Trio of local wrestlers top section – Saavedra, Kent No. 1 in state

Modesto High’s Israel Saavedra and Enochs’ McCoy Kent remain among the top-ranked wrestlers in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Both are No. 1 in their respective weight classes – Saavedra, the two-time state champion, now at 126, and Kent, a third-place state medalist last season, at 145. Better still, both are ranked No. 1 in California, according to thecaliforniawrestler.com.

Also enjoying a strong season is Central Catholic sophomore Daniel Abbate, top-ranked in the section at 138.

Oakdale is the top-ranked team in the section, and Pitman is ninth. Senior mainstays Nico Colunga (No. 2 at 120) and Frankie Trent (No. 2 at 182) again are poised to make major postseason runs for Oakdale.

The Mustangs also are building for the future with several promising underclassmen: sophomores Abel Garcia (No. 2 at 170), Logan Eaton (No. 3 at 113) and Jake Abeyta (No. 3 at 106), and freshman Colby Harlan (fifth at 138).

Oakdale held its own last weekend at Temecula Valley’s annual Battle for the Belt. Trent placed fourth at 182 despite a pair of 1-point losses, Eaton was sixth, and Garcia seventh.

Grace Davis senior Bobby Posades, the 184-pound champion at the Gregori Memorial last weekend, is ranked No. 3 at 182, followed in fourth by Central Catholic’s Miguel Hernandez (another winner at Gregori) and Kenneth Hamel of Merced.

Wrestler of the Week – Golden Valley’s Jacob Perry (26-8) has improved in his senior season. His performance graph gradually has pointed upward: a fourth at the Riddle at Oakdale, a third at the Morning Star at Los Banos, a second at the Mike Tamana at Modesto Junior College and a sixth at the California Coast at Aptos. That led to Gregori, where he was crowned the champion at 138 and was named the meet’s outstanding lower-weights wrestler. He won the title by avenging a loss to Livingston’s Jose Sanchez at MJC.

Olympic clinic – Olympic wrestler and TV analyst Ken Chertow is conducting two clinics on Friday at Turlock High.

Chertow, who competed in the 1988 Seoul Games, will offer instruction and other tips from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. The cost is $25 for one session and $40 to attend both. Parents are encouraged to come free of charge.

Chertow wrestled in the freestyle flyweight division at the Olympics. He went 1-2 in the double-elimation tournament. He runs Ken Chertow Gold Medal Wrestling Camps.

An All-American and former coach at Penn State, Chertow is in the Bay Area for the Arizona State-Stanford meet, which he’ll call for the Pac-12 Network. He also works for College Sports Television and the Big Ten Network.

The early clinic will be held in Turlock’s wrestling room and the second at the main gym.

For more information, call Turlock coach Tim McCabe at (626) 252-0470 or email tmccabe@turlock.k12.ca.us.

Notes – A correction from Sunday’s feature story on Enochs star Sariyah Jones: The solid Enochs girls team has been building since 2006. More than 30 girls wrestlers – including the Eagles’ first state qualifiers, Jenae Rivas and Alanna Colon – paved the way over the years. ... Buhach Colony’s Jay Johnson received the outstanding upper-weights award at Gregori after his 8-4 victory in the 197 final over Escalon’s A.J. Camerena. ... A clutch pin by senior Tanner Browning carried Golden Valley over Buhach Colony 34-33 in Central California Conference dual-meet action last week. ... Girls wrestling against the boys, though rare, still happens. Enochs’ Micaela Kent, McCoy’s sister, placed fourth at Turlock and also reached the second day of the California Coast. Micaela Kent and Katrina Guevara also have contributed wins for the Enochs boys.

This story was originally published January 22, 2015 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Trio of local wrestlers top section – Saavedra, Kent No. 1 in state."