Beating the Streets and everything else
After Canoga Park senior Adrian Escobar won a majority decision on Saturday to finish off his school-record third straight Los Angeles City Section Championship at 113 pounds, he went looking for his sister, freshman Valeria Miranda, who was winning her first City title at 105 pounds.
The joy-filled embrace that followed carried more meaning than most who saw it knew.
Adrian and Valeria were raised in a single-mother household with three other siblings. They faced financial instability and domestic violence, prompting frequent moves.
When Adrian was eight years old, he joined the Topanga Police Athletic League/Beat The Streets LA Community program, seeking positive, accessible activities as a way to “beat the street.” Learning wrestling through the program, he received equipment, coaching, and clinics to help him grow in the sport. He also stayed out of the trouble that seemed to plague other youths facing similar challenges.
Valeria was a dancer, but when she noticed Adrian succeeding, she was moved to join him as a wrestler. Wrestling gave them both stability, a safe space, and a support system.
The two eldest, of five brothers and sisters, worked hard at their craft and excelled. In addition to Adrian’s historic threepeat, Valeria’s City title was the first for a girl at Canoga Park.
“Their journey showcases resilience and determination in the face of adversity,” said Office Juan Estrada, a wrestling coach with the LAPD Topanga Youth Programs. “Wrestling not only offered them opportunities for personal growth but also a sense of belonging and community.”
“Adrian and Valeria's story is a testament to the transformative power of sports, enabling them to rise above their circumstances and inspire their community. Despite the odds stacked against them, they continue to strive for excellence, determined to make their mark and bring pride to their community through their achievements in wrestling.”
Adrian, who has lost only one match to a City Section wrestler over his three-year career; advances to the state tournament with a 33-3 mark this season.
Adrian won Most Valuable Wrestler for the lower weight divisions at the Kris Camacho Memorial in mid-December and has been wrestling at the top of his game since.
“Adrian is ready to leave his mark at the state level and MAKE SOME NOISE,” exclaimed coach Robert Moose.
Valeria is 28-4 on the season.
At the Hueneme Tournament, she bumped up a weight division to 110 and faced the defending City champion at that weight. Valeria won by fall in the semifinals.
“This was the first time she started to believe that she was ready for the varsity level and would be dominant as a freshman,” Moose said. “This is her first state tournament, but she is excited for the opportunity and feels like she is ready to be competitive at the state level.”
No escape from post-season action
Only a scant few of California’s 10 sections were off this past weekend, as wrestlers punched tickets to All-Section Championships, Master’s Meets, and, in some cases, the state tournament. Here’s a brief recap:
*San Diego Section Boys
National No. 4 Poway won 12 of 14 weight classes to dominate the boys Division 1 championship. Titan wrestlers took second in the other two brackets. At 165, undefeated and returning state runner-up Collin Guffey of second-place Granite Hills, a Stanford recruit, won a decision over Aliaksandr Kikiniou. At 285, Poway heavyweight Adam Farha lost by forfeit.
Most of Poway’s finals match wins were of the dominating variety. At 113 pounds, however, Edwin Sierra ranked eighth nationally, won a 1-0 decision over 16th-ranked Abram Cline of Granite Hills.
Get this: Poway has won its section championship every year one was held since 1987. That’s 37 straight by my count. Incredible!
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Mira Mesa won the Div. 2 title, claiming a division championship for the first time in a decade after placing second in each of the past five years. The Marauders had six finalists and three champions, Adan Vang (106), Jeremy Tajiri (113), and Sardor Usmonov (126).
Central Union, which finished third as a team, had the most individual champions with four, seniors Diego Hernandez (285) and Santiago Pacheco, Jr. (144), sophomore Isaiah Aguirre (215), and freshman Gabriel Pacheco (138).
One interesting twist: There were no defending champions in any of the weight classes.
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Brawley, under first-year coach Sawyer Smith, captured its 25th straight section title in Div. 3. The Wildcats had six champions, all underclassmen. They will send 12 wrestlers to the Master’s Meet this weekend.
La Costa Canyon finished second and had two individual champions and three second-place finishers.
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Imperial, runner-up to Holtville the past three years in Div. 4, broke through to beat Holtville by more than 50 points for the team title. The Tigers put 12 in the semifinals and six in the finals before celebrating two champions, senior Valente Huerta at 146 and freshman Noah Larios at 217.
Madison, which finished third as a team, had the most individual champions with four. The Warhawks sent only eight wrestlers to the championships.
*Southern Section Boys
Fountain Valley repeated as Southern Section Inland Division champions. The Barons had six individual champions, including two, sophomore Hunter Jauregui (106) and senior Ryland Whitworth (215), who pinned their way through the event.
