Boys and girls wrestling
CIF San Diego Section Masters
When: Boys wrestle Friday and Saturday; girls wrestle Saturday only. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m., finals begin 1:45 p.m. Saturday on five mats.
Where: Southwest-El Centro High School
Boys
At stake: Top 4 finishers advance to the state tournament, which will be held Feb. 22-24 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
Defending team champion: Poway
Individual champions returning: Abram Cline (Granite Hills) 108 pounds, Edwin Sierra (Poway) 113 pounds, Elias Navida (Poway) 128 pounds, Paul Kelly (Poway) 140 pounds, Laird Root (Poway) 147 pounds, Collin Guffey (Granite Hills) 165 pounds, Angelo Posada (Poway) 162 pounds, Mason Walsh (Carlsbad) 184 pounds, Robert Platt (Poway) 197 pounds and Adam Farha (Poway) 285 pounds.
Notable: Two of the returning Masters champions, Cline (113) and Walsh (190), come in as underdogs. Cline, ranked No. 4 in the state, fell to Poway’s No. 1-ranked Sierra 1-0 in the Division 1 final. Walsh fell 7-4 to top-seeded Dominic Dotson in last week’s final. Of the 24 qualifiers at 106 pounds, 10 are freshman — led by top seed and state No. 1 -ranked Arseni Kikiniou of Poway. Titans classmate Mario Carini is another top-seeded freshman at 144. Two wrestlers looking to retain unbeaten records are Guffey (165) and Posada (175). Qualifying all 14 for next week will be vital for top-ranked Poway’s state title hopes. The don’t-miss matches won’t all be in the finals; semifinal and consolation semifinal winners are guaranteed spots in Bakersfield.
Girls
At stake: Top 3 finishers advance to the state tournament, which will be held Feb. 22-24 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
Defending team champions: Brawley
Individual champions returning: Birta McCaskill (Mira Mesa) 113 pounds, Melina Lopez (Vista) 118 pounds, Alejandra Valdiviezo (Poway) 123 pounds, Kayla Edwards (Rancho Buena Vista) 128 pounds, Delarie Juarez (Brawley) 133, Olivia Davis (Monte Vista) 139, Alexandria Perez (La Costa Canyon) 191.
Notable: The defending champion Wildcats look to be the favorite going in, qualifying 11 for the Masters. Leading the way for Brawley is state No. 1-ranked Juarez at 145. The Favela sisters, Jennifer and Blanca, are looking for titles in back-to-back weights at 100 and 105 pounds, respectively. A battle is shaping up at 115 pounds, with the rematch of Poway’s Xiomara Gallego going against three-time state medalist McCaskill of Mira Mesa. Gallego edged McCaskill 3-1 in last week’s Division 1 final. Another great matchup in the finals could be Monte Vista’s super sophomore Davis, who finished third at Bakersfield last year, facing Granite Hills’ one-loss Lucia Ledzma in the 140-pound final. Davis is ranked No. 2 in the state. Other state-ranked wrestlers in the field include Poway’s Eden Hernandez (No. 2 at 115) and Valdiviezo (No. 4 at 125), Brawley’s Lauren Zaragosa (No. 3 at 120), Rancho Buena Vista’s Edwards (No. 4 at 130) and La Costa Canyon’s Perez (No 3 at 175). Don’t overlook those third-place matches; the winner goes to state.
