BAKERSFIELD — Opening-round pairings are set for the CIF State Boys and Girls Wrestling Championships beginning Thursday and running through Saturday at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
Lake County is sending four wrestlers to the state finals this year, down from a record-setting six a year ago. All four are seniors and have plentiful state experience.
For the boys, Upper Lake 132-pounder Junior Fernandez is the No. 5 seed and will be looking for his first state medal in his third state appearance, while Kelseyville 160-pounder Alex Garcia is the No. 13 seed and will be looking for his first state medal in his second appearance.
For the girls, Upper Lake 121-pounder Adriana Lopez is looking to win a third straight state medal after placing sixth at 116 pounds in 2017 and third at 121 pounds last year. As the No. 3 seed, she will be squarely in the hunt for a finals berth and a chance to become Lake County’s first state champion. Kelseyville’s Jasmin Clarke, unseeded at 189 pounds, is looking to improve on the fourth-place medal she won a year ago.
Girls
Unseeded Clarke, the North Coast Section runner-up, will be tested early on. She opens Thursday against Layla Donahoe of Dana Hills High School of Dana Point. If Clarke beat Donahoe, the seventh-place medalist out of the Southern Section, she’s likely to run into No. 2 seed Madelyn Navarro of El Camino High School of Oceanside, the San Diego Section champion, in the second round.
Lopez, the two-time North Coast Section champion, draws unseeded Jamae Barnes of West High School, the Central Section fourth-place medalist, in Thursday’s first round. A win would put Lopez into the second round against either unseeded Taylor Micallef of Half Moon Bay High School, the Central Coast Section third-place medalist, or unseeded Kameron Sudol of Yorba Linda High School, the Southern Section runner-up.
Boys
Fernandez, the North Coast Section runner-up, opens Thursday against Eddie Chiw of Mira Mesa High School, the third-place medalist out of the San Diego Section. A win moves the Upper Lake star into the second round against either Timothy Levine of St. John Bosco, the Southern Section fifth-place medalist, or either Noah Castro of Gilroy High School, the Central Coast Section champion, or Cade Lucio of Bakersfield High School, the Central Section fifth-place medalist and the No. 12 seed. Castro and Luico meet in an outbracket match and the winner draws Levine in the first round.
Garcia, the North Coast Section runner-up, wrestles Yadwinder Brar of Clovis East High School, the Central Section eighth-place medalist, in an outbracket match on Thursday. The winner gets Ben Houri of La Coasta Canyon High School, the fourth-place medalist out of the San Diego Section, in the first round. If Garcia beats both Brar and Houri in his first two matches, he’ll wrestle again Thursday in the second round against either Max Wilner of Fountain Valley High School, the Southern Section champion and No. 4 seed, or Riley Lewallen of Ponderosa High School, the fourth-place medalist out of the San Joaquin Section.
Former county star
Lake County wrestling aficionados will also want to keep an eye out on the 113-pound boys bracket where former Lower Lake star Blake Fredrickson, now a two-time section champion at Windsor High School and a sixth-place state medalist a year ago at 106 pounds, is the No. 8 seed. He opens Thursday’s action with an outbracket match against Javier Castro of Dinuba High School, the Central Section eighth-place medalist.
Schedule
Quarterfinals and consolation bracket matches for boys and girls are set for Friday. Semifinals, consolation bracket matches and all medal matches, including the championship round, take place Saturday.
