CLOVIS, CA. – The Grizzle wrestling team went down to the wire in Saturday’s California High School Association Class 3A finals at Clovis North and edged Vista del Lago out of the Sac-Joaquin Section 36-32.
Central High defeated No. 1 seed Esperanza High 39-36 after Tyler Garone (220) seal the deal with a fall of his opponent. In the semifinal round, the Grizzle took out No. 4 Turlock High 56-20 to advance to the championship match. Armando Tamayo (113), Adrian Chavez (138), Abheybir Sekhon (152), Derian Perez (170), Anthony Stimson (182), Luis Angulo (195), Brockman Morris (220), and Isa Watson (285) all earned bonus points in the match.
Central went into the final two matches of the day down 24-32, after Vista Del Lago got the fall at 195-pounds. In the 220-pound class, Central’s Tyler Garone closed the gap with a fall in the second period over Evan De Petrillo.
It was up to Isa Watson to get the fall to win the dual meet. Watson almost ended the match in the first period as he put his Vista Del Lago opponent on his back with 4 seconds left in the first period. With his opponent chosen the neutral position to start the period, Watson put his opponent on his back and pinned him 40 seconds into the period to win the match and seal the dual meet.
The state championship was the first for the Grizzle’s who compete in the Central Section.
The finals against Vista Del Lago was close the entire way. The dual meet was a back-and-forth contest between two solid teams. At the conclusion of the first seven matches, Vista Del Lago had won four matches via bonus points.
Central won the last five of the seven matches to win the dual-meet 36-32. Finishing undefeated for Central High were Adrian Chavez (132), Abheybir Sekhon (152), Derian Perez (170), Anthony Stimson (182), Tyler Garone (220), and Isa Watson (285).
Next up for Central High is postseason competition as they will attempt and punch their tickets to the prestigious CIF state tournament.