A highlight final saw FV’s Khale McDonnell edge Corona del Mar’s Eugenio Franco, 4-3.
Newport Harbor had two champions, including Anthony Manno at 150 pounds. Manno won by fall in the second overtime over Fountain Valley’s Christian Stoeber.
Adelanto has its first Southern Section Master's qualifier in the school’s 10-year history when freshman Prince Norris placed 5th at 175 pounds. Daylen Bell, wrestling at 215, placed 6th to become an alternate.
This was also the first year Adelanto was eligible for the CIF Dual Meet championships.
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Mayfair won the Northern Division team title but had only one finalist.
Esperanza placed third. The Aztecs were paced by 190-pound champion Matthew Holiday and his cousins, James and Jude Holiday, who were finalists at 150 and 144, respectively.
El Dorado’s Isaiah Quintero won his third straight title, this year at 120 pounds. Quintero is expected to be one of the favorites for the state title at that weight.
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Canyon Springs prevailed in the Southern Division Tournament. The Cougars won their first section title one week after winning their first dual championship the week before.
Five individuals won titles for the victors, including Richard Murillo (132) and Sonny Kling (190), who each won his third.
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Roosevelt won the Central Division Tournament by a comfortable margin over Walnut. Jason Saenz (132), Brian Leon (157), and Mike Trejo (215) took home titles for the victors. Saenz and Leon each won for the second time.
Walnut had four champions, including undefeated and defending state champion Ronnie Ramirez at 120.
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St. John Bosco dominated the Coastal Division. Individually, the Braves won five straight brackets between 113 and 138, then won three more at the upper weights.
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Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana darted past Palm Desert for the Eastern Division title. Elijah Poe (113), Aaron Silva (126), Mac McWilliams (175), and Nathan Nieves (285) won titles for the champions.
Palm Desert had six champions: Dylan Guillermo (144), returning state champion Brock Mantanona (150), Andrew Barbosa (157), David Alonso (165), Diego Costa (190), and Diego Morales (215).
*Southern Section Girls
Corona won its third straight Southern Division title. The Panthers qualified 13 for the Master’s Meet but claimed only one individual champion, Alexandra Uata at 170 pounds.
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Hillcrest won its first section title after two straight years as runner-up. The Trojans won the Northern Division tournament by scoring a section-record 295 points. Twelve moved on to the Master’s Meets and two claimed titles, MacKenzie Muniz at 155 and Naomi Mesa, who pinned all four of her opponents at 155.
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Sultana won in a close contest with Santa Ana for the Central Division title. Nataly Diaz (110) and Mia Garcia (145) captured titles for the victors.
San Marino sophomore Malia Manibog won the title at 100 pounds with a dominating 15-0 win in the championship final. She had an eight-second pin in the quarterfinals.
Manibog is ranked No. 1 nationally in the Cadet 44kg division for judo.
“If you ever watch her wrestle, she walks out onto the mat like a lamb, but when the whistle blows she competes like a lion,” said San Marino coach Morris Bird.
Alissa Castillo (125) became the first-ever girls champion from JW North and was named Outstanding Wrestler. She joined boys champion, sophomore Coby Merrill (215). The school as a whole had a record-breaking seven medalists and five Master's qualifiers.
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Shadow Hills edged Mayfair for the Eastern Division title. The champions placed first in two brackets, with Alyson Ortiz winning at 105 and Kalyin Montano at 140.
Newport Harbor had three champions: Marlee Solomon (100), Skyler Gassel (145), and undefeated defending state champion Duda Rodrigues (155).
Marina, the defending state champion, placed seventh.
*Los Angeles City Section Championships Boys
Birmingham won its sixth consecutive boys title, with five champions: Henry Aslikyan (106), Arno Vardanyan (120), Draven Lukata (132), Greg Torosian (144), and Nikita Smatov (157).
*Los Angeles City Section Championships Girls
Birmingham captured its third straight girls title. Avy Perez was named the lower weights MVP. She finished seventh in the state at 101 pounds as a sophomore last year.
Birmingham had three other champions, Monica Vasquez at 130, Adeliada Fernandez at 145, and Elizabeth Reyes at 155.
*Central Section Championships Boys
Seven-time defending state champion Buchanan won the Division I championship by almost 70 points over perennial power Clovis. The Bears won 10 of the 14 weight brackets.
Clovis had two champions.
Two-time state champion Miguel Estrada of Frontier of Bakersfield won one weight class up from last year, prevailing at 152. Michael Murillo of Bakersfield, third in the state last year at 220, won the 217-pound bracket.
