San Ramon Dad
12-13-2011, 04:38 PM
These are my thoughts on how NCS could look if the championships were held today. If available, I have included the weight that the wrestler has certified for, which is indicated in the bracket next to his name. A few wrestlers have still not yet certified. In that case, I put a “NC” (for not certified) next to their weight, and the weight is what they went at NCS last year. As always, be kind in your comments and accept my apology if you believe I have overlooked someone or got something wrong. It still is very early and this is all a work in progress. Feel free to send me an email with your thought and comments if you want me to try to correct something when I do the next ranking. Also, if the directors of tournament with an NCS presence could post (or email me) brackets, it would help a lot in future rankings. I know there were some results of tournament I could not point to simply because I had not seen them.
106
Troy Lakin – Clayton Valley [106], Sr.
Christen Lizarrage – San Marin [106], Sr.
David Conte – De la Salle [106], So.
John Eberle – Foothill [106], Sr.
Devon Lyle – Liberty [106], So.
Brian Guerrero – Rancho Cotate [106], So.
Joey Vigil – Heritage [106], Jr.
Perez Perez – Windsor [106], So.
I am very impressed with how 106s is shaping up within the NCS and have changed some of the positioning here from my last rankings. It is a tough call between Lakin and Lizarrage for number 1. I had earlier ranked Lizarrage at 113s. But I see that he has certified for 106s and that he wrestled 106s at his school’s Green and Gold tournament, which he won. So I move Lizarrage back to 106s. He is arguably worthy of the number 1 spot in the rankings. Lizarrage is the defending NCS champion, while Lakin took 3rd last year at the same weight class. However, they did not actually wrestle each other at NCS. In fact, the one time that Lakin and Lizarrage did wrestle each other last year, during the finals of last year’s Granada’s Mat Classic, Lakin won the match by the close score of 6-5. As such, Lakin probably deserves to be ranked ahead of Lizarrage. Lakin is also currently ranked 18th in the state at this weight. For his part, Lizarrage is ranked 40th at 113s. In the third spot is De la Salle’s Conte. I know some will question me on this one, head-to-head results are so important in rankings and Conte had some losses last year against some of the people below him. However, the kid has gotten pretty good and, consistent with that criteria, he does have a head-to-head win against Foothill’s Eberle from their match last year at EBAL finals. Conte also took 6th at cadet freestyle state and is honorably mentioned in the state rankings. Despite ranking Conte above Eberle, the latter is very good. Not only did he take 4th at NCS last year, and thus qualify for state, but he is also ranked 23rd in the state rankings. Liberty’s Lyle took 7th place at NCS last year and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. He thus deserves to be ranked at least 5th. Heritage’s Vigil, who took 8th at NCS last year and just won the Bay Area Invitational at 113s is also worthy of some attention. However, he lost to Rancho Cotate’s Guerrero last year at NCS 6-4. Thus, even though Vigil placed at NCS last year and Guerrero did not, Guerrero probably deserves a higher ranking. I would also point out that Guerrero just won San Marin’s Green & Gold tournament at 113s. Windsor’ s Perez is also very tough. Although he did not win any matches at last year’s NCS tournament, he arguably had the worst possible draw (losing to the kid that took 6th in his first match and then losing to the kid that took 8th in his second match). However, he was very solid in regular season competition (finishing with a solid record of 30-9) and is likely to do very well this year as well, as evidenced by his second place finish at San Marin’s Green and Gold Tournament at 106s. Again, this is a very talent packed weight class in the NCS and there are many other wrestlers that we should all keep an eye on at this weight and who would be ranked had the weight not been so talent packed. This includes Monte Vista’s Michael McDaniel, who won Cadet freestyle state at 98 pounds and who was a dominate champion of Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational. McDaniel is solid and went 3-2 at sections last year, missing a medal by a single match. Tony Lopez of Upper Lake is also worthy of attention, having just been crowned the champion of the McKinleyville Tournament. Hoopa’s Joshua McKnight, who won Del Norte’s Battle of the Border tournament and took 3rd at McKinleville at this weight, it also worthy of praise. Lastly, keep an eye out for James Logan’s Mark Godoy, who wrestled very well at the Curt Mettler tournament in Elk Grove, taking 4th. I would expect to see some of these wrestlers moving up the rankings as the season continues. Very unfortunate to report that McKinleyville’s Jack Norton, who had a lot of success in the California freestyle circuit and recently placed at Greco State, had dislocated his elbow at his school’s tournament and his return this season is thus questionable.
113
Ricky Coster – Freedom [106], So.
Jacob Macalolooy – James Logan [113], So.
Tommy Yozzo – Amador Valley [113], So.
Logan Fore – Windsor [113], Jr.
William Booth – Mission San Jose [113], Sr.
John Zanarini – Liberty [113], So.
Billy Barbanica – De la Salle [106], Sr.
Jesus Mereno – Eureka [106], Jr.
Now that San Marin’s Christen Lizarrage is back in the 106 spotlight, I believe top dog at 113s is Freedom’s Ricky Coster. I had earlier ranked Coster at 120s. However, I see that he has actually certified for 106s. Thus, I will rank him at least at 113s for now. Coster is extremely talented. Last year as a freshman he placed 3rd in a very tough weight-class at NCS and his only loss at NCS was that to the ultimate champion by a relatively close score of 6-3. In addition, Coster is ranked 21st at 120s in the state rankings, so if he goes 113s, he is likely to achieve some success at the lower weight. In the number two spot remains James Logan’s Macalolooy, who took 5th at last year’s NCS championships; with his only losses coming to the eventual 3rd and 4th place wrestlers (though I would note that he also had an earlier season victory over the eventual NCS runner-up). In addition to his success last year at NCS, he also is mentioned in the state rankings and he placed 2nd at California Greco championships during the off season. Moreover, he took 2nd at the Curt Mettler Invitational. At number three is Amador Valley’s Tommy Yozzo, who took 7th last year at NCS (in an extremely tough weight class) and is ranked 30th in the state at this weight. He also recently took second at the McNair tournament, where his only loss was to the defending state runner-up, Isaiah Locsin. So no disrespect in that result. And as others have reported, he also had a solid win against some tough SanJoaquin opponents. Fore, who as I previously mentioned is now of Windsor and formerly of El Molino, I see as 4th. Fore placed 8th at last year’s NCS tournament and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. MSJ’s Booth is likely to do very well this year as well and was one match away from medaling last year at NCS. He also just recently placed 1st at this weight at the Newark Rotary Invitation, took 4th at Chukchansi, and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. I thus see him as 5th. John Zanarini, though he kept getting pushed out of a starting spot last year, of Liberty is looking very tough. Not much to report on him yet other than I have heard from several sources that he is likely to have a very solid post season. DLS’s senior Billy Barbanica is also worthy of attention and will likely take over at 113s once Conte drops to 106s. Although he was unable to break his school’s very solid line-up last year (due to there being a NCS champion in his weight) I think he is certainly capable of securing some hardware this year. However, Barbanica might be challenged for the spot by his equally tough teammate, Nathan Cervantez, who is a multi-time triple-crown winner, winning of TOC in 2011 and was the 2010 TOC runner-up. He could be in the hunt this year. Eureka’s Jesus Mereno deserves to enter the rankings, having just won the McKinleyville tournament at 120 lbs. He is a very physical wrestler that is certified for 106 and thus will likely to do well when and if he drops to 113s. Keep your eye on Willits’ wrestler Jose Arrequim, who just won the McKinleyville tournament at this weight. Also, keep an eye out for Belall Omari of Castro Valley, who is also worthy of attention, having taking 2nd at the Bay Area Invitational at 120s but is certified to go down to this weight. Lastly, keep an eye for Keith DeCampo of St. Pats, who just took 2nd at Golden Gate.
120
Ty Stevenson – McKinleyville [113], Sr.
Joey Ramirez – De la Salle [120], Sr.
Chris Caldwell – Las Lomas [120], Sr.
Corbin Lee – Mission San Jose [113], Sr.
Jacob Donato – James Logan [120], So.
Casey Salmon – College Park [120], Sr.
Ryan Blyleven – Clear Lake [120], Sr.
Paolo Yap – St. Patricks/St. Vincent [120], Fr.
This is looking to be a very tough weight class with four exceptional wrestlers leading the charge. That being said, it is a real tough call as to who deserves top rank between two very solid defending section champions, Stevenson or Ramirez. Stevenson is returning from winning the 119 pound weight class last year and from then going onto a very respectable 3-2 at state, with his only losses coming against the kids that took 5th and 7th. As a sophomore, Stevenson placed 3rd in the NCS at 112s and then he also went 3-2 at the state tournament. He also just won the Del Norte Battle of the Border Tournament and the McKinleyville Tournament, where he was again named the most outstanding light weight wrestler for the second year in a row. He is currently ranked 8th in the state at 125s (though I am hearing he is likely to be at 120s come post season). So he should be a solid force at this lower weight. For his part, De la Salle’s Ramirez also won NCS last year at 112s (he also took 8th as a sophomore at 119). Ramirez is currently also ranked 7th in the state at this weight. On top of that, he had some tremendous regular season performances at some tough tournaments last year, including Reno, and he just recently won the Curt Mettler Invitational at 127. However, In light of Stevenson’s better performance at state last year, I will give him top billing over Ramirez for now. In the third spot is the last year’s 106 pound runner-up from Las Lomas, Chris Caldwelll. Caldwell is also very tough and is returning from an excellent junior year. He has, however, hit a bit of a growth spurt and will now have to make a bit of an adjustment to this higher weight class. But he is off to a great start in that direction as shown by his 1st place finish at 126 pounds at the Bay Area Invitational. At number 4 is MSJ’s senior Corbin Lee. I had earlier ranked him a bit lower. However, Lee pulled off a huge win on the road to winning the Newark Rotary Invitational, which included a 12-7 victory over Lupe Flores of Selma (who is currently ranked 6th in the state at this weight and who went a solid 2-2 at state last year). Lee also just won the Chukchansi Invitational at this weight and placed 6th last year at NCS, but placed 3rd at NCS the prior year as a Sophomore. Lee also went a very solid 6-2 (one win short of placing) at this past summer’s Super 32 tournament, which is well regarded as one of the toughest off season tournaments in the nation. He is also currently ranked 19th at 126s. Expect to see Lee in the hunt for a trip to Bakersfield in the post season. At number 5 is James Logan’s Jacob Donato. Donato made it to the best of 12 last year at NCS and won numerous regular season medals as well. He is currently an honorable mention in the state rankings as well and I have heard that he put it a lot of hard work during the off season. Moreover, he just took 3rd at the Curt Mettler. Expect to see him shine this year. At number 6 is College Park’s Casey Salmon. Salmon is very tough and took 8th two years ago at 112 pounds. He did not wrestle in the NCS last year due to the fact that he was living and wrestling in Utah. But he is now back and is likely to do well his senior year. Blyleven just won the San Marin Green & Gold Tournament at 126s and is looking tough. I therefore rank him 7th. Yap was the champion of Golden Gate at 120s and thus deserves at least an 8th in the rankings. On the keep “your eye on” list is Heritage’s Gregerson, who is a freshman and has had limited opportunities to prove himself at the high school level (though he did struggle a bit at Bay Area, losing his first round match). However, he already has several accolades to his name, including recently winning NorCal’s TOC in freestyle and placing 5th there as a 7th grader. He also is a multi-time placer at many California USA Wrestling state events. This kid should do well once he adjusts to the high school level. I would point out that I had earlier ranked Monte Vista’s Anton Sell, as he placed in the top 12 last year, but have since heard that he is not wrestling this year. Unfortunately, I have heard that Amador Valley’s Nick Gaither, who also missed last year due to medical reasons, will not be able to compete this year due to a required surgery. I had previously ranked him as 5th. But with him out, his very solid teammate, Andy Duran, could be taking that spot. He is also very talented and certainly capable of securing a medal. I say keep another eye out for him. Keep an eye out for Windsor’s Seth Trunich and Terra Linda’s Kai Caindec, who took 2nd and 3rd respectively at Green & Gold. Also, Sonoma’s Giordi Serafini looked really good at Golden Gate, where he placed 2nd.
