Lemoore's Brandon Rocha didn't drop into the 119-pound weight class until late in the season, but the senior is making a push for a state title.
Rocha has a technical fall, a pin and a 9-4 decision to reach the quarterfinals.
The senior, who was the WYL, Yosemite Divisional and Grand Masters champion, faces Marina' Derek Lin - the fifth-place wrestler from the Southern Section - in the quarterfinals, which are running behind tonight.
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Could the Central Section produce the state's 215-pound wrestling champion for the third straight year?
It's possible with Coalinga's Josh Boger and Clovis' Brett Sanchez still alive. Boger and Sanchez are ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the hunt to replace two-time champion Ryan Florez of Buchanan, who graduated last year.
Sanchez spent most of the year as the Central Section's top ranked wrestler, until meeting up with and losing to Boger in the Grand Masters tournament last week. Boger, a member of Buchanan's state championship team in 2006, didn't wrestle in 2007 after transferring to Coalinga, and spend the first half of the winter season playing basketball for the Horned Toads. He has really made a splash despite very little time on the mat this season.
The division's top-ranked wrestler, Rudi Burtschi of Oakdale, was the 189 pound champion last season.
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Bullard's Phil Brandt is making a hard charge for a medal at the CIF State Wrestling Championships.
The 189-pounder and Central Section champion won his opening match, 10-3 over Lodi's Ryan Carleton and topped Atascadero's Jack Robinett 7-1 in the second round.
Brandt meets Northern Section champion Stephan Hampton of Red Bluff in the quarterfinals.
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The Central Section has 28 wrestlers still alive in the hunt for an individual state wrestling championship.
The 103- and 130-pound divisions each have four section wrestlers in the quarters. Clovis West's Zach Zimmer, East Bakersfield's Marc Collier, Washington's Gilberto Camacho and Arvin's Edgar Diaz are alive at 103s, while Selma's Jose Mendoza, Clovis' Stephen Weimer, Buchanan's Justin Arredondo and Kerman's Kevin Rojas make up half of the 130-pound quarters.
Other quarterfinalists from the section include: AJ Jaramillo (Lemoore, 112), A.J. Valles (Selma, 112), Peter Gonzalez (East Bakersfield, 112), Brandon Rocha (Lemoore, 119), Nick Pena (Selma, 125), Steven Fitzgerald (Clovis East, 125), Nick Escalera (Selma, 135), Nick Fisher (Clovis West, 135), Jonah Cruz (Bakersfield, 140), David Watts (El Diamante, 140), Travis Rasmussen (Bakersfield, 145), Andrew Balch (Buchanan, 145), James Cook (Clovis West, 152), Josh Esparza (Clovis, 160), Stephen West (Buchanan, 160), Tommy Burriel (Clovis, 171), Phil Brandt (Bullard, 189), Josh Boger (Coalinga 215), Brett Sanchez (Clovis, 215) and Jonathen Zamora (Clovis, 285).
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Through the championship third round and the consolation second round, Poway of the San Diego Section leads the way at the CIF State Wrestling Championships.
But Central Section schools Clovis and Selma are not far behind.
Poway, with six quarterfinalists, leads with 69 points, followed by Clovis 60.5 and Selma 49.5. Clovis has five wrestlers - Stephen Weimer (130), Jake Esparza (160), Tommy Burriel (171), Brett Sanchez (215) and Jonathen Zamora (285) - alive in the quarterfinals while Selma has four quarterfinalists in A.J. Valles (112), Nick Pena (125), Jose Mendoza (130) and Nick Escalera (135).
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Buchanan High, which followed its 2006 state championship with a third-place finish last year, is lurking as a factor at the CIF State Wrestling Championships again.
The Bears had six of their 10 qualifiers win their first matches to put themselves in position for another strong state finish. But a run to the school’s second state title seems unlikely after three Buchanan wrestlers went 0-2 to fall out of the tournament without scoring a point.
Two-time state placer Justin Arredondo is in the 130-pound quarterfinals, Andrew Balch has reached the 145-pound quarterfinals and Stephen West is in the quarters at 160 pounds.