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Redwood of Visalia won the Div. II boys event and had two individual champions. Wasco took Div. III, Golden West of Visalia prevailed in Div. IV and Matilda Torres finished first in Division V.
Matilda Torres HS of Madera celebrates a Central Section boys Div. V title
Torres’ win, over Roosevelt of Fresno, was by a slim 4.5 points. The Toros had three champions.
*Central Section Championships Girls
Pioneer Valley and El Diamante won the girls titles.
*Central Coast Section Championships Boys
Los Gatos won the Northern Regional by a wide margin over St. Francis of Mountain View. Ethan Parco led six champions for the Wildcats.
***
Gilroy destroyed the field to capture the Southern Regional. Gilroy won 11 of the 14 brackets, including Cody Merrill at 285.
*Central Coast Section Championships Girls
The girls from St. Francis won the Northern Regional despite no individual champions. The Spartans entered 13 wrestlers and had two place second.
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Alisal edged Gilroy for the Southern Regional team title. Alisal had four wrestlers take second and senior Alondra Juarez won her bracket at 125.
*Sac-Joaquin Section Championships Boys
Del Oro of Loomis bested Folsom to win the team title in Div. 1. Siraj Sidhu (110), Logan Banks (140), and Jagger French (146) won titles for the Golden Eagles.
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Vacaville won Div. 2 with 12 placers and seven champions, including nationally-ranked senior Thomas Sandoval.
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Mighty Oakdale won Div. 3, winning the six final weight classes, including a dominant performance by sophomore Wes Burford at 192 pounds,
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Los Banos clipped Valley High by 1.5 points to take the Div. 4 team title.
*Sac-Joaquin Section Championships Girls
Tokay won the Southern Regional championship with five placers, including two champions, among the 11 wrestlers who entered.
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Champion Kaiya Maggini (110) helped Del Oro win the Northern Regional title.
*San Francisco Section Championships Boys
Lincoln scored 180 points to best Lowell by five. The victors had four individual champions.
NOTE that other Section results were not available online by press time.
Other news and notes
Central Catholic junior Jill Wells’ winning streak against girls of 37 straight this year ended in the Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Southern Regionals on Saturday when Turlock
sophomore Aliah Bertalotto won by third-period fall in the semifinals. Wells recovered to dominate her final two matches to place third.
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Junior Vinicius Tomé (left) is Stone Ridge Christian’s first CIF SJS Division 5 champion.
Junior Vinicius Tomé is Stone Ridge Christian’s first CIF SJS Division 5 Champion. Stone Ridge Christian is a second-year program.
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This weekend at the CIF-SS Eastern Divisional, Mason Carrillo of Royal surpassed 100 career wins with a major decision in the second championship round.
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SBLive has updated its boys national rankings per weight classification. California wrestlers are well represented, as follows:
106
12-Henry Aslikyan, Birmingham, So.
15-Arseni Kikiniou, Poway, Fr.
113
6-Ronnie Ramirez, Walnut, Jr.
8-Edwin Sierra, Poway, Jr.
13-Rocklin Zinkin, Buchanan, So.
16-Abram Cline, Granite Hills, Sr.
120
7-Isaiah Quintero, El Dorado, Sr.
8-Moses Mendoza, Gilroy, So.
16-Slater Hicks, Valencia, Fr.
17-Nathan Carillo, St. John Bosco, So.
22-Antonio Rodriguez, Los Gatos, So.
126
3-Isaiah Cortez, Gilroy, Jr.
15-Nikade Zinkin, Clovis, Jr.
132
16-Victor-Alexander Gutierrez, Central Catholic, So.
17-Elijah Cortez, Gilroy, Jr.
138
1-Daniel Zepeda, Gilroy, Jr.
5-Paul Kelly, Poway, Sr.
144
6-Joseph Toscano, Buchanan, So.
150
1-Brock Mantanona, Palm Desert, Sr.
2-Miguel Estrada, Frontier (Bakersfield), Sr.
10-Laird Root, Poway, Sr.
17-Ethan Parco, Los Gatos, Sr.
157
5-Andrew Barbosa, Palm Desert, Sr.
6-Grigor Cholakyan, St. John Bosco, Sr.
7-Leo Contino, Buchanan, Jr.
165
5-Collin Guffey, Granite Hills, Sr.
6-Joseph Antonio, St. John Bosco, Jr.
8-Dylan Pile, Los Gatos, Jr.
15-Branson John, Buchanan, Sr.
16-Adrien Reyes, Clovis, Jr.
175
16-Angelo Posada, Poway, Jr.
