CIF State Wrestling Championships: Hesperia's Valdez places 7th in the 113-pound division

The CIF State Wrestling Championships action at the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, wrapped up Saturday night with one local wrestler reaching the podium.

There were 12 total wrestlers from the High Desert — nine boys and three girls — that competed in Bakersfield. Five of them, three boys and two girls, are returning state qualifiers from last season.

Hesperia’s Paulo Valdez, Sultana’s Rocky Humphrey Jr. and Oak Hills’ Charles King were all returning qualifiers on the boys side. On the girls side, Barstow’s Mariah Rodriguez and Sultana’s Savannah Etheridge are the two athletes that made another trip to Bakersfield.

For the second straight season, Valdez, a junior from Hesperia, placed at the state tournament.

Valdez reached the 113-pound division's podium after scoring a 6-1 decision over Elijah Valencia, of Merced, in the seventh-place match. He finished in sixth place last season as a sophomore in the 106-pound division.

Valdez was the No. 6 seed in the division and began the tournament with a technical fall over Palo Alto’s James Otuhvia in the first round. Valdez reached the quarterfinals after scoring a 4-2 decision over Del Oro's Siraj Sidhu in the second round.

In the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, Valdez came up just short in a 4-3 decision against St. John Bosco's Sean Willcox.

Valdez and Willcox, the No. 3 seed in the division, have squared off against each other twice this season. Back in December, Valdez cruised to an 8-2 decision over Willcox in the title match at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Willcox got revenge over Valdez at the Doc Buchanan Invitational a couple of weeks later when he pulled off a 5-1 decision.

Valdez also beat Willcox at the Reno Tournament of Champions in 2022.

In the consolation bracket, Valdez scored a 3-1 decision against Gilroy's Dominic Boznaic, and then followed that up with a 12-4 loss by majority decision against Clovis' Thunder Lewis.

To get to Bakersfield, Valdez took first place at the Mojave River League Finals, first place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and first place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

Here’s a full breakdown of how our local wrestlers fared in Bakersfield during the tournament.

More: Excelsior’s Itzel Padilla earns the 135-pound title at the CIF-SS Masters Meet

More: Hesperia's Paulo Valdez earns the 113-pound title at the CIF-SS Masters Meet

BOYS RESULTS

106 pounds — Daniel Mendoza, Victor Valley, sophomore

Mendoza began the tournament against Zachary Hoover, the No. 5 seed in the division, in a pig tail round matchup. Mendoza lost by pinfall at the 1:53 mark.

In the consolation bracket, Mendoza pinned Brawley's Benjamin Limentang at the 3:43 mark in the pig tail round. But his run came to an end in the first round as he lost by pinfall against South's Isaiah Lara.

How he got to Bakersfield: Mendoza took first place at the Desert Sky League Finals, third place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

113 pounds — Cael Humphrey, Sultana, freshman

Humphrey began the tournament by losing an 8-4 decision to Vacaville’s Elijah Almarinez, the No. 10 seed in the division, in the first round.

In the consolation bracket, Humphrey began his run by scoring a 10-5 decision over South Torrance's Caden Garriot. He followed that up with a pinfall at the 2:54 mark over Arvin's Santana Ugues.

In the consolation bracket, Humphrey began his run by scoring a 10-5 decision over South Torrance's Caden Garriot and then scored a pinfall at the 2:54 mark over Arvin's Santana Ugues. Humphrey followed that up by scoring a 9-2 decision over Lynbrook's Neale Pathak.

Humphrey's impressive run came to an end after losing by majority decision against Gilroy's Dominic Bozanic.

How he got to Bakersfield: Humphrey took second place at the Mojave River League Finals, second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

120 pounds — Rocky Humphrey Jr., Sultana, junior

Humphrey began the tournament with a 9-3 decision loss to Del Oro's Christian Perez.

Humphrey began the consolation bracket with a 6-3 decision over Brawley's Ricardo Ortiz. He followed that up with a 10-8 decision over Cajon's Elias Casas.

Humphrey's run came to an end as he lost a 6-3 decision against Birmingham's Arno Vardanyan.

How he got to Bakersfield: Humphrey took first place at the Mojave River League Finals, first place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fourth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

126 pounds — Andrew Diaz, Hesperia, senior

Diaz began the tournament against Poway’s Billy Townson, the No. 3 seed in the division, in the first round and lost an 18-3 technical fall.

In consolation bracket action, Diaz scored a 7-0 decision over Vacaville's Wyatt Sandoval.

Diaz's run came to an end in the following round as he lost an 11-6 decision to Granite Hills' Jayson Suetos.