126
Jake Smith – Newark Memorial [126], Sr.
Joey Moita – De la Salle [126], Sr.
Roman Garcia – Freedom [126], Sr.
Kevin Coburn – Granada [126], Sr.
Austin Solari - Liberty [120], Jr.
Artemio Flores – James Logan [126], Jr.
Ward Beecher – Upper Lake [126], Jr.
Kyle Doughty – Analy [126], Sr.
This weight class is just too tough and is led by 5 kids who could win several matches and even medals at state. Top dog must be former Virginia state champion and California transplant Jake Smith – who is now officially eligible and certified at this weight. As previously mentioned, Smith has placed at both the Beast of the East and (twice) at Super 32s – some of the toughest off season tournaments in the nation. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks this Appalachian state bound wrestler is a cannon. He is currently ranked number 3 in the official state rankings (though some could make a strong argument that he is ranked a tad bit too low in the state rankings, considering that one person ranked ahead of him in the state rankings, who happens to be number 1, went 2-2 at Super 32s, whereas as Smith placed 7th, in the same bracket, and Smith there defeated the then number 1 ranked kid in the country). In the number 2 spot is DLS’s Joey Moita, who I have been told will wrestle 126s this season. For years, Columbia bound Moita has been a dominate force in the NCS. As a sophomore he was a NCS champion at 105s and placed 4th at state. Last year, he again won our section (with a pin in the finals), then placed top 12 at state at 125 (which I believe was the toughest weight class at state last year). Moreover, at state last year his only losses were to the wrestler that took 3rd and the wrestler that took 4th. Moita is currently ranked 4th in state at this weight and just recently won the Curt Mettler Invitational at Elk Grove at 138s. If I am right about Smith and Moita being in the same weight class, it is going to be a hugely exciting NCS championship match (get your tickets early)! In the third spot is the very solid Roman Garcia of Freedom. Like Moita, Garcia is a two time state qualifier, having taking 2nd in the section at 112s as a sophomore and 3rd at 119s as a junior. He is currently ranked 12th in the state rankings and is yet another powerhouse in this weight. An addition to this weight from last my last rankings is the very formidable, and Boise State bound, Kevin Coburn of Granada. I had earlier projected Coburn for 120s, but he did not certify that low. Thus, this weight class has just gotten that much tougher with his addition to it. Last year, Coburn took 4th at NCS at 112s and thus went on to wrestle at the state tournament. He is off to an excellent start this season, which includes winning the Bay Area Invitational at 132s and being currently state ranked 22nd at 120s (though that will need to be adjusted as he cannot wrestle that low). In the 5th spot, is Liberty’s Austin Solari. He ended last year a little lower than I expected, only taking 5th (though he entered the NCS tournament as a 2nd seed). But as a freshman, Solari took 2nd place at 105s. He is also ranked 28th at 120s, which he might see come post season as he is certified to drop that low and considering that even though 120s is very stacked, I don’t think it is as stacked at 126s. In the 6th spot is James Logan’s Artemio Flores, who is also no stranger to NCS success. Although he did not wrestle in NCS last year for some reason, he placed 4th the year before as a freshman at 105s. He also just placed 3d at the Curt Mettler at 132s and is currently ranked 37th in the official state rankings. At number 7 is Upper Lake’s Ward Beacher, who made it to the best of 12 round last year at NCS and recently won the McKinleyville tournament at 145. Had this weight class not been so stacked, he would be a likely contender this year for a trip to the state tournament. Analy’s Doughty also made it to the best of 12 and his only losses were to the wrestlers who took 1st and 3rd. He also placed 2nd at 132s at the Green & Gold. I therefore rank him 8th. Clear Lake’s Jake Humble was also very close to medaling last year, losing only to the wrestlers who place 4th and 6th (the last one losing a nail biting 14-12 in overtime). He also is a serious threat this year – keep an eye out for him. Also, Castro Valley’s Matt Waespi looked very good at the Bay Area Invitational and is capable of snagging an NCS medal.
132
Jon Jay Chavez – De la Salle [N/A], So.
Jacob Pratt – Newark Memorial [132], Sr.
Xavier Johnson – Liberty [126], Sr.
Blake Borges – El Molino [132], Sr.
Major Stelly – Dublin [N/A], Sr.
Rio Nance – Willits [N/A], Sr.
Kevin Monterrosa – Alhambra [126], Sr.
Travis Coleman – Upper Lake [132], Jr.
This is yet another very tough weight class in the NCS. Top dog appears to be De la Salle’s Jon Jay Chavez. Although he has yet to certify or compete, I am hearing he is likely to be at 132s, as his team’s spot at 126s will likely be held by Moita. Chavez is very tough for being just a sophomore. He is currently ranked 7th in the state. As I mentioned previously, he not only won some very competitive regular season tournaments last year, but he also won a cadet national championship title in Greco-Roman this past summer in Fargo. Expect to see him push back all challengers this coming season. In the second spot is Newark Memorial’s Pratt. Last year, Pratt took home a 3rd place finish at NCS at 130s, went on to compete at state and finished the season with an impressive record of 32-10. He is also off to a strong start, including a second place finish at the Newark Ironman Invitational (losing only to 3x state champion Alex Cisneros). He is also ranked 13th in the state. In the third spot is Liberty’s Xavier Johnson, who surprised many last year when he dropped down at the post season to 125 from his earlier season weight of 130s. Even though he entered that tournament as a 7th seed, he secured some early big wins (including wins over then 2nd and 6th seeds) and eventually took home the 3rd place medal. He is currently ranked 23rd in the state at 138s. Next is El Molino’s Borges, who also is no stranger to NCS success. As a sophomore, Borges placed 4th at 112s and thereby qualified for state. As a junior, he somewhat underperformed and settled for 5th at 130s (though it was a very stacked weight class). As a senior though he is a very likely candidate to place high within the NCS and to return to Bakersfield as evidenced by his 4th place finish recently at the very tough Chukchansi Invitational at 138s and by his current rank of 14th in the state rankings. A football player whose performance on the grid iron has delayed his weight certification and start of what promises to be a very solid wrestling season is Dublin’s Major Stelly. Stelly has placed at NCS for the last two years, taking 6th as a sophomore at 112s, and 7th as a junior at a very stacked weight class of 125s and finished the season with a record of 37-10. Stelly is very good and he has real shot for making it to state as well. He is currently ranked 33rd in the state at 138s. Willits’ Nance, who spent his sophomore year at El Molino, but wrestled at Willits as both a freshman and junior, is also very tough and has been having a lot of success throughout his wrestling career, including taking home a 7th place medal last year at 130s. He is currently ranked 32nd in the state at this weight. I would expect to see him challenge this year for a trip to Bakersfield. Alhambra’s Monterrosa is also nails. He also made it to the top 12 round last year at 130s and lost in the medal round to the wrestler that ultimately placed 7th. On top of that, he had some early season wins last year over wrestlers that ultimately went on to medal at NCS and had a 28-9 record on the year. He is clearly within the top kids at this weight. Upper Lake’s Travis Coleman, who made it to the best of 12 last year at NCS, I see as 8th in the rankings. He also just took second place at the McKinleyville tournament at 138s. I would suggest we keep an eye on Windsor’s Trevor Silva who won the Green & Gold at this weight and Ukiah’s Drayton Payne who won it at 138s. I would also keep an eye out for James Logan’s Neil Gapal, who I have heard good things about. I would point out that unfortunately for the NCS, Deer Valley’s Elijah Davis has in fact transferred to Oakland Tech so we will not see him at NCS this year.
138
Brian Sergi – College Park [132], Sr.
Anthony Rubio - Newark Memorial [138], Sr.
Daniel Ruiz – Freedom [138], Sr.
Jake Thompson-Zanarini – Liberty [N/A], Sr.
Austin Soto – Foothill [138], Sr.
Peyton Russom – De la Salle [126], Jr.
Joey Clay – Rancho Cotate [138], Jr.
Robert Simondi – Upper Lake [138], Sr.
Assuming Abono does not drop to this weight, then top dog status must go to College Park’s Brian Sergi. Sergi is a two-time defending NCS champion. He also went a very solid 2-2 at the state championships last year before losing a tight 7-4 match to the wrestler that ultimately placed 3rd there. Sergi is currently ranked 5th in the state. In addition, he has seen a lot of success at Fargo in recent years, including an 8th place finish going into his junior year. Sergi is a likely candidate to not only do well at NCS but also maybe even place at the state tournament this year. In the second spot is Newark Memorial’s Anthony Rubio. This kid has a very good NCS history, coming in last season unseeded and eventually placing 7th. He is currently ranked 37th in the state at 145s and placed 1st at the Newark Ironman at 152s. Moreover, at NCS, Rubio defeated my number three ranked wrestler, Daniel Ruiz from Freedom (10-4). So Rubio must be ranked ahead of Ruiz. But Ruiz is also very solid. In addition to placing 8th at NCS, he defeated the 3rd seeded wrestler at the tournament and did well during the regular season, finishing with a record of 20-16. Liberty’s Thompson-Zanarini exceeded expectations last year when he defeated some very solid wrestlers to take 4th at 119s, finishing the season with a 34-18 record, and earning a trip to Bakersfield. He is likely to do well this year as well and deserves at least a 4th spot in the rankings. He is currently ranked 22nd at 126s in the official state rankings. Foothill’s Soto also had a very good season last year. He landed on Foothill’s team as a transfer from the SacJoaquin Section and quickly made a name for himself, which included taking 6th place at 130s last year and amassing a record of 35-12. Expect to see him in the hunt this season. He is currently ranked 21st at this weight in the official state rankings. De la Salle’s Peyton Russom is also very solid and had made it to the round of 12, where his only losses were to the wrestlers that placed 5th and 6th. He is actually certified to go much lower than 138s. However, he will have a tough time breaking his school’s solid line-up at either 132s or 126s as those spots will likely be held by Moita and Chavez. Despite this somewhat size challenge, Russom is still ranked 39th in the state at this weight. Rancho Cotate’s Clay missed medaling last year by a single win. In fact, he lost to the 3rd place finisher Pratt in the medal round by a single point. On top of that, he had some big wins against some other very solid wrestlers throughout last season as well as picking up some many regular season medals, and a season record of 29-15. He has however hit a growth spurt and will not be wrestling at 132s, where I had earlier ranked him as he is only now certified to go as low as 138s. Nevertheless, this kid is tough and will certainly be in the mix at NCS this year. New to the list is Upper Lake senior Robert Simondi who won the McKinleyville tournament at 152 pounds. If he can get down to 138, he is certain to challenge for some hardware. In the “keep-you-eye-on” list is San Leandro’s Valdez, who made it to the top 16 last year at NCS and in the process actually defeated the wrestler that went on to place 6th (7-4). He is certainly capable of medaling this year. Also very good is Washington’s Cesena. He had to injury default out of the medal round last year while wrestling at 135s but he just won the Golden Gate tournament at 138s. Prior to that he had some huge wins at NCS (including a win over the 3rd seed) and a tight loss (10-8) to the wrestler that placed 5th. Lastly, Kelseyville’s Adryan Segura pinned all his opponents on his way to recently winning the Green & Gold at 145s. If he keeps such wrestling going, he could secure a medal at NCS.
