FINAL: February 25, 2020

 

STATE RANKINGS

 

We’ve come to the end! The CIF State Tournament, held at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, will begin this Thursday morning (February 27) and culminate with the individual finals on Saturday evening. We started the season with nearly 24,000 wrestlers so all the best of luck and health to the remaining 560 state qualifiers, as well as their coaches and families.

 

The final rankings below were used to seed each 40-person bracket. The top 16 were positioned in the draw and the rest of the field was layered in using formulas – as much as possible, we try to avoid same-section first rounders or high placers from the power sections running into each other too early.

 

As everyone knows, seedings are meaningless after the first whistle. Its only purpose is to set up the starting line – to reward the most deserving competitors based on season accomplishments. But as the saying goes, past performance does not guarantee future results. Just because A beats B and B beats C does not mean A will beat C.

 

An important objective is to maintain the integrity of the hypothetical quarterfinal match-ups. As long as the quarterfinals are filled with top 12-16 seeds, I’m happy. During the past 3 years, 331 of 336 eventual quarterfinalists were top 16 seeds (98.5%) while 332 of 336 were top 12 seeds (95.8%). Looking at the medal podium, 325 of 336 state medalists during the past 3 years were top 12 seeds (96.7%). This is not surprising – the best wrestlers during the regular season usually rise to the occasion during the postseason. But certainly, “upsets” can and most definitely will happen as style dictates match-ups.

 

Seeding/ranking criteria is consistent with those applied at most tournaments – among them, (1) head-to-head results, prioritizing most recent match-up if H2Hs are even; (2) returning state medalist or qualifier; (3) returning section medalist; (4) common opponents; (5) quality of tournament schedule. Another important component will be overall body of work as case-by-case discretion must be made when H2Hs conflict or are lacking. This also places more emphasis on Masters performance rather than rely purely on results from earlier in the season.

 

I’ll add a short commentary for each weight and when I mention “national” ranking, I’m referring to the version provided by the long-standing and well-established InterMat website, though there are a wide range of national rankings available from different sources.

 

I welcome feedback, questions, or corrections at castateranker@gmail.com.

 

KEY:  # = current rank; LW = last week’s ranking

State Medalist

State Qualifier


 

 

106 POUNDS

 

#

WT

LW

NAME

GR

TEAM

SECTION

PREVIOUS

1

106

1

Andre Gonzales

11

Poway

1-San Diego

’19: 1st SDS, 3rd CA (106)

2

106

2

Raymond Lopez

11

Buchanan

1-Central

.

3

106

3

Michael Torres

10

Oakdale

1-Sac Joaquin

.

4

106

4

Beau Mantanona

9

Palm Desert

1-Southern

.

5

106

5

Isaiah Kainoa Medina

10

Vacaville

2-Sac Joaquin

’19: 4th SJS, 1-2 CA (106)

6

106

7

Dominic Mendez

10

Righetti

2-Central

’19: 3rd CS, 2-2 CA (106)

7

106

6

Matt Terrence

10

Clovis

3-Central

’19: 5th CS, 3-2 CA (106)

8

106

8

Ethan Perryman

11

Temecula Valley

2-Southern

’19: 2-2 SS (106)

9

106

9

Santino Sanchez

10

San Marino

3-Southern

.

10

106

10

Allan Hendricks

10

Centennial

4-Southern

’19: 1-2 SS (106)

11

106

11

Clarence Moore

9

Gilroy

1-Central Coast

.

12

106

12

Bobby Cuevas, Jr.

10

De La Salle

1-North Coast

’19: 2nd NCS, 0-2 CA (106)

13

106

13

Naythan Galbiso

11

Imperial

2-San Diego

’19: 3rd SDS, 0-2 CA (106)

14

106

14

Adrian Ledezma

12

Roosevelt

5-Southern

’19: 1-2 SS (106)

15

106

15

Caleb Park

9

Calvary Chapel

7-Southern

.

16

106

16

Nate Gonzalez

10

Selma

4-Central

.

