Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Peregrina’s updated condition.
BAKERSFIELD — Upper Lake High School’s Lexy Peregrina pinned her first-round opponent Thursday morning during the CIF State Wrestling Championships and had a 7-1 lead late in her second-round match when she sustained an arm injury and could not continue at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
Peregrina, the No. 7 seed at 150 pounds, and Maddy Young, the No. 7 seed at 131 pounds, are both competing in the state tournament after placing first at the North Coast Section Championships last weekend in Albany. Like the freshman Peregrina, the senior Young won her first-round match, a 3-1 decision that was decided in the final seven seconds, before losing in the second round when she was pinned by Kyli Stanley of Granite Hills.
Peregrina
Melanie Hayslip of Mt. Carmel scored a two-point takedown against Peregrina with 44 seconds left in their match to cut Peregrina’s lead to 7-3, but the freshman couldn’t continue because of an arm injury, later diagnosed at an area hospital as a broken arm.
Peregrina led 5-0 after the first round, scoring a two-point takedown and three-point nearfall, and pushed her lead to 7-0 with a takedown in the second round. Hayslip picked up an escape point in the third round before the takedown that injured Perergrina and sent her to the hospital for X-rays.
“Yeah, she broke her arm in the second match,” said Eddie Peregrina, Lexy’s dad. “She was working her way to the (medal) podium. It’s so devastating and she’s heartbroken.
Added Peregrina, “Another setback for a bigger comeback (next year).”
In her state debut earlier in the day, Peregrina pinned Faith Vazquez of Livingston at the 1:36 mark of the first round to advance against Hayslip in the Round of 16.
Young
Young and Eliza Goodwin of Rodriguez were tied 1-1 going to the final seven seconds of their first-round match when Young scored a two-point reversal to prevail.
In the Round of 16 against Stanley, Young was trailing 3-2 in the third round of their match when Stanley scored a two-point takedown with 1:44 remaining. Stanley pinned Young a few seconds later to move into the quarterfinals on Friday.
Young drops into the consolation bracket where she can still finish as high as third place. She’ll wrestle either Oriyana Castex of Laguna Beach or Maci Stemmons of Monte Vista (Danville) in her first match Friday.
