Poway High’s Lucas Condon has wanted this exact match for over a month.
During the Titans’ dual meet against Clovis Buchanan at home, Condon felt he had to defend himself after bumping up to 182 to get a technical fall instead of facing second-ranked 170-pounder Sloan Swan.
He got his chance in Saturday night’s final of the State Championships at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, pinning Swan with one tick of the clock left in the first period.
Brawley’s Robert Platt gave the San Diego Section a second champion, beating Gilroy freshman Coby Merrill 3-1 in sudden victory overtime at 195.
The finals were tough on two other Poway wrestlers.
In a battle of 2024 Wisconsin commitments, Miguel Estrada of Frontier captured his second straight state title by downing Poway’s Laird Root 4-2.
In the 160-pound final, Titan Angelo Posada was pinned by Arizona State-bound Nico Ruiz of St. John Bosco.
Buchanan again ran off with the team title, finishing with 244 points. The Bears had four in the finals and a total of 10 medalists.
Poway was second with 202.5 points.
Other Poway medalist were: Paul Kelly (third, 138), Billy Townson (fourth, 120), Edwin Sierra (fifth, 113), Aliksandr Kikiniou (eighth, 152) and Adam Farha (eighth, 285).
Granite Hills reached its goal of a top-10 finish, ending up ninth with 76 points.
Collin Guffey fell in the 152 final 2-0 to Michigan-bound Beau Montanona. Abram Cline rebounded from a semifinal loss to come back to claim third at 106.
The team having the best final day of the locals was Rancho Bernardo, climbing from 22nd place with 24 points to finishing 13th with 50.
Brandon Eusebio took third at 132, Jacob Jones was sixth at 120 and Marcos Caro added a seventh at 145 for the Broncos.
La Costa Canyon 189-pounder Alexandria Perez returned to the state meet as an eighth-place medalist, and being seeded No. 1, she had a lot of expectations.
Although Perez saw her championship dream dashed when she got caught in a fireman’s carry and pinned by Marina’s Salheron Preciado-Meza in the semifinals, she reached down and won a pair of matches to claim third place.
“I’m kind of bummed, I really wanted to win state this year,” said the Mavericks sophomore.
In the third-place matchup, Perez met a familiar foe, Briana Alvarado of Highland. She beat Alvarado in the quarterfinals 4-1, but knew she had a dangerous weapon, a powerful half-nelson.
At one point Perez was in danger of being turned by Alvarado with her favorite tool.
“I didn’t care if my arm fell off, I wasn’t going over,” said Perez, who went on to beat her again, 4-1.
Also earning a third-place medal for the girls was Monte Vista’s talented freshman Olivia Davis at 137.
She recovered from a disappointing 10-3 loss to Bella Vista’s Gianna Dienedetto in the semifinals by posting a pair of wins, including a pin of Tokay’s Kayleen Tuavao in 2:44 for third.
San Diego Section girls totaled eight medals, with Brawley as the leading finisher in 12th place with 40 points. Marina of Huntington Beach won the team title.
Poway’s Alejandra Valdiviezo took home a fourth at 121.
Rancho Buena Vista had a pair of medalists in Kayla Edwards (fifth, 126) and Kiley McClain (seventh, 160). Brawley’s Delarie Juarez added a fifth at 131, Mira Mesa’s Birta McCaskill a seventh at 106 and Mt. Carmel’s Melanie Haslip an eighth at 150.
Farmer is a freelance writer.
STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Team: Marina 114, Walnut 88, Pitman 86, Gilroy 73, Golden Valley 62; Others: 12. Brawley 40, 22. Rancho Buena Vista 30; 30. La Costa Canyon 27, 48. Monte Vista 21, 54. Poway 13, 57. Mira Mesa 19, 71. Steele Canyon 15.
