12 Stanislaus District wrestlers win individual titles at section’s Masters Meet

Oakdale junior Brayden Abell wanted to make up for last year’s performance.

Abell, who was the No. 1 seed at the 2019 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Championships, was upset in the semifinals.

On Saturday, the No. 7 ranked 113-pound wrestler in the state by the California Wrestler, won his weight division at Saturday’s Masters Championships at the Stockton Arena.

“I just wanted to do my best,” Abell said. “I am going to celebrate tonight and maybe tomorrow before I start focusing on the state championships.”

The top six finishers in each weight class qualified for the CIF State Championships, which begin Thursday at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield and conclude on Feb. 29.

Abell was one of 12 Stanislaus District (six boys and six girls) wrestlers who won individual championships on Saturday and Oakdale finished in second place as a team, six points behind Vacaville.

The other five boys winners were: Michael Torres (Oakdale, 106-pounds), Jonathan Hernandez (Oakdale, 120), Adrian Heras (Turlock, 132), Ceasar Garza (Oakdale, 145), and Kendall La Rosa (Pitman, 160).

Davis junior Carson Prim qualified for the state championships for the second year in a row with a sixth place performance in the 126-pound weight division.

“It’s exciting,” Prim said. “I am going to work on my conditioning before next week.”

This year’s championships were the first where the boys and girls both competed in the arena.

Turlock senior Hailey Ward won her fourth straight masters title at 101 pounds, although this title felt a little different since her brother, Ethan, a freshman at Turlock, qualified for state with a third-place finish at 106 pounds.

“It was nerve-racking,” said Ward about her final masters tournament. “I am going to go out to eat and celebrate with my family.”

Pitman sophomore Lilly Freitas won a masters and state championship at 143 pounds last year but moved up a weight class to 150 this year.

Freitas said her focus on the tournament was getting through matches quickly.

En route to an individual title, Freitas pinned all four opponents by a combined 4 minutes, 22 seconds.

She said she wants to work on her “foot speed” before the state championships and win the “Champion of Champions”, which is given to the top male and female wrestler of the entire tournament.

The other four Stanislaus District girls champions were: Lilly Avalos (Pitman, 106), Faalia Martinez (Central Catholic, 137), Katelyn Cardoza (Ripon, 143), and Valerie Osborne (Oakdale, 170).

Stanislaus District Wrestlers who qualified for State Championships

This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 7:48 PM.

Julian A. Lopez

The Modesto Bee

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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.