Kling, Merrill both get top seeds for CIF State boys meet

Canyon Springs senior Sonny Kling and North sophomore Coby Merrill received the No. 1 seed in their respective weight classes when the brackets for this year’s CIF State boys wrestling championship meet were released Monday evening.

The state meet will take place Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 22-24) at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.

Kling’s impressive resume includes a pair of second-place finishes at the state finals. He picked up the No. 1 seed in the 190-pound bracket after capturing the third CIF Southern Section Master Meet championship of his career. Kling, who is headed to California Baptist University, will open this year’s state meet against Helix’s Ja’kar Carter on Thursday afternoon.

Kling is looking to become Canyon Springs’ first state champion since John Rojas won the 112-pound title in 2003.

Merrill wrestled for Gilroy last season and finished second in the 195-pound division at the 2023 state finals. He received the No. 1 seed at 215 pounds this season and will open with a match against Nevada Union’s Ricky Kiser on Thursday.

North has never had a state champion in wrestling. Merrill could end another long drought, as the city of Riverside has not had a boys state wrestling champion since Norte Vista’s Dominic Garcia brought home the 112-pound title in 1996.

Canyon Springs senior Richard “Remy” Murillo finished second at state in 2022 (120 pounds) and sixth last year (126). The California Baptist-bound wrestler is the No. 4 seed at 132 pounds this season and opens this year’s state meet Thursday with a match against South Bakersfield’s Daniel Reza or Oakland Tech’s Bryan Palacios-nolasco.

Canyon Springs freshman Max Murillo, Richard’s younger brother, is the No. 7 seed in the 113-pound bracket and opens against Monache’s Nathan Kaiser on Thursday.

Etiwanda has a pair of wrestlers who received a Top-8 seeding in their respective brackets. Senior Evan Manzo is the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds and opens against Tehachapi’s Levi Hart on Thursday. Junior Jacob Bell is the No. 8 seed at 138 pounds and will square off against South Bakersfield’s Sonny Lora on Thursday.

Roosevelt senior Brian Leon picked up the No. 7 seed at 157 pounds and opens against Selma’s Daniel Armendarez on Thursday. Leon’s older brother Brandon won the 220-pound state championship in 2020 while wrestling for Roosevelt.

Twelve other Inland wrestlers received a Top16 seedings in their respective classes: Chino’s Zachary Samano (No. 10, 106) and Michael Vassalle (No. 14, 175); Paloma Valley’s Jose Jimenez (No. 16, 138) and Javon Major (No. 15, 165); Temecula Valley’s Kameron Phillips (No. 12, 165) and Justice El Sayad (No. 11, 285); Bonita’s Tristan Fernandez (No. 12. 150); Canyon Springs’ David Fletes (No. 16, 126); Eisenhower’s Mathius Garza (No. 10, 138); King’s Mateo Ochoa (No. 10, 126); Roosevelt’s Jason Saenz (No. 16, 132); and Vista Murrieta’s Noah Bode (No. 15, 215).

Below is a list of the 41 Inland boys wrestlers who qualified for this year’s state championship meet:

106

Xavier Manzo, Canyon Springs, Jr. Zachary Samano, Chino, Fr. Davis Shapsoshnick, Great Oak, Jr.

113

Max Murillo, Canyon Springs, Fr.

Benji Ruiz, Paloma Valley, Sr.

120

Elias Casas, Cajon, Jr. Jonathan Madera, Chino, So. Rocco Madrid, Centennial, Sr.

126

David Fletes, Canyon Springs, Sr.

Mateo Ochoa, King, Sr.

132

Ian Gutierrez, Yucaipa, Sr. Austin Mcswain, Etiwanda, Sr.

Richard Murillo, Canyon Springs, Sr.

Jason Saenz, Roosevelt, Sr.

138

Jacob Bell, Etiwanda, Jr.

Mathius Garza, Eisenhower, Fr.

Bryce Gonzales, Norco, Jr. Jose Jimenez, Paloma Valley, Sr.

Paul Knapp, King, Jr.

144

No Inland qualifiers

150

Tristan Fernandez, Bonita, Jr.

157

Xingyu Chen, Los Osos, Sr. Brian Leon, Roosevelt, Sr. Isaiah Rea, Lakeside, Jr.

165

Mason Hernandez, Citrus Valley, Sr.

Roman Loya, Rim of the World, Sr.

Javon Major, Paloma Valley, Jr.

Evan Manzo, Etiwanda, Sr. Kameron Phillips, Temecula Valley, Sr.

175

Gabriel Barragan, West Valley, Jr.

Dylan Natceli, Chaparral, So. Michael Vassalle, Chino, Jr.

190

Nathan Blanco, Chino, Sr. Will Mchargue, Yucaipa, Jr. Davin Ito, Roosevelt, Sr. Sonny Kling, Canyon Springs, Sr.

215

Noah Bode, Vista Murrieta, Jr. Coby Merrill, North, So.

285

Romario Bonilla, Perris, Sr. Kalui Costa, Elsinore, Sr. Justice El Sayad, Temecula Valley, Jr.

Larry Hyland, Norco, Sr.

FILE PHOTO BY TERRY PIERSON — SCNG Canyon Springs senior Sonny Kling is the top-seeded wrestler in the 190-pound bracket at this year’s CIF State Championships. Kling has placed second at the past two state meets.