro pinned Granite Bay’s Victoria Wells in the second round.