17

106

17

Login Robinson

10

Steele Canyon

3-San Diego

’19: 2-2 Qtrs. SDS (106)

18

106

29

Nathan Lopez

12

Hillcrest

6-Southern

’19: 2-3 Qtrs. SS (106)

19

106

18

Artie Carranza

10

Arlington

9-Southern

’19: 2-2 SS (106)

20

106

20

Ethan Nguyen

10

Diamond Ranch

8-Southern

’19: 0-2 SS (106)

21

106

-

Ethan Ward

9

Turlock

3-Sac Joaquin

.

22

106

24

Nick Trave

11

Petaluma

2-North Coast

’19: 4th NCS (106)

23

106

25

John Fredrickson

10

Windsor

3-North Coast

.

24

106

26

Kevin Lopez

10

Elk Grove

4-Sac Joaquin

’19: 2-2 SJS (113)

25

106

-

Jimmy Reyes

11

Hanford

5-Central

.

26

106

27

Julio Bautista

12

Folsom

5-Sac Joaquin

.

27

106

32

Jonathan Nguyen

11

Tokay

6-Sac Joaquin

’19: 1-2 SJS (106)

28

106

-

Gavin Smith

9

Chico

1-Northern

.

29

106

35

Dylan McDonald

10

Lemoore

6-Central

’19: 2-2 CS (106)

30

106

37

Michael Huh

10

Westmont

2-Central Coast

’19: 2-2 CCS (106)

31

106

33

Mark Justin Ramirez

9

Fremont

3-Central Coast

.

32

106

39

Jacob Jones

9

Rancho Bernardo

4-San Diego

.

33

106

40

Nathan Galicia

9

Madera

7-Central

.

34

106

-

Hunter Ludwig

9

Sutter

2-Northern

.

35

106

-

Howard Harton

11

Kerman

8-Central

.

36

106

-

Ryan Woods

9

Palisades

1-Los Angeles

.

37

106

-

Elijah Delatorre

9

Pioneer Valley

9-Central

.

38

106

-

Matthew Candray

11

WA Union

10-Central

.

39

106

-

Justin Chiang

11

Lowell

1-San Francisco

.

40

106

-

Dave Heng

9

Skyline

1-Oakland

.

 

 

Returning state medalists: 1

Returning top 12 finishers: 1

Returning state qualifiers: 6

 

106 NOTES: Pretty straightforward with the top 12 or so. As always, this should be a very fun and unpredictable weight overall but the top 4-5 wrestlers appear to have separated from the rest of the field. Keep in mind that having to weigh-in three consecutive days may impact several competitors in this lightest class. Gonzales (Poway) and Lopez (Buchanan) are coin-flips for #1 and #2. Gonzales finished 3rd in state last year but Lopez has arguably amassed a slightly better regular season record. That being said, Gonzales is also the top-ranked 106 pounder in the country with Lopez ranked at #7.

 

Expectations for a Gonzales/Lopez showdown persists but the next two can certainly spoil the party. #3 Torres (Oakdale) and #4 Mantanona (Palm Desert) have only lost to Lopez and Gonzales this season. Freshman Mantanona is definitely worth keeping an eye on – he’s super-aggressive, scores in flurries, and in his two losses, he held leads in both (the 15-14 loss to Lopez is the stuff of legends). Torres is ranked #11 in the country with Mantanona following at #18.

 

Looking at the brackets, the toughest opening round match-ups are: #6 Mendez (Righetti) vs. #18 Lopez (Hillcrest) and #14 Ledezma (Roosevelt), assuming he wins an out-bracket match, vs. #17 Robinson (Steele Canyon). Also there’s a tricky out-bracket between #12 Cuevas (DL Salle) and #19 Carranza (Arlington).

 

 

 

113 POUNDS

 

#

WT

LW

NAME

GR

TEAM

SECTION

PREVIOUS

1

113

1

Richard Figueroa

11

Selma

1-Central

’19: 1st CS, 1st CA (106)

’18: 1st CS, 1st CA (106)

2

113

2

Joey Cruz

10

Clovis North

2-Central

’19: 4th CS, 3rd CA (120)

3

113

3

Jack Gioffre

10

Buchanan

3-Central

’19: 2nd CS, 2nd CA (106)

4

113

4

Zeth Romney

10

Chaminade

1-Southern

’19: 3rd SS, 5th CA (106)

5

113

5

Dario Lemus

9

Clovis

4-Central

.