145
Alex Abono – De la Salle [138], Sr.
Adam Hendrickson – Healdsburg [145], Sr.
Mike Sitzmann – Marin Catholic [145], Sr.
Abel Robels – San Leandro [138], Sr.
Joey Avila – College Park [145], Sr.
Sal Osorio – Castro Valley [138], Sr.
Radcliff Humphrey – Clayton Valley [132], Sr.
Devin Keeler – Las Lomas [145], Sr.
This is shaping up to be another extremely tough weight classes (perhaps as tough 126s) in the NCS. If I am correct that both Abono and Hendrickson are at this weight, we in the NCS are again looking at one incredibly exciting championship match. Assuming both Abono and Hendrickson are at 145, there are good arguments for either being top dog. However, I think because Abono did a bit better last year at the state tournament, I would give him top billing for now – though that could change. Again, Abono is returning from an excellent junior year. He not only won our section at 140 pounds (and placed 2nd in the NCS as a sophomore), but he also then placed 4th in the state. In addition to his post-season success last year, he is currently ranked second in the state at 152s. At the Curt Mettler Invitational, Abono majored a wrestler than ranked 7th in the state, before losing to Feigener of Folsom and having to default out of the tournament due to illness. But Abono is nails and is one of the top wrestlers in our section. But that classification could equally apply to Healdsburg’s Adam Hendrickson, who is also a two-time defending NCS champion. Moreover, Hendrickson has twice placed at the state championships, taking 7th as a sophomore and 6th as a junior at 135 pounds. As if those praises were not enough, he is currently ranked 2nd in the state at this weight. Yet another very solid wrestler at this weight is Marin Catholic’s Mike Sitzmann, who deserves to be ranked at least third. This kid took third at 135s at last year’s NCS tournament with his only loss being a tight 3-0 loss to Hendrickson in the semifinals. He is currently ranked 21st in the state at 138 (which will have to be reconsidered as he is not certified to go that low). On top of that, he just took 2nd at the Golden Gate tournament (to an NCS wrestler ranked 11th in the state). I next rank San Leandro’s Abel Robels fourth. This wrestler placed 5th last year and his only losses in the process were to the wrestlers who ended up taking first (Abono) and to the wrestler took 3rd at NCS last year. He is also currently ranked 30th in the state at this weight. Next is College Park’s Joey Avila. He placed 5th last year at NCS at 135s and recently took 3rd at Newark’s Rotary Invitational. Avilla entered last year’s NCS tournament unseeded, defeated the 8th seed, and made it all the way to the semi-finals. On top of that, he is ranked in the state at 36th. He is tough and will certainly step things up during the post season. Castro Valley’s Sal Osorio is looking like a different wrestler from what we saw last year when he struggled due to a bad weight assessment that had him wrestling at too high of a weight class. Despite that he wrestled well and was one match away from medaling. This year he is off to a great start. He recently won his school’s Bay Area Invitational at 152s and even teched his opponent in the finals. Not sure he can get down to his lowest assessed weight class of 138 as he is looking very big. However, as this weight class is very stacked, he would likely do well to consider it where his stock would certainly rise in value. Next is Clayton Valley’s Humphrey who wrestled at 140s last year and defeated some very tough opponents. Moreover, his two losses were to the wrestlers that eventually placed 3rd and 6th – tough draw! So I believe that Humphrey should be ranked at least 7th. In the eighth spot is Las Lomas’ Devin Keeler who just took second, to Osorio, at the Bay Area Invitational tournament and thus has earned some respect in the rankings. Continue to keep an eye out for De la Salle’s senior Mark Bohannan, who was injured last year and did not wrestle. He recently transferred to DLS from Northgate. However, as a sophomore he went 2-2. I am hearing he has improved a lot since and is likely to do well this year. If Abono is not at this weight, the school’s 145 pound spot could be taken by Bohannan. Or he could battle for the spot at 138s. Keep an eye on Albany’s Elijah Sudduth as well, who missed placing last year by just 2 matches. I am hearing through the grapevine that he is capable of stepping things way up this year and he took 3rd at Golden Gate. Cardinal Newman’s Chris Moreno is looking very good as well and recently took 2nd at this weight at Green & Gold and wrestled well at the Fault Line Invitational. Lastly, Newark’s Hubby had several big wins last year, went 29-13 and I am impressed by his skill. I believe he has a shot of taking home some hardware this year as well.
152
Jack Fausone – Casa Grande [145], Sr.
Kaden Martin – Eureka [152], Sr.
Louis Cosce – Hoopa [152], Jr.
Nasir Nasir – Castro Valley [145], Sr.
Tyler Rardon – Livermore [152], Jr.
Bruce Tucker – Upper Lake [152], Sr.
Sam Sirot – Las Lomas [145], Sr.
Dominic Merlo – Healdsburg [145], Jr.
Top dog is Casa Grande’s Jack Fausane, who had a great season last year by placing 3rd at 145s in the NCS. He is currently ranked 17th in the state at this weight and I have heard coaches from around our section comment about how much he has improved since last year. He also just won the Green & Gold at 160s. Moreover, at NCS last year, he defeated the third ranked wrestler, Hoopa’s Cosce, in the quarter-finals (21-4). Thus, Fausone must be ranked above Cosce. However, Cosce is very talented in his own right. He finished last season by placing 6th at 145s. On top of that, he just took 2nd at the McKinleyville Tournament and is an honorable mention in the state rankings. So Cosce is worthy of high attention in the rankings. But the problem is before we can get to him, we must recognize an upcoming wrestler that just defeated Louis Cosce. That would be Eureka’s Kaden Martin. In the finals of the McKinleyville tournament, it was Martin’s hand that was raised. As a result of the head-to-head win, he must be ranked over Cosce. In the fourth spot is Castro Valley’s Nasir, who made it to round of 12 last year at NCS. He also just took second at the Bay Area invitational, losing to a non-NCS opponent. Livermore’s Rardon underperformed last year at NCS. But the kid is good, as evidenced by his honorable mention in the state rankings and his recent 1st place finish at the Ceres Tournament. He thus gets the 5th spot. Upper Lake’s Bruce Tucker also had a very good junior year, placed 8th at NCS at 140s last year, and had some very impressive wins along the way. On top of that, he just took second at 170 lbs at the McKinleyville Tournament and is thus worthy of some recognition. I believe he is likely to land a medal this year at NCS. In the 7th spot is Las Lomas’ Sam Sirot, who missed medaling last year by a single match and finished the year with a record of 18-11. Sirot just took 3rd at this weight at the Bay Area Invitational tournament. In the 8th spot is up and comer Merlo from Healdsburg, who looked real solid at Golden Gate where he took home a 2nd place medal, losing only to a non-NCS opponent. Keep an eye out for Albany’s Daniel Larman who made it all the way to medal rounds last year at 145 pounds, but missed earning a medal by 2 points. He is certainly in the running this year for some hardware. Montgomery’s Garret Robinson had a similar story. He also made it to the medal round last year, but fell short of placing by one match and ended the season with a record of 17-11. Not sure why Robinson did not wrestle with his team at Bay Area, perhaps he is still finishing up on the gridiron. Jake Axelrod of Freedom is also worthy of some attention. He has wins this year already against DLS’s Mark Bohannan and Clayton Valley’s Humphreys. Also keep an eye out for Pittsburg’s freshman Davino Lucido. He has been making a name for himself for years by winning several age-group state championships in both freestyle and in Greco-Roman. Have not heard just yet how he is doing this season, so my praise for him should be taken with a slight grain of salt.
160
Victor Pereira – Newark Memorial [160], Sr.
Matthew Tsarnes – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Richard Navarez – Amador Valley [152], Sr.
JJ Chou – College Park [152], Sr.
Devon Aiello – De la Salle [145], Jr.
Spencer Owens – Montgomery [160], Sr.
Zach Little – Dublin [152], Jr.
Nick Destein - Novato [160], Sr.
Another weight with two wrestlers who are very legitimate candidates for earning high state medals. I believe our section’s top returning wrestlers will be at this weight and clearly deserves to be ranked one. Newark Memorial’s Victor Pereira is returning from back-to-back years of not only winning our section, but also placing at state. Last year, Pereira made it all the way to the state finals and eventually placed second there. He capped off an excellent junior year with a record of 47-4. As a sophomore, he did very well also, placing 5th in the state. As if there were any question as to how tough this CalPoly bound wrestler is, he just placed 4th at the Walsh Ironman tournament in Ohio, generally considered to be one of the toughest regular season high school tournaments in the nation. At number two is Healdsburg’s Matthew Tsarnes who just won the Golden Gate Invitational at 170s and is currently ranked 6th in the state at this weight. But for the fact that I believe Pereira is also in the weight, Tsarnes would be the top ranked wrestler. Regardless, he is a real threat to win a state medal this year and if he and Pereira are in this same weight, we are in for yet another treat come the NCS championships. In the third spot is Amador Valley’s Navarez. He finished last year with a 7th place medal at NCS and with a very solid record of 37-12, though I have not seen as of yet what he has done this year. Navarez is currently ranked 23rd in the state at 170s and also defeated my fourth ranked wrestler, College Park’s Chou last year at the NCS tournament (4-12). But Chou must still be highly ranked. Last year he placed 8th at 152s and as a sophomore, he placed 5th at NCS (and thus nearly missed going on to the state tournament). He is likely to ratchet things up this year and punch his ticket to Bakersfield, though I have not seen too much in the way of results from him this year. Chou is also ranked 36th in the state rankings at 152s and Chou also defeated De la Salle’s Aiello last year at NCS (10-8) so he must be ranked ahead of Aiello. However, Aiello bounced back from that early loss and made it all the medal round before losing 9-6 to Nevearez. Aiello is also gaining a lot of statewide attention as evidenced by his 36th spot in the state rankings at 160s. That success certainly entitles him to at least a 6th spot in the NCS rankings. Montgomery’s Spencer Owens pinned each of his opponents on his way to taking home the championship medal from the Bay Area Invitational at 195 pounds. He also was solid at NCS last year, though he fell short of placing. In addition, he is mentioned in the official state rankings at this weight. I believe he is worthy of a 6th place in the NCS rankings. Dublin’s Zach Little just won the Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational and thus deserves a 7th spot in the rankings. Novato’s Nick Destein won the Green & Gold at 170s and thus deserves at least an 8th spot. Keep an eye out for Antioch’s Oseguera and California School for the Deaf’s Mitchell. Both made it to the NCS medal rounds and each barely missed medaling last year by just one win. Their success there certainly entitles them to some recognition in this year’s rankings even though I have not seen or heard of their success this year.
170
Dylan Morris – Redwood [160], Sr.
Orion Cosce – Hoopa [160], Sr.
Louis Samuel – Las Lomas [160], Sr.
David Kim – Mission San Jose [160], Sr.
Chris Berg – Ukiah [145], Sr.
Troy Gomez – Granada [152], Sr.
Stony Timmons – Upper Lake [170], Sr.
Chris Wellbrook – Campolindo [160], Sr.