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El Diamante High's hopes of having "twin" state champions have been dashed.
Miners' 140-pounder David Watts has reached the quarterfinals, but twin brother Randall Watts dropped into the consolation bracket with a loss in championship round three.
David Watts opened with a 12-2 win over Newport Harbor's Josh George and followed that with an 18-3 technical fall over Enterprise's Jeremy Moreno. David Watts meets St, John Bosco's Mike Martinez in the quarterfinals later tonight.
Randall Watts beat Sonora's Curtin Duncan 6-5 in the 135-pound outbracket and Washington-San Francisco's Jason Liao by 15-0 tech fall in the second round, but was dropped into the consolation bracket following a 7-2 loss to Hesperia's Eric Lopez.
Both Watts brothers placed at the state meet last year.
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Clovis West's Zach Zimmer remained alive on the other side of the bracket following technical fall and decision victories. Camacho and Zimmer met last week for the Master's title, with Camacho winning.
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A fellow Central Section school dealt a major blow to Clovis' chances of winning the state wrestling title.
Lemoore's Nick Sierra scored a takedown and a three-point near fall late in the third period to rally for a 7-4 victory over Clovis' Scott Sakaguchi in the 140-pound division.
Sakaguchi, who entered ranked No. 1 in the state, is out of the tournament after going 0-2 and contributing no points to the Cougars' pursuit of a state title.
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The Central Section's only returning state champion -- Washington High's Gilberto Camacho -- has reached the quarterfinals of the 103-pound division.
Camacho opened with a 5-1 victory over El Camino's Michael Lim and followed that by pinning La Habra's Austin La Farge in 5:05.
Camacho will meet Poway's Anthony Alvarez later for a berth in Saturday's semifinals.
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Clovis High's quest for a record eighth CIF State Wrestling Championship is off to a sluggish start.
Four of the Cougars' 10 qualifiers lost their first-round matches at Rabobank Arena, including state No. 1-ranked Scott Sakaguchi at 140 pounds. Clovis did picked up some extra points early on as 285-pounder Jonathen Zamora and 215-pounder Brett Sanchez each won their openers by pin, while 160-pounder Josh Esparza won by tech fall.
Selma, however, is looking like a serious contender as seven of its nine qualifiers won in the first round, including pins from Jose Mendoza (130), Abel Ruiz (189) and a tech fall from Justin Lozano (140).
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Clovis and Selma were holding steady in the top three of the team standings through two championship rounds and the first consolation round.
Poway continued to lead with 53 points. Clovis was second with 40.5 and Selma third with 38.5.
Also, Buchanan was in a tie for sixth with 29.5, Clovis West was 12th with 24 and Lemoore was 14th with 21.
Only nine of 71 central San Joaquin Valley wrestlers had been eliminated, including one apiece for Selma and Clovis without scoring a point.
The day marked the debut of Clovis North in state meet competition -- 103-pound freshman Dalton Metivier was eliminated after two decisions.
But a wrestler from a famous family, Clovis West 125-pound freshman Josh Zinkin, is through to the third consolation round. He bounced back from a first-round loss to win 11-6, then received a default advance in the second consolation round
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After 2 full rounds, Clovis and Selma are tied for second with 35.5 points each. Clovis' upper weights rallied after a slow start. Poway leads with 53 points.
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The start of the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield today has mixed results for two of the Central Section's leading contenders.
Clovis High, whose 10-wrestler contingent was pointed toward winning the school' eighth state title, split its first eight matches and suffered a surprising blow when Scott Sakaguchi, the Central Section champion at 140 pounds, lost in the second round.
But Selma's nine-man contingent has won eight of its first nine matches, including a big boost from Nick Escalera, the last Central Section qualifier at 135 pounds but an 8-2 winner over Central Coast champion Calvin Hawkes of Los Gatos. That second-round win earned four team points.
The second round is ongoing in the two-day meet at Rabobank Arena. The championship matches in all 14 weight classes are Saturday night.