How he got to Bakersfield: Diaz took first at the Mojave River League Finals, second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fourth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

138 pounds — Chris Guerrero, Hesperia, senior

Guerrero drew a pig tail matchup against Placer’s Enzo Gallo to begin the tournament. Guerrero pinned Gallo at the 5:10 mark.

He lost by pinfall to Aiden Simmons, of Bakersfield, in the first round.

In the consolation bracket, Guerrero pulled off a 7-5 decision over Benicia's Vicente Rodarte. Guerrero's run came to an end after just losing a 5-4 decision against St. Francis' Matthew Luna.

How he got to Bakersfield: Guerrero took first place at the Mojave River League Finals, second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

144 pounds — Angel Salgado, Hesperia, senior

Salgado began the tournament in the pig tail round against Everett Alvarez’s Jacob Perez. Salgado scored a pinfall at the 5:12 mark.

In the first round, Salgado lost a 10-4 decision against Bakersfield's Braden Priest, the No. 12 seed in the bracket.

Salgado began the consolation bracket action with a pinfall at the 2:01 mark over South's Romeo Barahona.

Salgado's run came to an end after being pinned by Chaminade's Slava Shahbazyan.

How he got to Bakersfield: Salgado took first place at the Mojave River League Finals, second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

144 pounds — Avian Singh, Victor Valley, senior

Singh had the toughest draw of any of the local boy wrestlers and lost by pinfall to Buchanan’s Joseph Toscaco, the No. 1 seed in the division, in the first round.

In the consolation bracket, Singh began his run with a 9-1 majority decision over Servite's Joshua Valdez. Singh made quick work in the following round as he pinned St. John Bosco's Tigran Greyan in 37 seconds.

Singh's run came to an end after losing a 6-3 decision against Palm Desert's Dylan Guillermo.

How he got to Bakersfield: Singh took first place at the Desert Sky League Finals, first place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fourth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

215 pounds — Charles King, Oak Hills, senior

King began the tournament in the pig tail round against Merced’s Anthony Nixon and scored a 3-1 decision.

King lost by pinfall in the first round against Buchanan's Alec Dansby.

King began the consolation bracket by scoring a pinfall over Willows' Adolfo Reyes at the 4:13 mark.

King's bid came to an end in his first match in the consolation bracket as he lost to Chaminade's Kevin Rodriguez, the No. 8 seed in the division.

How he got to Bakersfield: King took first place at the Mojave River League Finals, third place at the CIF-SS Inland Division Individual Champions and fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

GIRLS RESULTS

135 pounds — Itzel Padilla, Excelsior wrestling, sophomore

Padilla started the tournament in the first round against St. Francis’ Maggie Tobacco. Padilla got off to a fast start on the mat and pinned Tobacco in 53 seconds.

Padilla scored another pinfall in the second round against Noelle Alexander, of Maria Carrillo, at the 3:39 mark.

In the quarterfinals, Padilla was pinned by Whitney's Alex Maday, the No. 4 seed in the bracket.

Padilla's bid came to an end after her first match in the consolation bracket. Padilla lost a 6-5 decision to Colony's Renice Gonzalez, ending her run.

How she got to Bakersfield: Padilla took first place at the Desert Sky League Finals, first place at the CIF-SS Central Division Individual Champions and first place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

155 pounds — Mariah Rodriguez, Barstow, senior

Rodriguez drew a first-round matchup against Gunn’s Angelina Jiang, and came up a bit short losing a 6-4 decision.

Rodriguez's bid came to an end in the first round of the consolation bracket as she lost by pinall against Jaslynn Aken, of American Canyon.

How she got to Bakersfield: Rodriguez took first place at the Desert Sky League Finals, first place at the CIF-SS Central Division Individual Champions and third place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

235 pounds — Savannah Etheridge, Sultana, senior

Etheridge had the toughest draw of the three local girls competing in Bakersfield as she took on the No. 1 seed Rocklin’s Gemma Templeman in the first round. Etheridge lost a pinfall at the 5:23 mark.

In the first round of the consolation bracket, Etheridge pinned Lesly Angel, of Calexico, in 36 seconds. Etheridge advanced after Thousand Oak's Cherish Hall-Taoai defaulted, and then she pinned River Valley's Talia Katzenberger at the 2:12 mark.

Etheridge's run came to an end after losing a 2-0 decision against Lakewood's Ashley Wafer.

How she got to Bakersfield: Etheridge took first place at the Mojave League Finals, third place at the CIF-SS Central Division Individual Champions and third place at the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Daily schedules and results for the CIF State Wrestling Championships