Redwood’s Stanford-bound senior, Dylan Morris, had an excellent post season last year. In addition to taking 3rd at 160 as a junior, he also placed 6th as a sophomore at NCS. In fact, other than his one loss (6-2) in the NCS last year to the eventual champion, he rolled over almost all his opponents. He then went 4-2 at state and made it to the best of 16 (with his only losses being to the eventual 2nd and 8th placers). He also just won the Golden Gate tournament at 182 pounds with two pins and two technical falls. He is currently ranked 8th in the official state rankings. He is in my opinion the clear choice for the top rank in the NCS. Moreover, at NCS last year Morris defeated my number two ranked wrestler, Hoopa’s Orion Cosce (6-4). But Cosce is also very solid. In addition to placing 5th last year at 160s and finishing with a solid record of 37-13, he just won the McKinleyville tournament at this weight (and was named the most outstanding heavyweight at the tournament) and is ranked 20th in the state. I believe he is worthy of the second spot in the rankings. Las Lomas’ Samuel is currently ranked 37th in the state at 170s, though for some reason he did not wrestle with his team at the Bay Area Invitational. I nevertheless rank him 3rd. David Kim has moved up the state rankings and has recently captured the 40th spot there, likely because of his solid performance at the Newark Rotary Invitational where he was crowned champion and by taking 5th at Chuckchansi. I therefore give him a 4th spot in the NCS rankings. Ukiah’s Chris Berg did not wrestle with his team at the Green & Gold. However, he went 4-2 last year at NCS and is honorably mentioned in the state rankings. I will give him a 5th spot for now. Granada’s Troy Gomez just won the Bay Area Invitational at 182s and I thus give him the 6th spot in the NCS rankings. Timmons just won the McKinleyville tournament at 182s and deserves some recognition for it. I thus give him a 7th in the rankings. Campolindo’s Wellbrook had a very solid performance at the Bay Area Invitional as well, taking home 2nd place at 182. I give him the 8th spot in the rankings as a result. Keep an eye out for Del Norte’s Eric Turner who took 2nd at the McKinleyville tournament.
182
Ricardo Sandoval – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Anthony Navarro – Rancho Cotate [170], Sr.
Gabe Tulchinsky – Freedom [160], Jr.
David Permito – James Logan [170], Sr.
Taryn Christiansen – El Molino [182], Jr.
Aaron Pease – De la Salle [160], Jr.
Ryan Kates – San Marin [182], Sr.
Dalton Barnes – Heritage [170], Sr.
This is a very solid weight class. Leading the charge is Healdsburg’s Ricardo Sandoval, who is the defending NCS champion at 171 pounds and is currently ranked 12th in state at in this weight. Moreover, he defeated my number 2 ranked wrestler, Rancho Cotate’s Navarro, in the NCS finals last year (9-1). And thus he is clearly the number one ranked wrestler at this weight in the NCS. Rancho Cotate’s Anthony Navarro is clearly the number two wrestler. He is the defending NCS runner-up at 171 pounds and is currently ranked 15th in the state at this weight. I did not, however, see him wrestle with his team at the Green & Gold. Nevertheless, at NCS he defeated my third ranked wrestler, Freedom’s Gabe Tulchinsky, who placed 5th in NCS as a sophomore, and 8th as a freshman. Moreover, Tulchinsky is currently ranked 17th in the state at this weight and just won the Pirate Invitational at Pittsburg at this weight. In the 4th spot is James Logan’s David Permito, who placed 6th at NCS last year, losing a close one to Tulchinsky in their final match (5-3). He is currently ranked 35th in the state at this weight and is certainly in the running for a high NCS medal. El Molino’s Taryn Christiansen is also very good as evidenced by his 2nd place at this weight at the Chukchansi Invitational as well as placing 7th at NCS last year. His success has earned him a 36th in the state rankings at 170s (though I have heard he is at 182s to stay) and a 5th in the NCS rankings. I would suspect he follows through on that success this year and contends for a trip to the state championships. As a sophomore, DLS’s Pease placed 8th last year at 171 in the NCS tournament and is currently ranked 37th in the state at this weight. I have not heard yet what he has done this year. But based on his prior success, I rank him 6th in the NCS. San Marin’s Ryan Kates had a very good NCS tournament last year as well and just was crowned the Green and Gold champion at this weight. He thus has earned some respect in the rankings and I give him the 7th spot. Barnes also wrestled well last year at NCS and his only losses were to the wrestlers that placed 3rd and 6th. Moreover, he placed 4th at the Bay Area, though he forfeited his last match after losing earlier to the very solid Owens of Montgomery. I believe he deserves an 8th spot. Keep an eye out for Upper Lake’s Zlex Kranich, who took 2nd at 195s at McKinleyville.
195
Chumkaur Dhaliwal – James Logan [182], Sr.
Jason Price – Hoopa [170], Jr.
Max Manoukian – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Dakota Album – Maria Carillo [182], Jr.
Cal Dutrow – Foothill [182], Sr.
Max Oswald – Ukiah [170], Sr.
Shawn Larsen – Clear Lake [170], Sr.
Oscar Rios – Windsor [170], Jr.
Top dog must be James Logan’s Chumkaur Dhaliwal, who not only placed 5th last year at NCS (missing the opportunity to go on to the state tournament by a mere 2 points), but who is also ranked 12 in the state at this weight and who just won the Curt Mettler at 220s. He is clearly the top ranked wrestler at 195 lbs in my opinion. As I mentioned previously, to settle the matter, Dhaliwal pinned my second ranked wrestler in their final match of NCS, Hoopa’s Jason Price. However, Price should nevertheless not be taken lightly. In addition to placing 6th last year at 189 lbs, he just won the McKinleyville Tournament at 220s and is ranked 18th in the state at this weight. He therefore is clearly deserving of a 2nd place in the rankings. In the third spot is Healdsburg’s Max Manoukian. He placed 8th last year at 189 lbs. In the fourth spot is the very impressive Dakota Album of Maria Carillo. I watched this wrestler pretty much run over all his competitors at Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational this past weekend on his way to being crowned champion at 220s, though I am hearing he will drop down to 195 pounds. This kid is very solid and I would expect to see him shine when he makes this weight. Next is Foothill’s Cal Dutrow who wrestled well at NCS both during his junior (with a season record of 34-17) and sophomore years. Although he placed neither year, I would suspect he is in the running this year for a medal. Ukiah’s Oswald was recently crowned champion of the Green & Gold at 195s and thus deserves a 6th spot. Clear Lake’s Shawn Larsen and Windsor’s Oscar Rios also wrestled well last year, each missing the medal round by just one match. Keep an eye out for Upper Lake’s Zlex Kranich, who took 2nd at this weight at the McKinleyville tournament, and Liberty’s Zach Hanson who wrestled well last year.
220
William Walker - De la Salle [N/A], Sr.
Kyle Clark – Antioch [195] Jr.
Alex Encarnacion – College Park [195], Sr.
Griffith Gates – Foothill [195], Jr.
Barrick Gabbitas – Del Norte [182], Sr.
Jhordy Figueroa – Terra Linda [182], Sr.
Joey Valdez – Upper Lake [170], Jr.
Billy Marshall – Casa Grande [195], Sr.
This is looking to be a very challenging weight with several returning NCS medalists. Of those, Cal Poly bound wrestler from De la Salle, William Walker, is without a doubt the top ranked wrestler at this weight (or any other weight he decides to go). He not only won our section last year at 215, he then placed 7th in the state (with his only losses at state coming to the wrestlers that took 1st and 3rd). As if that were not enough reason to rank him first in the NCS I would note that he is currently ranked 2nd in the entire state and is well within reach of winning the state championship medal. Antioch’s Clark is also returning from an excellent junior year, wherein he not only took second in the section (losing only to Walker 7-2 in the finals), but also winning several regular season medals. He is currently ranked 10th in the state. College Park’s Encarnacion placed third last year in the NCS at 215s and won the Newark Rotary Invitational. Moreover, he is currently ranked 14th in the state. As I mentioned previously, although Encarnacion lost to Foothill’s Gates in the early rounds of the NCS tournament, he then defeated him in the consolation finals with an overtime pin. So based on that performance, Encarnacion must be ranked ahead of Gates. But Gates should certainly not be taken lightly. In addition to taking 4th place last year at NCS he is currently ranked 15th in the state. Del Norte’s Barrick Gabbitas also had a great junior year. In addition to taking 8th at NCS last year at the 215 weight class, he won numerous regular season tournaments. However, he has not yet competed as far as I know of. Perhaps there is a football season that he is finishing up. Regardless, he is currently ranked 29th in the state and I would expect to see Gabbitas challenge for a trip to the state championships this year. Terra Linda’s Figueroa missed medaling at NCS last year by two win. However, he just won the Green & Gold tournament at this weight. For now I see him in the 6th spot in the rankings. Upper Lake’s Valdez was stopped one match away from the medal round at last year’s NCS tournament by the very solid Encarnacion. Prior to that loss, he won 3 matches in the section tournament. So far this year he has wrestled well, including a 3rd place finish at McKinleyville and thus he deserves to be recognized with a 6th place in the rankings. Casa Grande’s Billy Marshall took 2nd at Green & Gold and thus I will give him an 8th spot in the NCS rankings. Keep an eye out for Amador Valley’s Travis Chubb, who won the McNair Invitational.
285
Eric Chavez – Healdsburg [N/A], Sr.
Quentin Bowlds – Willits [220], Sr.
Shawn Benavente – Cal. School of Deaf [195], Sr.
Dylan Walsh – Las Lomas [285], Jr.
Josh Hanson – Eureka [195],
Isaac Terry – Del Norte [220], Sr.
Elmer Hamidy – Newark Memorial [195], Sr.
Ethan Smith - Clayton Valley [N/A], Sr.
Healdsburg’s Eric Chavez is a returning state qualifier (where he won one match), having placed 4th in the NCS last year. He is also ranked 11th in the state. As the highest returner placer from last year’s NCS tournament, he clearly deserves to be ranked top dog for now. Willits’ Quentin Bowlds made it all the way to the semi-finals last year in the NCS and eventually placed 6th in that tournament. On top of that success, he just took 2nd at the McKinleyville Tournament where his only loss was to the wrestler ranked 4th in the state – a match that Bowlds lost by a close score of 1-0. Bowlds is also currently ranked 20th in the state. He thus deserves to be ranked 2nd. Benavente took home the 8th place medal from last year’s NCS tournament and finished the season with a record of 23-6. I have not yet seen his results from any competitions this year. But based on his success last year, and based on his current ranking of 33rd in the state, he deserves at least an 3rd spot in the NCS rankings. Next is Las Lomas’ Dylan Walsh. This kid was solid the entire year last year, though he fell short at NCS by a single match. He took 3rd recently at Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational where his only loss was to the non-NCS champion. I see him at 4th. I had initially ranked Del Norte’s Isaac Terry next in the rankings based on his first place finish at his school’s Battle on the Border tournament and based on the fact that he advanced pretty far in the NCS tournament last year. I have heard great things about this heavyweight wrestler and thus thought he was deserving of a 5th spot. But as good as he is, he lost to Eureka’s Josh Hanson at the McKinleyville tournament and thus Hanson must be ranked ahead of Terry. Newark Memorial’s Elmer Hamidy also had some success last year at NCS and took 3rd at his school’s tournament. Clayton Valley’s Ethan Smith is also very good and came close to medaling last year. I give him an 8th in the rankings. Again, as this is a weight class that saw so many strong performers from last year graduate, we will just have to wait and see how the competition fairs during the early part of the season in order to solidify the rankings. But for now, keep your eye on Justin Siena’s Michael Deely who also had a lot of success last year, as well as Hoopa freshman Robert Dorgan, who had a solid performance at Del Norte’s Battle of the Border tournament.