6

113

6

Brock Bobzien

10

Poway

1-San Diego

’19: 1st SDS, 1-2 CA (113)

7

113

7

Brayden Abell

11

Oakdale

1-Sac Joaquin

’19: 3rd SJS, 4th CA (106)

’18: 5th SJS, 1-2 CA (106)

8

113

8

Zachary Thompson

11

Palma

1-Central Coast

’19: 2nd CCS, 3-2 CA (113)

’18: 3rd CCS, 1-2 CA (106)

9

113

9

Tiger Ortiz

11

Calvary Chapel

2-Southern

’19: 6th SS, 4-2 Top 12 CA (106)

10

113

11

Justin Rodriguez

10

Palm Desert

3-Southern

.

11

113

14

Devin Avedissian

10

Temecula Valley

4-Southern

’19: 3-3 SS (113)

12

113

10

Sean Solis

10

Fountain Valley

5-Southern

’19: 7th SS, 4-2 Top 12 CA (106)

13

113

12

Salahdin Farukh

11

Valley

2-Sac Joaquin

’19: 6th SJS, 0-2 CA (106)

14

113

15

Trenton Guillermo

11

Yucaipa

6-Southern

’19: 2-2 SS (106)

15

113

17

Zack Fierro

9

Gilroy

2-Central Coast

.

16

113

13

Calvin Antonio

11

Evergreen Valley

3-Central Coast

’19: 2nd CCS, 1-2 CA (106); DEF

17

113

18

Logan Valledor

10

Vacaville

3-Sac Joaquin

.

18

113

22

Abraham Cerda

10

Hoover

5-Central

’19: 7th CS, 0-2 CA (106)

19

113

-

Alex Subias

11

Orange Lutheran

7-Southern

’19: 0-2 SS (106)

20

113

40

Enzo Fukunaga

10

Woodbridge

8-Southern

.

21

113

HM

Ryan Lobato

9

Chaparral

9-Southern

.

22

113

-

David Rudkin

9

Chico

1-Northern

.

23

113

37

Jesse Cota

10

Patterson

5-Sac Joaquin

’19: 7th SJS (106)

24

113

23

Talan Niimi

10

Granite Bay

4-Sac Joaquin

’19: 2-2 SJS (106)

25

113

19

Michael Mallot

12

Union Mine

6-Sac Joaquin

’19: 5th SJ, 0-2 CA (106)

26

113

38

Brandon Eusebio

9

Rancho Bernardo

2-San Diego

.

27

113

HM

Jose Sanchez

12

Maria Carrillo

1-North Coast

’19: 5th NCS (113)

’18: 7th NCS (113)

28

113

25

Jaden Ramos

12

Redwood

2-North Coast

’19: 4th NCS (113)

29

113

-

Ashton Onsurez

11

Centennial

7-Central

’19: 9th CS, 0-2 CA (113)

30

113

29

Joshua Acala

12

Frontier

6-Central

’19: 10th CS, 1-2 CA (106)

31

113

32

Andrew Diaz

10

Bakersfield

8-Central

.

32

113

27

Wanderei Whittington

9

Monache

10-Central

.

33

113

31

Alex Calderon

12

Redwood

9-Central

.

34

113

39

Atri Feizi

9

De La Salle

3-North Coast

.

35

113

HM

Zachary Ikaika Ramos

12

Olympian

4-San Diego

’19: 5th SDS (106)

36

113

HM

Tash Nguyen

10

Birmingham

1-Los Angeles

.

37

113

-

Jesus Plasencia

12

Eastlake

3-San Diego

’19: 6th SDS (106)

38

113

-

Jonathan Garcia

10

Orland

2-Northern

.

