UPDATE: Oakdale, Pitman, Turlock wrestlers headline strong performance at Masters

Turlock senior wrestler Michael Jeffus slept a lot during the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet at Delta College.

On Friday, Jeffus pinned his first two opponents in less than a minute.

“I would wake up 15 minutes before the match and get warmed up and do my thing,” Jeffus said.

Saturday was not as easy for Jeffus, but he still managed to win the 285-pound title and punch his ticket to the CIF State Meet held in Bakersfield from Feb. 21-23. The top six finishers Saturday in each division advanced to next week’s meet.

“Today, I had Justin Rentfro (Hilmar) and Levi Markey (Del Campo) and both are ranked super high in the state,” Jeffus said. “I had to get ready pretty early for them.”

Markey is ranked No. 4 by California Wrestler while Rentfro is No. 12. Jeffus is No. 2.

The red and gold of Oakdale was popular on the podium with four Mustangs winning their respective divisions, most among schools in the tournament. Oakdale finished second behind Vacaville in the team standings.

The four winners for Oakdale were: sophomore Henry Porter (132-pound), senior Ricky Torres (138-pound), senior Gabe Martinez (170-pound) and senior Cody Golding (195-pound).

“We did great and did what we were supposed to do,” Martinez said. “We lost a couple of bad matchups but we are coming next week and we are going to be come back tougher.”

Golding (No. 4), Porter (No. 4), Martinez (No. 8), and Torres (No. 8) are all ranked in the Top 10 in their divisions by CalWrestler.

Pitman had two winners with junior Izzy Tubera (113-pound) and junior Sammy Silveria (145-pound).

“It means a lot (winning),” Tubera said. “It gives me confidence going into next week. I feel like I am ready.”

Turlock junior Adrian Heras won the 126-pound title.

It was a busy day as well on the girls side at Lincoln High School with three local wrestlers taking home titles.

Turlock junior Hailey Ward (101-pound), Pitman freshman Lillian Freitas (143-pound), and Gregori senior Liliana Vergara (170-pound) all were victorious with Escalon having two second-place finishers in senior Mikayla Vega (111-pound) and junior Julia Casillas (121-pound).

Other area wrestlers to advance to the State Meet were: Gregori sophomore Ameila Velazquez (106-pound, 4th), Enochs senior Trinity Hernandez (111-pound, third) Central Valley junior Carla Martinez (131-pound, second), Oakdale junior Faalia Martinez (137-pound, second), Central Valley senior Brianna Quiroz (150-pound, second), and Oakdale junior Valerie Osborne (189-pound, third).

BOYS STATE MEET QUALIFIERS

Here are the qualifiers for this weekend’s boys CIF State Meet in Bakersfield (Feb. 21-23)

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GIRLS STATE MEET QUALIFIERS

Here are the qualifiers for this weekend’s girls CIF State Meet in Bakersfield (Feb. 21-23)

This story was originally published February 16, 2019 at 7:16 PM.

Julian A. Lopez

The Modesto Bee

562-206-9393

Julian A. Lopez has been covering local sports for The Modesto Bee since August 2018. He graduated from Arizona State in 2016 with a BA in Journalism.