106
Troy Lakin – Clayton Valley [106], Sr.
Christen Lizarrage – San Marin [106], Sr.
David Conte – De la Salle [106], So.
John Eberle – Foothill [106], Sr.
Devon Lyle – Liberty [106], So.
Brian Guerrero – Rancho Cotate [106], So.
Joey Vigil – Heritage [106], Jr.
Perez Perez – Windsor [106], So.
I am very impressed with how 106s is shaping up within the NCS and have changed some of the positioning here from my last rankings. It is a tough call between Lakin and Lizarrage for number 1. I had earlier ranked Lizarrage at 113s. But I see that he has certified for 106s and that he wrestled 106s at his school’s Green and Gold tournament, which he won. So I move Lizarrage back to 106s. He is arguably worthy of the number 1 spot in the rankings. Lizarrage is the defending NCS champion, while Lakin took 3rd last year at the same weight class. However, they did not actually wrestle each other at NCS. In fact, the one time that Lakin and Lizarrage did wrestle each other last year, during the finals of last year’s Granada’s Mat Classic, Lakin won the match by the close score of 6-5. As such, Lakin probably deserves to be ranked ahead of Lizarrage. Lakin is also currently ranked 18th in the state at this weight. For his part, Lizarrage is ranked 40th at 113s. In the third spot is De la Salle’s Conte. I know some will question me on this one, head-to-head results are so important in rankings and Conte had some losses last year against some of the people below him. However, the kid has gotten pretty good and, consistent with that criteria, he does have a head-to-head win against Foothill’s Eberle from their match last year at EBAL finals. Conte also took 6th at cadet freestyle state and is honorably mentioned in the state rankings. Despite ranking Conte above Eberle, the latter is very good. Not only did he take 4th at NCS last year, and thus qualify for state, but he is also ranked 23rd in the state rankings. Liberty’s Lyle took 7th place at NCS last year and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. He thus deserves to be ranked at least 5th. Heritage’s Vigil, who took 8th at NCS last year and just won the Bay Area Invitational at 113s is also worthy of some attention. However, he lost to Rancho Cotate’s Guerrero last year at NCS 6-4. Thus, even though Vigil placed at NCS last year and Guerrero did not, Guerrero probably deserves a higher ranking. I would also point out that Guerrero just won San Marin’s Green & Gold tournament at 113s. Windsor’ s Perez is also very tough. Although he did not win any matches at last year’s NCS tournament, he arguably had the worst possible draw (losing to the kid that took 6th in his first match and then losing to the kid that took 8th in his second match). However, he was very solid in regular season competition (finishing with a solid record of 30-9) and is likely to do very well this year as well, as evidenced by his second place finish at San Marin’s Green and Gold Tournament at 106s. Again, this is a very talent packed weight class in the NCS and there are many other wrestlers that we should all keep an eye on at this weight and who would be ranked had the weight not been so talent packed. This includes Monte Vista’s Michael McDaniel, who won Cadet freestyle state at 98 pounds and who was a dominate champion of Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational. McDaniel is solid and went 3-2 at sections last year, missing a medal by a single match. Tony Lopez of Upper Lake is also worthy of attention, having just been crowned the champion of the McKinleyville Tournament. Hoopa’s Joshua McKnight, who won Del Norte’s Battle of the Border tournament and took 3rd at McKinleville at this weight, it also worthy of praise. Lastly, keep an eye out for James Logan’s Mark Godoy, who wrestled very well at the Curt Mettler tournament in Elk Grove, taking 4th. I would expect to see some of these wrestlers moving up the rankings as the season continues. Very unfortunate to report that McKinleyville’s Jack Norton, who had a lot of success in the California freestyle circuit and recently placed at Greco State, had dislocated his elbow at his school’s tournament and his return this season is thus questionable.
113
Ricky Coster – Freedom [106], So.
Jacob Macalolooy – James Logan [113], So.
Tommy Yozzo – Amador Valley [113], So.
Logan Fore – Windsor [113], Jr.
William Booth – Mission San Jose [113], Sr.
John Zanarini – Liberty [113], So.
Billy Barbanica – De la Salle [106], Sr.
Jesus Mereno – Eureka [106], Jr.
Now that San Marin’s Christen Lizarrage is back in the 106 spotlight, I believe top dog at 113s is Freedom’s Ricky Coster. I had earlier ranked Coster at 120s. However, I see that he has actually certified for 106s. Thus, I will rank him at least at 113s for now. Coster is extremely talented. Last year as a freshman he placed 3rd in a very tough weight-class at NCS and his only loss at NCS was that to the ultimate champion by a relatively close score of 6-3. In addition, Coster is ranked 21st at 120s in the state rankings, so if he goes 113s, he is likely to achieve some success at the lower weight. In the number two spot remains James Logan’s Macalolooy, who took 5th at last year’s NCS championships; with his only losses coming to the eventual 3rd and 4th place wrestlers (though I would note that he also had an earlier season victory over the eventual NCS runner-up). In addition to his success last year at NCS, he also is mentioned in the state rankings and he placed 2nd at California Greco championships during the off season. Moreover, he took 2nd at the Curt Mettler Invitational. At number three is Amador Valley’s Tommy Yozzo, who took 7th last year at NCS (in an extremely tough weight class) and is ranked 30th in the state at this weight. He also recently took second at the McNair tournament, where his only loss was to the defending state runner-up, Isaiah Locsin. So no disrespect in that result. And as others have reported, he also had a solid win against some tough SanJoaquin opponents. Fore, who as I previously mentioned is now of Windsor and formerly of El Molino, I see as 4th. Fore placed 8th at last year’s NCS tournament and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. MSJ’s Booth is likely to do very well this year as well and was one match away from medaling last year at NCS. He also just recently placed 1st at this weight at the Newark Rotary Invitation, took 4th at Chukchansi, and is also honorably mentioned in the state rankings. I thus see him as 5th. John Zanarini, though he kept getting pushed out of a starting spot last year, of Liberty is looking very tough. Not much to report on him yet other than I have heard from several sources that he is likely to have a very solid post season. DLS’s senior Billy Barbanica is also worthy of attention and will likely take over at 113s once Conte drops to 106s. Although he was unable to break his school’s very solid line-up last year (due to there being a NCS champion in his weight) I think he is certainly capable of securing some hardware this year. However, Barbanica might be challenged for the spot by his equally tough teammate, Nathan Cervantez, who is a multi-time triple-crown winner, winning of TOC in 2011 and was the 2010 TOC runner-up. He could be in the hunt this year. Eureka’s Jesus Mereno deserves to enter the rankings, having just won the McKinleyville tournament at 120 lbs. He is a very physical wrestler that is certified for 106 and thus will likely to do well when and if he drops to 113s. Keep your eye on Willits’ wrestler Jose Arrequim, who just won the McKinleyville tournament at this weight. Also, keep an eye out for Belall Omari of Castro Valley, who is also worthy of attention, having taking 2nd at the Bay Area Invitational at 120s but is certified to go down to this weight. Lastly, keep an eye for Keith DeCampo of St. Pats, who just took 2nd at Golden Gate.
120
Ty Stevenson – McKinleyville [113], Sr.
Joey Ramirez – De la Salle [120], Sr.
Chris Caldwell – Las Lomas [120], Sr.
Corbin Lee – Mission San Jose [113], Sr.
Jacob Donato – James Logan [120], So.
Casey Salmon – College Park [120], Sr.
Ryan Blyleven – Clear Lake [120], Sr.
Paolo Yap – St. Patricks/St. Vincent [120], Fr.
This is looking to be a very tough weight class with four exceptional wrestlers leading the charge. That being said, it is a real tough call as to who deserves top rank between two very solid defending section champions, Stevenson or Ramirez. Stevenson is returning from winning the 119 pound weight class last year and from then going onto a very respectable 3-2 at state, with his only losses coming against the kids that took 5th and 7th. As a sophomore, Stevenson placed 3rd in the NCS at 112s and then he also went 3-2 at the state tournament. He also just won the Del Norte Battle of the Border Tournament and the McKinleyville Tournament, where he was again named the most outstanding light weight wrestler for the second year in a row. He is currently ranked 8th in the state at 125s (though I am hearing he is likely to be at 120s come post season). So he should be a solid force at this lower weight. For his part, De la Salle’s Ramirez also won NCS last year at 112s (he also took 8th as a sophomore at 119). Ramirez is currently also ranked 7th in the state at this weight. On top of that, he had some tremendous regular season performances at some tough tournaments last year, including Reno, and he just recently won the Curt Mettler Invitational at 127. However, In light of Stevenson’s better performance at state last year, I will give him top billing over Ramirez for now. In the third spot is the last year’s 106 pound runner-up from Las Lomas, Chris Caldwelll. Caldwell is also very tough and is returning from an excellent junior year. He has, however, hit a bit of a growth spurt and will now have to make a bit of an adjustment to this higher weight class. But he is off to a great start in that direction as shown by his 1st place finish at 126 pounds at the Bay Area Invitational. At number 4 is MSJ’s senior Corbin Lee. I had earlier ranked him a bit lower. However, Lee pulled off a huge win on the road to winning the Newark Rotary Invitational, which included a 12-7 victory over Lupe Flores of Selma (who is currently ranked 6th in the state at this weight and who went a solid 2-2 at state last year). Lee also just won the Chukchansi Invitational at this weight and placed 6th last year at NCS, but placed 3rd at NCS the prior year as a Sophomore. Lee also went a very solid 6-2 (one win short of placing) at this past summer’s Super 32 tournament, which is well regarded as one of the toughest off season tournaments in the nation. He is also currently ranked 19th at 126s. Expect to see Lee in the hunt for a trip to Bakersfield in the post season. At number 5 is James Logan’s Jacob Donato. Donato made it to the best of 12 last year at NCS and won numerous regular season medals as well. He is currently an honorable mention in the state rankings as well and I have heard that he put it a lot of hard work during the off season. Moreover, he just took 3rd at the Curt Mettler. Expect to see him shine this year. At number 6 is College Park’s Casey Salmon. Salmon is very tough and took 8th two years ago at 112 pounds. He did not wrestle in the NCS last year due to the fact that he was living and wrestling in Utah. But he is now back and is likely to do well his senior year. Blyleven just won the San Marin Green & Gold Tournament at 126s and is looking tough. I therefore rank him 7th. Yap was the champion of Golden Gate at 120s and thus deserves at least an 8th in the rankings. On the keep “your eye on” list is Heritage’s Gregerson, who is a freshman and has had limited opportunities to prove himself at the high school level (though he did struggle a bit at Bay Area, losing his first round match). However, he already has several accolades to his name, including recently winning NorCal’s TOC in freestyle and placing 5th there as a 7th grader. He also is a multi-time placer at many California USA Wrestling state events. This kid should do well once he adjusts to the high school level. I would point out that I had earlier ranked Monte Vista’s Anton Sell, as he placed in the top 12 last year, but have since heard that he is not wrestling this year. Unfortunately, I have heard that Amador Valley’s Nick Gaither, who also missed last year due to medical reasons, will not be able to compete this year due to a required surgery. I had previously ranked him as 5th. But with him out, his very solid teammate, Andy Duran, could be taking that spot. He is also very talented and certainly capable of securing a medal. I say keep another eye out for him. Keep an eye out for Windsor’s Seth Trunich and Terra Linda’s Kai Caindec, who took 2nd and 3rd respectively at Green & Gold. Also, Sonoma’s Giordi Serafini looked really good at Golden Gate, where he placed 2nd.