39

113

-

Amir Jaradie

9

SF International

1-San Francisco

.

40

113

-

Jake Runge

9

Skyline

1-Oakland

.

 

 

Returning state medalists: 5

Returning top 12 finishers: 7

Returning state qualifiers: 15

 

113 NOTES: #1 Figueroa (Selma) is looking to win his third state title in as many years – well on the path for four. The top-ranked 113 pounder in the country, as well as a contender for top pound-for-pound honors, Figueroa has beaten his close Central rival, #2 Cruz (Clovis North) three times this year. Cruz himself is ranked #3 in the country. Both wrestlers are very familiar with one another – having trained and competed against one another since childhood – so a fourth match-up on Saturday evening should be a great show … of course, if the seeds hold up. #3 Gioffre (Buchanan) was a state runner-up last year and rounds out the impressive Central trio up at top. Gioffre is ranked #12 in the country.

 

#4 Romney (Chaminade) was Southern champ and his only three in-state losses have been to the top 3 wrestlers. Freshman sensation Lemus (Clovis) is at #5 – a testament to the absurd quality of his season schedule is that he already has 8 matches against Figueroa, Cruz, and Gioffre. He’s won 1 against Gioffre but his overall body of work has him already ranked #15 in the country. #6 Bobzien (Poway) lost to both Gioffre and Lemus (in OT) at state duals and is relatively untested among the top 10 – he has no other matches against anyone in the top 8.

 

Watch out for #7 Abell (Oakdale), a returning state medalist. He missed a chunk of his season due to injuries and has not matched up yet against anyone seeded above him. Though he’s projected to face a tough #10 Rodriguez (Palm Desert) in the round-of-16 and #2 Cruz (Clovis North in the quarters, a healthy (and able) Abell definitely has top 4 potential.

 

Here’s a rundown of the toughest early match-ups: #8 Thompson (Palma) vs. #17 Valledor (Vacaville) in an out-bracket right off the bat. Valledor just missed out being seeded – it was difficult to find a top 16 spot as the #13 seed went to the Sac Joaquin runner-up. SJS Masters brackets are set up using formulas so Valledor missed an important H2H last weekend. Another tough out-bracket is #15 Fierro (Gilroy) against #20 Fukunaga (Woodbridge).

 

 

 

120 POUNDS

 

#

WT

LW

NAME

GR

TEAM

SECTION

PREVIOUS

1

120

1

Carlos Negrete

11

Buchanan

1-Central

’19: 2nd CS, 2nd CA (113)

’18: 2nd CS, 2nd CA (106)

2

120

2

Tristan Lujan

12

Selma

2-Central

’19: 1st CS, 1st CA (113)

’18: 2nd CS, 4th CA (113)

’17: 3rd CS, 2-2 Qtrs. CA (106)

3

120

19

Maxximus Martinez

9

St. John Bosco

1-Southern

.

4

120

3

Richard C. Sandoval

12

Santa Ynez

2-Southern

’19: 2nd SS, 5th CA (120)

’18: 9th SS, 0-2 CA (113)

’17: 2-3 Qtrs. SS (106)

5

120

4

Carter Bailey

11

Granada

1-North Coast

’19: 3rd NCS, 2-2 CA (113)

6

120

5

George Rosas

10

Clovis

3-Central

.

7

120

6

Isriel Tubera

12

Pitman

2-Sac Joaquin

’19: 1st SJS, 3rd CA (113)

’17: 3rd SJS, 7th CA (106)

8

120

7

Laz Maldonado

12

Clovis West

4-Central

’18: 6th CS, 4-2 Top 12 CA (106)

9

120

8

Hayden Zinkin

10

Clovis North

5-Central

’19: 4th CS, 4-2 Top 12 CA (113)

10

120

10

Fernando Barreto

10

Rowland

3-Southern

’19: 1st SS, 6th CA (106); DEF

11

120

11

Noah Ozuna

11

Bakersfield

6-Central

’18: 6th CS, 1-2 CA (113)

12

120

12

Johnny Lopez

10

Poway

1-San Diego

.