Individuals:
101 – Nunez (Buchanan) dec. Wells (Lakeside) 3-0; 106 – Falcon (Walnut) dec. Morales (Central) 5-2; 111 – Tabaido (Menlo Atherton) dec. Turnwall (Paloma Valley) 3-0; 116 – Gonzales (Clovis East) pin Waltsman (El Camino Real) 1:38; 121 – Avalos (Pitman) pin Balderas (Anaheim) 1:19; 126 – Qureshi (Marina) pin Austin (Pitman) 1:05; 131 – Khamjol (Cesar Chavez) pin Austin (Pitman) 2:54; 137 – DiBenedetto (Belle Vista) maj. dec. Glenn (Gilroy) 10-0; 143 – Creason (Redwood) pin Fernandez (Birmingham) 1:42; 150 – Rodrigues (Newport Harbor) dec. Forman (Northview) 6-0; 160 – Lemus (Clovis) pin Beckel (Cypress) 3:04; 170 – Yepez (Paramount) maj. dec. Hingano (Rio Linda) 10-1; 189 – Preciado-Meza pin Roby (Golden Valley) 1:56; 235 – Marquez (Marina) dec. Phillips (Mark Keppel) 1-0.
Semifinals
121 – Balderas (Anaheim) dec. Valdiviezo (Poway) 5-4 ;126 – Qureshi (Marina) pin Edwards (Rancho Buena Vista) 3:35; 131 – Khamjol (Cesar Chavez) dec. Juarez (Brawley) 4-2; 137 – DiBenadetto (Bella Vista) dec. Davis (Monte Vista) 10-3; 189 – Preciado-Meza (Marina) pin Perez (La Costa Canyon) 2:29.
Third Place
121 – Sachs (Glendora) maj. dec. Valdiviezo (Poway) 9-1; 137 – Davis (Monte Vista) pin Tuavoa (Tokay) 2:44; Perez (La Costa Canyon) dec. Alvarado (Highland) 4-1.
Fifth Place
126 – Edwards (Rancho Buena Vista) pin Macias (Walnut) 1:55; 131 – Juarez (Brawley) pin Ellis (Orange Vista) :24.
Seventh Place
106 – McCaskill (Mira Mesa) pin Nguyen (Central Catholic) 4:55; 150 – Nguyen (Evergreen Valley) pin Hayslip (Mt. Carmel) 1:45; 160 – McClain (Rancho Buena Vista) pin Chavez (Golden Valley) 3:47.
Consolation Round 4
101 – Cabuag (Presentation) maj. dec. Cazares (Brawley) 11-0; 106 – McCaskill (Mira Mesa) dec. Panoke-Jimenez (Hillcrest) 6-4 SV; 111 – James (Central) dec. Fry (La Costa Canyon) 5-2; 116 – Lazaro (Northview) pin Lopez (Vista) 3:43; 121 – Cabrera (Notre Dame) dec. Zaragoza (Brawley) 6-3; 131 – Gonzalez (Colony) dec. Stanley (Granite Hills) 4-2; 137 – Maday (Whitney) dec. Solis (Olympian) 3-0; 150 – Hayslip (Mt. Carmel) pin Van Zandt (Sacred Heart Catholic) 2:01, Segura (Redwood) dec. Contreras (Mt. Miguel) 3-1 SV; 160 – Russo (Buhach Colony) maj. dec. Ware (San Marcos) 8-0, McClain (Rancho Buena Vista) dec. Fales (East Nicolaus) 7-5; 189 – Trueblood (Pleasant Valley) pin Manis (Steele Canyon) 4:25; 235 – Vasquez-Gutierrez (Greenfield) pin Coronado (Montgomery) 3:46.
Consolation Quarterfinals
106 – Holland (Nipomo) pin McCaskill (Mira Mesa) 2:21; Garcia (Gilroy) pin Hayslip (Mt. Carmel) 3:00; Russo (Buhach Colony) dec. McClain (Rancho Buena Vista) 12-6.
Consolation Semifinals
121 – Valdiviezo (Poway) pin Bolosan (Esperanza) 1:28; 126 – Grace (Gilroy) dec. Edwards (Rancho Buena Vista) 7-2; 131 – Sands (Golden Valley) pin Juarez (Brawley) 2:16; 137 – Davis (Monte Vista) dec. Maday (Whitney) 8-2; 189 – Perez (La Costa Canyon) pin Martinez (Evergreen Valley) 3:19.
BOYS
Team: Buchanan 244, Poway 202.5, Gilroy 194, Clovis 173, Bakersfield 166.5; 10, Others: 9. Granite Hills 76, 13. Rancho Bernardo 24, 23. Brawley 31, 52. La Costa Canyon 16, 90. Eastlake and West Hills 7.