126
Jake Smith – Newark Memorial [126], Sr.
Joey Moita – De la Salle [126], Sr.
Roman Garcia – Freedom [126], Sr.
Kevin Coburn – Granada [126], Sr.
Austin Solari - Liberty [120], Jr.
Artemio Flores – James Logan [126], Jr.
Ward Beecher – Upper Lake [126], Jr.
Kyle Doughty – Analy [126], Sr.
This weight class is just too tough and is led by 5 kids who could win several matches and even medals at state. Top dog must be former Virginia state champion and California transplant Jake Smith – who is now officially eligible and certified at this weight. As previously mentioned, Smith has placed at both the Beast of the East and (twice) at Super 32s – some of the toughest off season tournaments in the nation. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks this Appalachian state bound wrestler is a cannon. He is currently ranked number 3 in the official state rankings (though some could make a strong argument that he is ranked a tad bit too low in the state rankings, considering that one person ranked ahead of him in the state rankings, who happens to be number 1, went 2-2 at Super 32s, whereas as Smith placed 7th, in the same bracket, and Smith there defeated the then number 1 ranked kid in the country). In the number 2 spot is DLS’s Joey Moita, who I have been told will wrestle 126s this season. For years, Columbia bound Moita has been a dominate force in the NCS. As a sophomore he was a NCS champion at 105s and placed 4th at state. Last year, he again won our section (with a pin in the finals), then placed top 12 at state at 125 (which I believe was the toughest weight class at state last year). Moreover, at state last year his only losses were to the wrestler that took 3rd and the wrestler that took 4th. Moita is currently ranked 4th in state at this weight and just recently won the Curt Mettler Invitational at Elk Grove at 138s. If I am right about Smith and Moita being in the same weight class, it is going to be a hugely exciting NCS championship match (get your tickets early)! In the third spot is the very solid Roman Garcia of Freedom. Like Moita, Garcia is a two time state qualifier, having taking 2nd in the section at 112s as a sophomore and 3rd at 119s as a junior. He is currently ranked 12th in the state rankings and is yet another powerhouse in this weight. An addition to this weight from last my last rankings is the very formidable, and Boise State bound, Kevin Coburn of Granada. I had earlier projected Coburn for 120s, but he did not certify that low. Thus, this weight class has just gotten that much tougher with his addition to it. Last year, Coburn took 4th at NCS at 112s and thus went on to wrestle at the state tournament. He is off to an excellent start this season, which includes winning the Bay Area Invitational at 132s and being currently state ranked 22nd at 120s (though that will need to be adjusted as he cannot wrestle that low). In the 5th spot, is Liberty’s Austin Solari. He ended last year a little lower than I expected, only taking 5th (though he entered the NCS tournament as a 2nd seed). But as a freshman, Solari took 2nd place at 105s. He is also ranked 28th at 120s, which he might see come post season as he is certified to drop that low and considering that even though 120s is very stacked, I don’t think it is as stacked at 126s. In the 6th spot is James Logan’s Artemio Flores, who is also no stranger to NCS success. Although he did not wrestle in NCS last year for some reason, he placed 4th the year before as a freshman at 105s. He also just placed 3d at the Curt Mettler at 132s and is currently ranked 37th in the official state rankings. At number 7 is Upper Lake’s Ward Beacher, who made it to the best of 12 round last year at NCS and recently won the McKinleyville tournament at 145. Had this weight class not been so stacked, he would be a likely contender this year for a trip to the state tournament. Analy’s Doughty also made it to the best of 12 and his only losses were to the wrestlers who took 1st and 3rd. He also placed 2nd at 132s at the Green & Gold. I therefore rank him 8th. Clear Lake’s Jake Humble was also very close to medaling last year, losing only to the wrestlers who place 4th and 6th (the last one losing a nail biting 14-12 in overtime). He also is a serious threat this year – keep an eye out for him. Also, Castro Valley’s Matt Waespi looked very good at the Bay Area Invitational and is capable of snagging an NCS medal.
132
Jon Jay Chavez – De la Salle [N/A], So.
Jacob Pratt – Newark Memorial [132], Sr.
Xavier Johnson – Liberty [126], Sr.
Blake Borges – El Molino [132], Sr.
Major Stelly – Dublin [N/A], Sr.
Rio Nance – Willits [N/A], Sr.
Kevin Monterrosa – Alhambra [126], Sr.
Travis Coleman – Upper Lake [132], Jr.
This is yet another very tough weight class in the NCS. Top dog appears to be De la Salle’s Jon Jay Chavez. Although he has yet to certify or compete, I am hearing he is likely to be at 132s, as his team’s spot at 126s will likely be held by Moita. Chavez is very tough for being just a sophomore. He is currently ranked 7th in the state. As I mentioned previously, he not only won some very competitive regular season tournaments last year, but he also won a cadet national championship title in Greco-Roman this past summer in Fargo. Expect to see him push back all challengers this coming season. In the second spot is Newark Memorial’s Pratt. Last year, Pratt took home a 3rd place finish at NCS at 130s, went on to compete at state and finished the season with an impressive record of 32-10. He is also off to a strong start, including a second place finish at the Newark Ironman Invitational (losing only to 3x state champion Alex Cisneros). He is also ranked 13th in the state. In the third spot is Liberty’s Xavier Johnson, who surprised many last year when he dropped down at the post season to 125 from his earlier season weight of 130s. Even though he entered that tournament as a 7th seed, he secured some early big wins (including wins over then 2nd and 6th seeds) and eventually took home the 3rd place medal. He is currently ranked 23rd in the state at 138s. Next is El Molino’s Borges, who also is no stranger to NCS success. As a sophomore, Borges placed 4th at 112s and thereby qualified for state. As a junior, he somewhat underperformed and settled for 5th at 130s (though it was a very stacked weight class). As a senior though he is a very likely candidate to place high within the NCS and to return to Bakersfield as evidenced by his 4th place finish recently at the very tough Chukchansi Invitational at 138s and by his current rank of 14th in the state rankings. A football player whose performance on the grid iron has delayed his weight certification and start of what promises to be a very solid wrestling season is Dublin’s Major Stelly. Stelly has placed at NCS for the last two years, taking 6th as a sophomore at 112s, and 7th as a junior at a very stacked weight class of 125s and finished the season with a record of 37-10. Stelly is very good and he has real shot for making it to state as well. He is currently ranked 33rd in the state at 138s. Willits’ Nance, who spent his sophomore year at El Molino, but wrestled at Willits as both a freshman and junior, is also very tough and has been having a lot of success throughout his wrestling career, including taking home a 7th place medal last year at 130s. He is currently ranked 32nd in the state at this weight. I would expect to see him challenge this year for a trip to Bakersfield. Alhambra’s Monterrosa is also nails. He also made it to the top 12 round last year at 130s and lost in the medal round to the wrestler that ultimately placed 7th. On top of that, he had some early season wins last year over wrestlers that ultimately went on to medal at NCS and had a 28-9 record on the year. He is clearly within the top kids at this weight. Upper Lake’s Travis Coleman, who made it to the best of 12 last year at NCS, I see as 8th in the rankings. He also just took second place at the McKinleyville tournament at 138s. I would suggest we keep an eye on Windsor’s Trevor Silva who won the Green & Gold at this weight and Ukiah’s Drayton Payne who won it at 138s. I would also keep an eye out for James Logan’s Neil Gapal, who I have heard good things about. I would point out that unfortunately for the NCS, Deer Valley’s Elijah Davis has in fact transferred to Oakland Tech so we will not see him at NCS this year.
138
Brian Sergi – College Park [132], Sr.
Anthony Rubio - Newark Memorial [138], Sr.
Daniel Ruiz – Freedom [138], Sr.
Jake Thompson-Zanarini – Liberty [N/A], Sr.
Austin Soto – Foothill [138], Sr.
Peyton Russom – De la Salle [126], Jr.
Joey Clay – Rancho Cotate [138], Jr.
Robert Simondi – Upper Lake [138], Sr.
Assuming Abono does not drop to this weight, then top dog status must go to College Park’s Brian Sergi. Sergi is a two-time defending NCS champion. He also went a very solid 2-2 at the state championships last year before losing a tight 7-4 match to the wrestler that ultimately placed 3rd there. Sergi is currently ranked 5th in the state. In addition, he has seen a lot of success at Fargo in recent years, including an 8th place finish going into his junior year. Sergi is a likely candidate to not only do well at NCS but also maybe even place at the state tournament this year. In the second spot is Newark Memorial’s Anthony Rubio. This kid has a very good NCS history, coming in last season unseeded and eventually placing 7th. He is currently ranked 37th in the state at 145s and placed 1st at the Newark Ironman at 152s. Moreover, at NCS, Rubio defeated my number three ranked wrestler, Daniel Ruiz from Freedom (10-4). So Rubio must be ranked ahead of Ruiz. But Ruiz is also very solid. In addition to placing 8th at NCS, he defeated the 3rd seeded wrestler at the tournament and did well during the regular season, finishing with a record of 20-16. Liberty’s Thompson-Zanarini exceeded expectations last year when he defeated some very solid wrestlers to take 4th at 119s, finishing the season with a 34-18 record, and earning a trip to Bakersfield. He is likely to do well this year as well and deserves at least a 4th spot in the rankings. He is currently ranked 22nd at 126s in the official state rankings. Foothill’s Soto also had a very good season last year. He landed on Foothill’s team as a transfer from the SacJoaquin Section and quickly made a name for himself, which included taking 6th place at 130s last year and amassing a record of 35-12. Expect to see him in the hunt this season. He is currently ranked 21st at this weight in the official state rankings. De la Salle’s Peyton Russom is also very solid and had made it to the round of 12, where his only losses were to the wrestlers that placed 5th and 6th. He is actually certified to go much lower than 138s. However, he will have a tough time breaking his school’s solid line-up at either 132s or 126s as those spots will likely be held by Moita and Chavez. Despite this somewhat size challenge, Russom is still ranked 39th in the state at this weight. Rancho Cotate’s Clay missed medaling last year by a single win. In fact, he lost to the 3rd place finisher Pratt in the medal round by a single point. On top of that, he had some big wins against some other very solid wrestlers throughout last season as well as picking up some many regular season medals, and a season record of 29-15. He has however hit a growth spurt and will not be wrestling at 132s, where I had earlier ranked him as he is only now certified to go as low as 138s. Nevertheless, this kid is tough and will certainly be in the mix at NCS this year. New to the list is Upper Lake senior Robert Simondi who won the McKinleyville tournament at 152 pounds. If he can get down to 138, he is certain to challenge for some hardware. In the “keep-you-eye-on” list is San Leandro’s Valdez, who made it to the top 16 last year at NCS and in the process actually defeated the wrestler that went on to place 6th (7-4). He is certainly capable of medaling this year. Also very good is Washington’s Cesena. He had to injury default out of the medal round last year while wrestling at 135s but he just won the Golden Gate tournament at 138s. Prior to that he had some huge wins at NCS (including a win over the 3rd seed) and a tight loss (10-8) to the wrestler that placed 5th. Lastly, Kelseyville’s Adryan Segura pinned all his opponents on his way to recently winning the Green & Gold at 145s. If he keeps such wrestling going, he could secure a medal at NCS.