13

120

13

Ryan Luna

10

St. Francis

1-Central Coast

’19: 1st CCS, DEF Qtrs. CA (106)

14

120

14

Mike Bigler

12

Riordan

2-Central Coast

’19: 3rd CCS, 7th CA (113)

’18: 5th CCS (106)

15

120

9

Adrian Limon

10

Northview

6-Southern

.

16

120

16

Tommy Lavigne

12

Valley Center

2-San Diego

’18: 1st SDS, 0-2 CA (106)

17

120

18

Joaquin Arroyo

10

Calvary Chapel

4-Southern

’19: 5th SS, 2-2 CA (106)

18

120

30

Tyson Escobedo

10

Righetti

7-Central

.

19

120

15

Jesse Gayton

12

Lemoore

9-Central

’19: 5th CS, 2-2 CA (120)

’18: 10th CS, 0-2 CA (120)

20

120

24

Yoshiya Funakoshi

10

West Torrance

5-Southern

’19: 4th SS, 8th CA (106)

21

120

31

Jonathan Hernandez

9

Oakdale

1-Sac Joaquin

.

22

120

17

Dylan Maples

11

Bella Vista

3-Sac Joaquin

’19: 2nd SJS, 1-2 CA (106)

23

120

25

Zack Stone

11

Orange Lutheran

7-Southern

.

24

120

21

Abel AJ Gaitan

10

Yucaipa

8-Southern

’19: 4th SS, N/A CA (113)

25

120

20

Erik Hernandez

12

Villa Park

9-Southern

’18: 1-2 SS (106)

26

120

22

Brian Benevidez

12

Porterville

8-Central

’17: 7th CS, 0-2 CA (106)

27

120

23

Harrison Nguyen

12

Evergreen Valley

3-Central Coast

’19: 3rd CCS, 1-2 CA (120)

’18: 4th CCS (120)

’17: 4th CCS (106)

28

120

38

Darien Banuelos

12

Carson

1-Los Angeles

’19: 1st LAS, 0-2 CA (120)

29

120

39

Russell Nickerson

11

Quincy

1-Northern

’19: 2nd NS, 0-2 CA (120)

30

120

HM

Keola Abreu

11

Yuba City

4-Sac Joaquin

’19: 3-2 SJS (106)

31

120

HM

Casey Roberts

9

Vacaville

5-Sac Joaquin

.

32

120

-

Caleb Waller

12

Heritage

2-North Coast

.

33

120

HM

Sean Pamintuan

12

James Logan

3-North Coast

’19: 6th NCS (120)

’18: 8th NCS (113)

34

120

HM

Ralph Magsino

12

Olympian

3-San Diego

’19: 4th SDS, 0-2 CA (120)

35

120

HM

Anthony Maldonado

12

Brawley

4-San Diego

’19: 4th SDS, 1-2 CA (113)

36

120

-

Andy Del Toro

11

San Fernando

2-Los Angeles

’19: 2nd LAS (120)

37

120

HM

Elijah Montez

9

Gregori

6-Sac Joaquin

.

38

120

-

Brody Dollins

11

Sutter

2-Northern

’19: 1st NS, 0-2 CA (106)

39

120

-

Shane Corona

11

Foothill

10-Central

.

40

120

-

Richard Noon

11

Lincoln

1-San Francisco

.

 

 

Returning state medalists: 7

Returning top 12 finishers: 9

Returning state qualifiers: 24

 

120 NOTES: An absolutely monster weight class. From the preseason, I’ve said there are two dozen wrestlers at this weight who have legitimate shots at making the state podium. That sentiment is unchanged. At top are last year’s state finalists at 113: #1 Negrete (Buchanan) and #2 Lujan (Selma). Last year, Lujan won 3 of 4 H2Hs against Negrete, including the all-important state finals. Negrete has turned the tables a bit this season, winning 2 of 3 H2Hs this year. Already a two-time state runner-up, can Negrete secure his first title? Negrete and Lujan are ranked #5 and #6 in the country.