190
13-Sonny Kling, Canyon Springs, Sr.
17-Thomas Sandoval, Vacaville, Sr.
215
9-Coby Merrill, JW North, So.
10-Robert Platt, Poway, Sr.
285
1-Cody Merrill, Gilroy, Sr.
9-Nicholas Sahakian, St. John Bosco, Jr.
Undefeateds
In this recurring category, we list wrestlers with 15 or more wins who are currently undefeated on the season.
48-0 -- Ronnie Ramirez, Sr., Walnut, 113
42-0 -- Collin Guffey, Sr., Granite Hills, 165
40-0 – Dulcy Martinez, Fr., Central Catholic, 125
37-0 – Isabella Marie Gonzales, Jr., Clovis East, 115
33-0 – Duda Rodrigues, Sr., Newport Harbor, 155
26-0 – Anaya Falcon, Sr., Walnut, 105
26-0 – Cody Merrill, Sr., Gilroy, 285
22-0 – Delarie Juarez, Jr., Brawley, 145
21-0 -- Jayden Tadeo Gosal, Sr., John F. Kennedy (Fremont), 215
19-0 – Coby Merrill, Soph., JW North, 215
15-0 – Mariah Rodriguez, Jr., Barstow, 155
Legends of the fall
In this section, we list wrestlers recording pins this season in 10 seconds or under.
Six seconds
Berlyn Davis, Sr., San Clemente, 145, Goddess of Olympia, Dec. 16
Seven seconds
Collin Guffey, Sr., Granite Hills, 165, El Cajon Invitational, Dec. 15
Eight seconds
Abdullah Alshami, Soph., Patrick Henry, 113, Temecula Valley Battle for the Belt, Jan. 13
Gabriela Bonilla, Fr., Millikan, 135, dual v. Lakewood, Jan. 18
Malia Manibog, Soph., San Marino, 100, SS Girls Individual Central, Feb. 10
KT Thompson, Jr., Campolindo, 137, Goddess of the Vine, Jan. 27
Nine seconds
Max Schlumberger, Sr., Albany, 175, dual v. Mt. Diablo, Dec. 2
10 seconds
Luke Hansen, Soph., Campolindo, 285, NCS Duals, Feb. 3
Isaac Judson, Jr., Albany, 144, dual v. Jesse Bethel, Dec. 6
100 % COMMITTED!
In this section, we identify those wrestling high school this year who have made commitments to wrestle in college.
Andrew Barbosa, Sr., Palm Desert, 157 – Rutgers
Abram Cline, Sr., Granite Hills (El Cajon), 125 – Maryland
Grigor Cholakyan, Sr., St. John Bosco, 157 -- Stanford
Diego Costa, Sr., Palm Desert, 184 -- Princeton
Avangeline Turner, Sr., Davis, 155 – Grand View University
Miguel Estrada, Sr., Frontier (Bakersfield), 157 -- Iowa
Jagger French, Sr., Del Oro (Loomis), 149/157 – Cal Poly SLO
Skyler Gassel, Sr., Newport Harbor, 136/143 – Lehigh University
Collin Guffey, Sr., Granite Hills (El Cajon), 174 -- Stanford
Lorelei Hartman, Sr., Santa Ana, 235 -- Frostburg State
Jacob Honey, Sr., Bakersfield, 184 -- Cal Poly SLO
Branson John, Sr., Buchanan, 165 -- Maryland
Paul Kelly, Sr., Poway, 141 – Cal Baptist
Sonny Kling, Sr., Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley), 197 – Cal Baptist
Bryce Luna, Sr. Saint Francis (Mountain View), 133 – Army
Brock Mantanona, Sr., Palm Desert, 149 -- Michigan
Cody Merrill, Sr., Gilroy, 197 – Oklahoma State
Moses Mirabel, Sr., Gilroy, 149 -- Brown
Michael Murillo, Sr., Bakersfield, 197 --University of Mary
EJ Parco, Sr., Los Gatos, 149 -- Stanford
Christian Pebley, Sr., Ponderosa, 157 -- Colorado Mesa University
Laird Root, Sr., Poway, 157 – North Carolina
Isaiah Quintero, Sr., El Dorado (Placentia), 133 -- Purdue
Thomas Sandoval, Sr., Vacaville, 184 -- Brown
Alek VanBebber, Sr., Kingsburg, 149 – Cal Poly SLO
Devon Wells, Sr., Granite Hills, 144 – Menlo College
Hercules Windrath, Sr., Fountain Valley, 141/149 – Cal Poly SLO
Commitments to add? Email jtawa@cifstate.org