San Benito 145-pounder Josh Ramirez was the lone Haybaler to
make it to Day 2 of the CIF-State Wrestling Championships last
weekend in Bakersfield
BAKERSFIELD
San Benito’s only remaining wrestler on Day 2 of the CIF-State Wrestling Championships was 145-pounder Josh Ramirez.
But needing just one more win in order to place in the top eight of his weight class, Ramirez fell just short.
Wrestling against Desmond Rios of Chico-Pleasant Valley, Ramirez lost by a narrow 10-8 decision on Saturday morning at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
“He caught was with a fireman’s carry about 15 seconds into the match,” San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli said. “He caught us right off the bat with four points.
“It’s hard to recover.”
Ramirez, the Central Coast Section champion at 145 pounds, finished the state meet with a 3-2 record.
On Friday, Ramirez reached the round of 16 when he defeated Los Banos’ Greg Hartman by a 17-3 major decision.
However, against the state’s No. 2-ranked wrestler in Alex Rodriguez of Fresno-Washington Union, Ramirez fell by an 11-7 decision in the second round.
He rebounded to win two consolation matches – defeating senior Marty Le Gaspe of Northview by fall (2:21) and senior Joey Lemond of Rancho Cucamonga by a 4-2 decision – before falling to Rios on Saturday.
“They were all good matches,” DeCarli said of the three wrestlers that competed last weekend. “I just definitely thought we left some points out there.”
Meanwhile, San Benito’s Junior Davila at 119 pounds won his opening match by a 13-8 decision over Poway’s Jesse Taylor on Friday, but lost in the round of 16 by a 4-1 decision to East Bakersfield’s Peter Gonzalez.
In the consolation bracket, Davila then downed Rodriguez’ Jon Champine 8-4, but was eliminated in the following bout with Foothill’s Chase Aura, who won by a 7-1 decision.
“He just ran into a better kid,” DeCarli said.
Davila finished with a 2-2 record.
At 160 pounds, Enrique Lucatero lost his first match to De La Salle’s Luke Sheridan, the North Coast champion, by a 10-6 decision.
Lucatero then won three straight matches in the consolation bracket – he beat Bonita Vista’s Nick Barnes 9-5, defeated Ukiah’s John Escamilla 8-4, and upended, and upset, Palo Alto’s Patrick Sheehan 4-2.
Sheehan, in fact, was the Central Coast’s No. 2-ranked wrestler, while Lucatero was No. 3.
Said DeCarli, “That was a good win for us.”
In his fourth consolation match on Friday, however, Lucatero was eliminated by Canyon Springs’ Brandon Johnson by a 9-5 decision.
The senior 160-pounder finished with a 3-2 record.
“They were all competitive,” DeCarli said. “I think there were some instances where we took ourselves out of the match.”
As a team, San Benito compiled 17 points and finished tied for 58th in the state with James Logan and Edison. Approximately 288 teams competed in Bakersfield.
Poway won the team title with 140 points, while Buchanan and Selma tied for runner-up with 125.5 points. Clovis, meanwhile, was fourth with 124 points.
Other notable team scores included Gilroy (6th, 72 points), St. Francis of Mountain View (16th, 44.5 points) and San Lorenzo Valley (25th 35 points).