145
Alex Abono – De la Salle [138], Sr.
Adam Hendrickson – Healdsburg [145], Sr.
Mike Sitzmann – Marin Catholic [145], Sr.
Abel Robels – San Leandro [138], Sr.
Joey Avila – College Park [145], Sr.
Sal Osorio – Castro Valley [138], Sr.
Radcliff Humphrey – Clayton Valley [132], Sr.
Devin Keeler – Las Lomas [145], Sr.
This is shaping up to be another extremely tough weight classes (perhaps as tough 126s) in the NCS. If I am correct that both Abono and Hendrickson are at this weight, we in the NCS are again looking at one incredibly exciting championship match. Assuming both Abono and Hendrickson are at 145, there are good arguments for either being top dog. However, I think because Abono did a bit better last year at the state tournament, I would give him top billing for now – though that could change. Again, Abono is returning from an excellent junior year. He not only won our section at 140 pounds (and placed 2nd in the NCS as a sophomore), but he also then placed 4th in the state. In addition to his post-season success last year, he is currently ranked second in the state at 152s. At the Curt Mettler Invitational, Abono majored a wrestler than ranked 7th in the state, before losing to Feigener of Folsom and having to default out of the tournament due to illness. But Abono is nails and is one of the top wrestlers in our section. But that classification could equally apply to Healdsburg’s Adam Hendrickson, who is also a two-time defending NCS champion. Moreover, Hendrickson has twice placed at the state championships, taking 7th as a sophomore and 6th as a junior at 135 pounds. As if those praises were not enough, he is currently ranked 2nd in the state at this weight. Yet another very solid wrestler at this weight is Marin Catholic’s Mike Sitzmann, who deserves to be ranked at least third. This kid took third at 135s at last year’s NCS tournament with his only loss being a tight 3-0 loss to Hendrickson in the semifinals. He is currently ranked 21st in the state at 138 (which will have to be reconsidered as he is not certified to go that low). On top of that, he just took 2nd at the Golden Gate tournament (to an NCS wrestler ranked 11th in the state). I next rank San Leandro’s Abel Robels fourth. This wrestler placed 5th last year and his only losses in the process were to the wrestlers who ended up taking first (Abono) and to the wrestler took 3rd at NCS last year. He is also currently ranked 30th in the state at this weight. Next is College Park’s Joey Avila. He placed 5th last year at NCS at 135s and recently took 3rd at Newark’s Rotary Invitational. Avilla entered last year’s NCS tournament unseeded, defeated the 8th seed, and made it all the way to the semi-finals. On top of that, he is ranked in the state at 36th. He is tough and will certainly step things up during the post season. Castro Valley’s Sal Osorio is looking like a different wrestler from what we saw last year when he struggled due to a bad weight assessment that had him wrestling at too high of a weight class. Despite that he wrestled well and was one match away from medaling. This year he is off to a great start. He recently won his school’s Bay Area Invitational at 152s and even teched his opponent in the finals. Not sure he can get down to his lowest assessed weight class of 138 as he is looking very big. However, as this weight class is very stacked, he would likely do well to consider it where his stock would certainly rise in value. Next is Clayton Valley’s Humphrey who wrestled at 140s last year and defeated some very tough opponents. Moreover, his two losses were to the wrestlers that eventually placed 3rd and 6th – tough draw! So I believe that Humphrey should be ranked at least 7th. In the eighth spot is Las Lomas’ Devin Keeler who just took second, to Osorio, at the Bay Area Invitational tournament and thus has earned some respect in the rankings. Continue to keep an eye out for De la Salle’s senior Mark Bohannan, who was injured last year and did not wrestle. He recently transferred to DLS from Northgate. However, as a sophomore he went 2-2. I am hearing he has improved a lot since and is likely to do well this year. If Abono is not at this weight, the school’s 145 pound spot could be taken by Bohannan. Or he could battle for the spot at 138s. Keep an eye on Albany’s Elijah Sudduth as well, who missed placing last year by just 2 matches. I am hearing through the grapevine that he is capable of stepping things way up this year and he took 3rd at Golden Gate. Cardinal Newman’s Chris Moreno is looking very good as well and recently took 2nd at this weight at Green & Gold and wrestled well at the Fault Line Invitational. Lastly, Newark’s Hubby had several big wins last year, went 29-13 and I am impressed by his skill. I believe he has a shot of taking home some hardware this year as well.
152
Jack Fausone – Casa Grande [145], Sr.
Kaden Martin – Eureka [152], Sr.
Louis Cosce – Hoopa [152], Jr.
Nasir Nasir – Castro Valley [145], Sr.
Tyler Rardon – Livermore [152], Jr.
Bruce Tucker – Upper Lake [152], Sr.
Sam Sirot – Las Lomas [145], Sr.
Dominic Merlo – Healdsburg [145], Jr.
Top dog is Casa Grande’s Jack Fausane, who had a great season last year by placing 3rd at 145s in the NCS. He is currently ranked 17th in the state at this weight and I have heard coaches from around our section comment about how much he has improved since last year. He also just won the Green & Gold at 160s. Moreover, at NCS last year, he defeated the third ranked wrestler, Hoopa’s Cosce, in the quarter-finals (21-4). Thus, Fausone must be ranked above Cosce. However, Cosce is very talented in his own right. He finished last season by placing 6th at 145s. On top of that, he just took 2nd at the McKinleyville Tournament and is an honorable mention in the state rankings. So Cosce is worthy of high attention in the rankings. But the problem is before we can get to him, we must recognize an upcoming wrestler that just defeated Louis Cosce. That would be Eureka’s Kaden Martin. In the finals of the McKinleyville tournament, it was Martin’s hand that was raised. As a result of the head-to-head win, he must be ranked over Cosce. In the fourth spot is Castro Valley’s Nasir, who made it to round of 12 last year at NCS. He also just took second at the Bay Area invitational, losing to a non-NCS opponent. Livermore’s Rardon underperformed last year at NCS. But the kid is good, as evidenced by his honorable mention in the state rankings and his recent 1st place finish at the Ceres Tournament. He thus gets the 5th spot. Upper Lake’s Bruce Tucker also had a very good junior year, placed 8th at NCS at 140s last year, and had some very impressive wins along the way. On top of that, he just took second at 170 lbs at the McKinleyville Tournament and is thus worthy of some recognition. I believe he is likely to land a medal this year at NCS. In the 7th spot is Las Lomas’ Sam Sirot, who missed medaling last year by a single match and finished the year with a record of 18-11. Sirot just took 3rd at this weight at the Bay Area Invitational tournament. In the 8th spot is up and comer Merlo from Healdsburg, who looked real solid at Golden Gate where he took home a 2nd place medal, losing only to a non-NCS opponent. Keep an eye out for Albany’s Daniel Larman who made it all the way to medal rounds last year at 145 pounds, but missed earning a medal by 2 points. He is certainly in the running this year for some hardware. Montgomery’s Garret Robinson had a similar story. He also made it to the medal round last year, but fell short of placing by one match and ended the season with a record of 17-11. Not sure why Robinson did not wrestle with his team at Bay Area, perhaps he is still finishing up on the gridiron. Jake Axelrod of Freedom is also worthy of some attention. He has wins this year already against DLS’s Mark Bohannan and Clayton Valley’s Humphreys. Also keep an eye out for Pittsburg’s freshman Davino Lucido. He has been making a name for himself for years by winning several age-group state championships in both freestyle and in Greco-Roman. Have not heard just yet how he is doing this season, so my praise for him should be taken with a slight grain of salt.
160
Victor Pereira – Newark Memorial [160], Sr.
Matthew Tsarnes – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Richard Navarez – Amador Valley [152], Sr.
JJ Chou – College Park [152], Sr.
Devon Aiello – De la Salle [145], Jr.
Spencer Owens – Montgomery [160], Sr.
Zach Little – Dublin [152], Jr.
Nick Destein - Novato [160], Sr.
Another weight with two wrestlers who are very legitimate candidates for earning high state medals. I believe our section’s top returning wrestlers will be at this weight and clearly deserves to be ranked one. Newark Memorial’s Victor Pereira is returning from back-to-back years of not only winning our section, but also placing at state. Last year, Pereira made it all the way to the state finals and eventually placed second there. He capped off an excellent junior year with a record of 47-4. As a sophomore, he did very well also, placing 5th in the state. As if there were any question as to how tough this CalPoly bound wrestler is, he just placed 4th at the Walsh Ironman tournament in Ohio, generally considered to be one of the toughest regular season high school tournaments in the nation. At number two is Healdsburg’s Matthew Tsarnes who just won the Golden Gate Invitational at 170s and is currently ranked 6th in the state at this weight. But for the fact that I believe Pereira is also in the weight, Tsarnes would be the top ranked wrestler. Regardless, he is a real threat to win a state medal this year and if he and Pereira are in this same weight, we are in for yet another treat come the NCS championships. In the third spot is Amador Valley’s Navarez. He finished last year with a 7th place medal at NCS and with a very solid record of 37-12, though I have not seen as of yet what he has done this year. Navarez is currently ranked 23rd in the state at 170s and also defeated my fourth ranked wrestler, College Park’s Chou last year at the NCS tournament (4-12). But Chou must still be highly ranked. Last year he placed 8th at 152s and as a sophomore, he placed 5th at NCS (and thus nearly missed going on to the state tournament). He is likely to ratchet things up this year and punch his ticket to Bakersfield, though I have not seen too much in the way of results from him this year. Chou is also ranked 36th in the state rankings at 152s and Chou also defeated De la Salle’s Aiello last year at NCS (10-8) so he must be ranked ahead of Aiello. However, Aiello bounced back from that early loss and made it all the medal round before losing 9-6 to Nevearez. Aiello is also gaining a lot of statewide attention as evidenced by his 36th spot in the state rankings at 160s. That success certainly entitles him to at least a 6th spot in the NCS rankings. Montgomery’s Spencer Owens pinned each of his opponents on his way to taking home the championship medal from the Bay Area Invitational at 195 pounds. He also was solid at NCS last year, though he fell short of placing. In addition, he is mentioned in the official state rankings at this weight. I believe he is worthy of a 6th place in the NCS rankings. Dublin’s Zach Little just won the Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational and thus deserves a 7th spot in the rankings. Novato’s Nick Destein won the Green & Gold at 170s and thus deserves at least an 8th spot. Keep an eye out for Antioch’s Oseguera and California School for the Deaf’s Mitchell. Both made it to the NCS medal rounds and each barely missed medaling last year by just one win. Their success there certainly entitles them to some recognition in this year’s rankings even though I have not seen or heard of their success this year.
170
Dylan Morris – Redwood [160], Sr.
Orion Cosce – Hoopa [160], Sr.
Louis Samuel – Las Lomas [160], Sr.
David Kim – Mission San Jose [160], Sr.
Chris Berg – Ukiah [145], Sr.
Troy Gomez – Granada [152], Sr.
Stony Timmons – Upper Lake [170], Sr.
Chris Wellbrook – Campolindo [160], Sr.