 

At #3 is Martinez (SJ Bosco), who made a huge jump in the rankings from last week. He’s an interesting case. During the preseason, Martinez was considered one of the top 106 pounders in the country – he finished 3rd at the prestigious Super 32 event in North Carolina and I had him as preseason #2. However, he’s packed on some pounds during the season – but his transition to a heavier weight class has not impacted his on-mat quality. Showing maturity beyond his years, Martinez navigated through the “bracket-from-hell” at Southern finals, beating three opponents who were ranked above him, including previous #3 Sandoval (Santa Ynez), a returning state medalist. Martinez is still a bit of a question mark – he has not faced a top 25 wrestler from outside the Southern section so it’ll be interesting to see if he can live up to his lofty seed, especially when he faces top competitors from the other power sections.

 

Now #4 Sandoval (Santa Ynez) is still a force – his only loss to CA opponents was to Martinez and he’s compiled wins over the next two seeds. At #5 is Bailey (Granada), a talented competitor looking to make the proverbial leap to the medal rounds and at #6 is another top freshman Rosas (Clovis) who could very well grind into the semifinals. Tough to seed a two-time state medalist (including 3rd last year) at #7 but Tubera (Pitman) is somewhat stuck in the position, with his H2H loss to Rosas at Doc Buchanan. His positioning is indicative of how tough this weight is from the onset. Central and Southern sections are well-represented at this weight, claiming 17 of the top 25 spots.

 

Being a tough, tough weight, there’s certainly a fair share of early match-ups to keep an eye on. #1 Negrete (Buchanan) vs. #17 Arroyo (Calvary Chapel) would be a quarter or even semifinal match-up in most tournaments. In a battle of youngers, #9 Zinkin (Clovis North) face #21 Hernandez (Oakdale). #6 Rosas (Clovis) also has a difficult out-bracket against #24 Gaitan (Yucaipa), who spent a good part of the season ranked in the top 16. Also a couple first-rounders – #5 Bailey (Granada) vs. #19 Gayton (Lemoore) and #7 Tubera (Pitman) vs. #18 Escobedo (Righetti).

 

 

 

126 POUNDS

 

#

WT

LW

NAME

GR

TEAM

SECTION

PREVIOUS

1

126

1

Maximo Renteria

11

Buchanan

1-Central

’19: 1st CS, 1st CA (120)

’18: 1st CS, 1st CA (113)

2

126

2

Jason Miranda

12

Poway

1-San Diego

’19: 1st SDS, 3rd CA (126)

’18: 1st SDS, 5th CA (113)

3

126

6

Wayne Joint

11

Lemoore

2-Central

’19: 1st CS, 5th CA (126)

’18: 10th CS, 2-2 CA (113)

4

126

3

Timothy Levine

12

St. John Bosco

1-Southern

’19: 5th SS, 2-2 CA (132)

’17: 5th SS, 3-2 CA (106)

5

126

4

Jayden Gomez

11

Gilroy

2-Central Coast

’18: 1st CCS, 5th CA (106)

6

126

7

Damion Elliott

10

Del Oro

1-Sac Joaquin

’19: 2nd SJS, 2-2 Qtrs. CA (113)

7

126

9

Kimo Leia

10

Selma

3-Central

’19: 8th CS, 4-2 Top 12 CA (120)

8

126

11

Justin Mouritsen

12

Clovis

4-Central

’19: 3rd CS, 4th CA (113)

’18: 4th CS, 4th CA (106)

9

126

5

Ryan Watts

11

Clovis North

5-Central

.

10

126

8

William Giron

12

Turlock

2-Sac Joaquin

’19: 3rd SJS, 2-2 Qtrs. CA (113)

’18: 3rd SJS, 8th CA (106)

’17: 6th SJS, 1-2 CA (106)

11

126

13

Koa Ruiz

10

San Marino

2-Southern

’19: 9th SS, 2-2 CA (113)

12

126

25

Jose Cisneros

12

Sultana

3-Southern

’19: 10th SS (120)

13

126

11

Clayton Bashor

11

Oakdale

3-Sac Joaquin