Individuals:
Finals
106 – Moore (Branham) pin Zinkin (Buchanan) 4:45; 113 – Ramirez (Walnut) dec. Rodriguez (Los Gatos) 9-2 Ramirez; 120 – I. Cortez (Gilroy) dec. Quintero (El Dorado) 1-0; 126 – E. Cortez (Gilroy) pin Toscano (Buchanan) 4:00; 132 – Zepeda (Gilroy) tech fall Bauder (Clovis North) 5:28 (20-5); 138 – Lemus (Clovis) dec. Mantanona (Palm Desert) 6-3; 145 – Estrada (Frontier) dec. Root (Poway) 4-2 TB2; 152 – Montanona (Palm Desert) dec. Guffey (Granite Hills) 2-0; 160 – Ruiz (St. John Bosco); 170 – Condon (Poway) pin Swan (Buchanan) 1:59; 182 – McDonnelll (Fountain Valley) dec. Kling (Canyon Springs) 5-4; 195 – Platt (Brawley) dec., Merrill (Gilroy) 3-1 SV; 220 – Sahakian (St. John Bosco) dec. Campbell (Buchanan) 5-1; 285 – Herrera (Palm Desert) dec. Hinojosa (Stagg) 3-2.
Third Place
106 – Cline (Granite Hills) dec. Lewis (Clovis) 10-3; Zinkin (Clovis) dec. Townson (Poway) 6-2; Eusebio (Rancho Bernardo) dec. Sandoval (Northview) 8-4 TB2; 138 – Kelly (Poway) maj. dec. Cholakyan (St. John Bosco) 13-1;
Fifth Place
113 – Sierra (Poway) dec. Lucio (Fountain Valley) 8-1; 120 – Harris (Buchanan) dec. Jones (Rancho Bernardo) 5-0.
Seventh Place
145 – Caro (Rancho Bernardo) def. Thongseng (Exeter) Forfeit; 152 – Arrey (Riverside Poly) dec. Kikinhiou (Poway) 6-2; 285 – Morales (Lemoore) pin Farha (Poway) 1:43.
Consolation Round 4
106 – Lewis (Clovis) dec. Bobzien (Poway) 7-1; 113 – Rivas (Golden West) dec. Arreola (Granite Hills) 3-2; 120 – Townson (Poway) maj. dec. Munoz (Temecula Valley) 10-0, Jacob Jones (Rancho Bernardo) dec. Holguin (Sobrato) 6-0; 126 – Simmons (Bakersfield) dec. Suetos (Granite Hills) 3-2; 132 – Eusebio (Rancho Bernardo) dec. Shahbazyan (Chaminade) 3-2; 138 – Mirabal (Gilroy) pin Wells (Granite Hills) 2:36; 145 – Caro (Rancho Bernardo) dec. Alexander (Buchanan) 3-1; 152 – Kikiniou (Poway) dec. Elliott (LA Birmingham) 1-0; 160 – Alonso (Palm Desert) dec. Perez (La Costa Canyon) 7-5 SV; 170 – Cruz (Northview) dec. Mitrovich (Eastlake) 7-0; 285 – Farha (Poway) dec. Dansby (Buchanan)4-2 SV.
Consolation Quarterfinals
120 – Townson (Poway) dec. Tabor (Palm Desert) 2-0, Jones (Rancho Bernardo) pin Vela (Oakdale) 1:53; 132 – Eusebio (Rancho Bernardo) dec. Wimberly (San Clemente) 10-4; 145 – Antonio (St. John Bosco) dec. Caro (Rancho Bernardo) 5-0; 152 – Salcedo (Northview) dec. Kikiniou (Poway) 4-3 UTB; 285 – Tarascio (JW North) pin Farha (Poway) :19.
Consolation Semifinals
106 – Cline (Granite Hills) dec. Sidhu (Del Oro) 4-1; 113 – Huerta (Buchanan) dec. Sierra (Poway) 3-2; 120 – Townson (Poway) dec. Harris (Buchanan) 7-6, Zinkin (Clovis) dec. Jones (Rancho Bernardo) 3-2; 132 – Eusebio (Rancho Bernard) def. Perez (Monache) forfeit; 138 – Kelly (Poway) dec. Mirabal (Gilroy) 3-0.