Redwood’s Stanford-bound senior, Dylan Morris, had an excellent post season last year. In addition to taking 3rd at 160 as a junior, he also placed 6th as a sophomore at NCS. In fact, other than his one loss (6-2) in the NCS last year to the eventual champion, he rolled over almost all his opponents. He then went 4-2 at state and made it to the best of 16 (with his only losses being to the eventual 2nd and 8th placers). He also just won the Golden Gate tournament at 182 pounds with two pins and two technical falls. He is currently ranked 8th in the official state rankings. He is in my opinion the clear choice for the top rank in the NCS. Moreover, at NCS last year Morris defeated my number two ranked wrestler, Hoopa’s Orion Cosce (6-4). But Cosce is also very solid. In addition to placing 5th last year at 160s and finishing with a solid record of 37-13, he just won the McKinleyville tournament at this weight (and was named the most outstanding heavyweight at the tournament) and is ranked 20th in the state. I believe he is worthy of the second spot in the rankings. Las Lomas’ Samuel is currently ranked 37th in the state at 170s, though for some reason he did not wrestle with his team at the Bay Area Invitational. I nevertheless rank him 3rd. David Kim has moved up the state rankings and has recently captured the 40th spot there, likely because of his solid performance at the Newark Rotary Invitational where he was crowned champion and by taking 5th at Chuckchansi. I therefore give him a 4th spot in the NCS rankings. Ukiah’s Chris Berg did not wrestle with his team at the Green & Gold. However, he went 4-2 last year at NCS and is honorably mentioned in the state rankings. I will give him a 5th spot for now. Granada’s Troy Gomez just won the Bay Area Invitational at 182s and I thus give him the 6th spot in the NCS rankings. Timmons just won the McKinleyville tournament at 182s and deserves some recognition for it. I thus give him a 7th in the rankings. Campolindo’s Wellbrook had a very solid performance at the Bay Area Invitional as well, taking home 2nd place at 182. I give him the 8th spot in the rankings as a result. Keep an eye out for Del Norte’s Eric Turner who took 2nd at the McKinleyville tournament.
182
Ricardo Sandoval – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Anthony Navarro – Rancho Cotate [170], Sr.
Gabe Tulchinsky – Freedom [160], Jr.
David Permito – James Logan [170], Sr.
Taryn Christiansen – El Molino [182], Jr.
Aaron Pease – De la Salle [160], Jr.
Ryan Kates – San Marin [182], Sr.
Dalton Barnes – Heritage [170], Sr.
This is a very solid weight class. Leading the charge is Healdsburg’s Ricardo Sandoval, who is the defending NCS champion at 171 pounds and is currently ranked 12th in state at in this weight. Moreover, he defeated my number 2 ranked wrestler, Rancho Cotate’s Navarro, in the NCS finals last year (9-1). And thus he is clearly the number one ranked wrestler at this weight in the NCS. Rancho Cotate’s Anthony Navarro is clearly the number two wrestler. He is the defending NCS runner-up at 171 pounds and is currently ranked 15th in the state at this weight. I did not, however, see him wrestle with his team at the Green & Gold. Nevertheless, at NCS he defeated my third ranked wrestler, Freedom’s Gabe Tulchinsky, who placed 5th in NCS as a sophomore, and 8th as a freshman. Moreover, Tulchinsky is currently ranked 17th in the state at this weight and just won the Pirate Invitational at Pittsburg at this weight. In the 4th spot is James Logan’s David Permito, who placed 6th at NCS last year, losing a close one to Tulchinsky in their final match (5-3). He is currently ranked 35th in the state at this weight and is certainly in the running for a high NCS medal. El Molino’s Taryn Christiansen is also very good as evidenced by his 2nd place at this weight at the Chukchansi Invitational as well as placing 7th at NCS last year. His success has earned him a 36th in the state rankings at 170s (though I have heard he is at 182s to stay) and a 5th in the NCS rankings. I would suspect he follows through on that success this year and contends for a trip to the state championships. As a sophomore, DLS’s Pease placed 8th last year at 171 in the NCS tournament and is currently ranked 37th in the state at this weight. I have not heard yet what he has done this year. But based on his prior success, I rank him 6th in the NCS. San Marin’s Ryan Kates had a very good NCS tournament last year as well and just was crowned the Green and Gold champion at this weight. He thus has earned some respect in the rankings and I give him the 7th spot. Barnes also wrestled well last year at NCS and his only losses were to the wrestlers that placed 3rd and 6th. Moreover, he placed 4th at the Bay Area, though he forfeited his last match after losing earlier to the very solid Owens of Montgomery. I believe he deserves an 8th spot. Keep an eye out for Upper Lake’s Zlex Kranich, who took 2nd at 195s at McKinleyville.
195
Chumkaur Dhaliwal – James Logan [182], Sr.
Jason Price – Hoopa [170], Jr.
Max Manoukian – Healdsburg [160], Sr.
Dakota Album – Maria Carillo [182], Jr.
Cal Dutrow – Foothill [182], Sr.
Max Oswald – Ukiah [170], Sr.
Shawn Larsen – Clear Lake [170], Sr.
Oscar Rios – Windsor [170], Jr.
Top dog must be James Logan’s Chumkaur Dhaliwal, who not only placed 5th last year at NCS (missing the opportunity to go on to the state tournament by a mere 2 points), but who is also ranked 12 in the state at this weight and who just won the Curt Mettler at 220s. He is clearly the top ranked wrestler at 195 lbs in my opinion. As I mentioned previously, to settle the matter, Dhaliwal pinned my second ranked wrestler in their final match of NCS, Hoopa’s Jason Price. However, Price should nevertheless not be taken lightly. In addition to placing 6th last year at 189 lbs, he just won the McKinleyville Tournament at 220s and is ranked 18th in the state at this weight. He therefore is clearly deserving of a 2nd place in the rankings. In the third spot is Healdsburg’s Max Manoukian. He placed 8th last year at 189 lbs. In the fourth spot is the very impressive Dakota Album of Maria Carillo. I watched this wrestler pretty much run over all his competitors at Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational this past weekend on his way to being crowned champion at 220s, though I am hearing he will drop down to 195 pounds. This kid is very solid and I would expect to see him shine when he makes this weight. Next is Foothill’s Cal Dutrow who wrestled well at NCS both during his junior (with a season record of 34-17) and sophomore years. Although he placed neither year, I would suspect he is in the running this year for a medal. Ukiah’s Oswald was recently crowned champion of the Green & Gold at 195s and thus deserves a 6th spot. Clear Lake’s Shawn Larsen and Windsor’s Oscar Rios also wrestled well last year, each missing the medal round by just one match. Keep an eye out for Upper Lake’s Zlex Kranich, who took 2nd at this weight at the McKinleyville tournament, and Liberty’s Zach Hanson who wrestled well last year.
220
William Walker - De la Salle [N/A], Sr.
Kyle Clark – Antioch [195] Jr.
Alex Encarnacion – College Park [195], Sr.
Griffith Gates – Foothill [195], Jr.
Barrick Gabbitas – Del Norte [182], Sr.
Jhordy Figueroa – Terra Linda [182], Sr.
Joey Valdez – Upper Lake [170], Jr.
Billy Marshall – Casa Grande [195], Sr.
This is looking to be a very challenging weight with several returning NCS medalists. Of those, Cal Poly bound wrestler from De la Salle, William Walker, is without a doubt the top ranked wrestler at this weight (or any other weight he decides to go). He not only won our section last year at 215, he then placed 7th in the state (with his only losses at state coming to the wrestlers that took 1st and 3rd). As if that were not enough reason to rank him first in the NCS I would note that he is currently ranked 2nd in the entire state and is well within reach of winning the state championship medal. Antioch’s Clark is also returning from an excellent junior year, wherein he not only took second in the section (losing only to Walker 7-2 in the finals), but also winning several regular season medals. He is currently ranked 10th in the state. College Park’s Encarnacion placed third last year in the NCS at 215s and won the Newark Rotary Invitational. Moreover, he is currently ranked 14th in the state. As I mentioned previously, although Encarnacion lost to Foothill’s Gates in the early rounds of the NCS tournament, he then defeated him in the consolation finals with an overtime pin. So based on that performance, Encarnacion must be ranked ahead of Gates. But Gates should certainly not be taken lightly. In addition to taking 4th place last year at NCS he is currently ranked 15th in the state. Del Norte’s Barrick Gabbitas also had a great junior year. In addition to taking 8th at NCS last year at the 215 weight class, he won numerous regular season tournaments. However, he has not yet competed as far as I know of. Perhaps there is a football season that he is finishing up. Regardless, he is currently ranked 29th in the state and I would expect to see Gabbitas challenge for a trip to the state championships this year. Terra Linda’s Figueroa missed medaling at NCS last year by two win. However, he just won the Green & Gold tournament at this weight. For now I see him in the 6th spot in the rankings. Upper Lake’s Valdez was stopped one match away from the medal round at last year’s NCS tournament by the very solid Encarnacion. Prior to that loss, he won 3 matches in the section tournament. So far this year he has wrestled well, including a 3rd place finish at McKinleyville and thus he deserves to be recognized with a 6th place in the rankings. Casa Grande’s Billy Marshall took 2nd at Green & Gold and thus I will give him an 8th spot in the NCS rankings. Keep an eye out for Amador Valley’s Travis Chubb, who won the McNair Invitational.
285
Eric Chavez – Healdsburg [N/A], Sr.
Quentin Bowlds – Willits [220], Sr.
Shawn Benavente – Cal. School of Deaf [195], Sr.
Dylan Walsh – Las Lomas [285], Jr.
Josh Hanson – Eureka [195],
Isaac Terry – Del Norte [220], Sr.
Elmer Hamidy – Newark Memorial [195], Sr.
Ethan Smith - Clayton Valley [N/A], Sr.
Healdsburg’s Eric Chavez is a returning state qualifier (where he won one match), having placed 4th in the NCS last year. He is also ranked 11th in the state. As the highest returner placer from last year’s NCS tournament, he clearly deserves to be ranked top dog for now. Willits’ Quentin Bowlds made it all the way to the semi-finals last year in the NCS and eventually placed 6th in that tournament. On top of that success, he just took 2nd at the McKinleyville Tournament where his only loss was to the wrestler ranked 4th in the state – a match that Bowlds lost by a close score of 1-0. Bowlds is also currently ranked 20th in the state. He thus deserves to be ranked 2nd. Benavente took home the 8th place medal from last year’s NCS tournament and finished the season with a record of 23-6. I have not yet seen his results from any competitions this year. But based on his success last year, and based on his current ranking of 33rd in the state, he deserves at least an 3rd spot in the NCS rankings. Next is Las Lomas’ Dylan Walsh. This kid was solid the entire year last year, though he fell short at NCS by a single match. He took 3rd recently at Castro Valley’s Bay Area Invitational where his only loss was to the non-NCS champion. I see him at 4th. I had initially ranked Del Norte’s Isaac Terry next in the rankings based on his first place finish at his school’s Battle on the Border tournament and based on the fact that he advanced pretty far in the NCS tournament last year. I have heard great things about this heavyweight wrestler and thus thought he was deserving of a 5th spot. But as good as he is, he lost to Eureka’s Josh Hanson at the McKinleyville tournament and thus Hanson must be ranked ahead of Terry. Newark Memorial’s Elmer Hamidy also had some success last year at NCS and took 3rd at his school’s tournament. Clayton Valley’s Ethan Smith is also very good and came close to medaling last year. I give him an 8th in the rankings. Again, as this is a weight class that saw so many strong performers from last year graduate, we will just have to wait and see how the competition fairs during the early part of the season in order to solidify the rankings. But for now, keep your eye on Justin Siena’s Michael Deely who also had a lot of success last year, as well as Hoopa freshman Robert Dorgan, who had a solid performance at Del Norte’s Battle of the Border tournament.