High Desert wrestlers to keep an eye on this season

The wrestling season is officially here and over the years, the High Desert has seen a handful of wrestlers make big runs to the CIF State wrestling tournament.

Hesperia’s Paulo Valdez kept that trend going last season as he made a run to the 106-pound semifinals match, where he lost a 7-6 decision in double overtime to Buchanan’s Rocklin Zinkin, who went on to capture the state title.

Valdez is back for junior season, with two impressive state tournament runs to his name and highlights the High Desert’s list of wrestlers to watch this season.

Valdez had a huge sophomore season that saw him lose just one match before losing to Zinkin. That loss happened in the semifinals at the Tournament of Champions, in Sonora, in December 2022.

After taking third place there, Valdez had first-place finishes at the Mojave River League Finals, the CIF-Southern Section Inland Division tournament and the CIF-SS Masters Meet.

The Hesperia wrestling team is loaded with talent, as Valdez was one of three returning state qualifiers.

Here’s a list of wrestlers from the High Desert to keep an eye on, starting with a batch of returning CIF State Wrestling Championships qualifiers, along with some notes from last season.

Rocky Humphrey, Sultana, junior, 106 pounds — Second place at the MRL Finals; Second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division tournament; Fourth place at the CIF-SS Masters.

Emiliano Hernandez, Hesperia, sophomore, 113 pounds — First place at the MRL Finals; Third place at the CIF-SS Inland Division tournament; Fourth place at the CIF-SS Masters.

Hector Hernandez, Hesperia, senior, 120 pounds — First place at the MRL Finals; First place at the CIF-SS Inland Division tournament; Third place at the CIF-SS Masters.

Aaron Ramirez, Victor Valley, senior, 138 pounds — First place at the DSL Finals; Third place at the CIF-SS Inland Division tournament; Fifth place at the CIF-SS Masters.

Charles King, Oak Hills, senior, 220 pounds — First place at the MRL Finals; Second place at the CIF-SS Inland Division tournament; Second place at the CIF-SS Masters.

These wrestlers reached the podium at last year’s CIF-SS Inland Division tourney

• Andrew Diaz, senior, Hesperia, 126 pounds, third place

• Angel Morales, sophomore, Victor Valley, 285 pounds, fifth place

• Anthony Ruiz, senior, Hesperia, 285 pounds, third place

• Avian Singh, Victor Valley, senior, 145 pounds, third place

• Brent Cannon, Serrano, junior, 120 pounds, seventh place

• Cruz Duardo, Victor Valley, senior, 152 pounds, fifth place

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• Denzel Cisneros, Sultana, junior, 126 pounds, sixth place

• Dominic Tamayo, Oak Hills, junior, 145 pounds, second place

• Frankie Stevenson, Hesperia, senior, 160 pounds, fourth place

• Jayden Autry, Granite Hills, senior, 138 pounds, sixth place

• Jesse Cardona, Victor Valley, senior, 182 pounds, fourth place

• Jose Rodriguez, Victor Valley, senior, 170 pounds, fifth place

• Marcos Nava, Barstow, sophomore, 152 pounds, eighth place

• Michael Rodriguez, Victor Valley, 106 pounds, eighth place

• Ryan Collins-Kruger, Sultana, junior, 138 pounds, seventh place

• Steve Chavez, Victor Valley, junior, 195 pounds, eighth place

• Thomas Jablonski, Sultana, junior, 132 pounds, fifth place

• Xander Firm, Sultana, junior, 220 pounds, sixth place

Keep an eye on these names

• Adelanto — Brandon Allen, 144 pounds; Daylen Bell, 190 pounds; Eric Castaneda, 175 pounds; Jovan Reese, senior, 138 pounds; Manny Flores-Benitez, 132 pounds; Omar Tavira, junior, 126 pounds; Ulises Aguirre, 285 pounds

• Apple Valley — Joshua Guffey, senior, 157 pounds; Trevor Bailey, junior, 165 pounds; Troy Cisneos, junior, 215 pounds

• Barstow — Abdon Rodriguez, junior, 144 pounds; Andreas Romero, senior, 150 pounds; Paul Perez, junior, 138 pounds; Semajae Abengowe, senior, 215 pounds; Trinidad Romero, sophomore, 157 pounds

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• Excelsior — Antonio Avila, senior, 152 pounds; Frankie Guerrero, sophomore, 120 pounds; Josh Riles, senior, 132 pounds; Robert Cardoza, senior, 126 pounds

• Granite Hills — Jack Hood, sophomore, 106 pounds; Pablo Castelan, senior, 134 pounds; Matthew Oster, junior, 190 pounds

• Hesperia — Angel Salgado, senior, 120 pounds; Chris Guerrero, senior, 126 pounds; Zachary Southern, senior, 106 pounds

• Oak Hills — Jaeden Vaughner, senior, 132 pounds; Ruben Reyes, sophomore, 113 pounds; Vincent Hanna, sophomore, 106 pounds

• Serrano — Alex Alfonso, senior, 170 pounds; Brandon Beaver, junior, 160 pounds; Dylan DeLeon, junior, 132 pounds; Gilbert Vasquez, junior, 138 pounds; Marcus Ochoa, senior, 285 pounds; Matthew Carpenter-Lamb, junior, 145 pounds; Trevor McSween, junior, 150 pounds

• Silverado — Caleb Gomez, senior; Daniel Sanchez, senior, 220 pounds; Jisaiah McCormick, sophomore, 120 pounds; Jorge Caldera, senior, 285 pounds

• Sultana — Aaron Mesa, senior, 120 pounds; Pedro Trejo, sophomore, 113 pounds

• Victor Valley — Bryan Castro, 120 pounds

Daily Press reporter Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-951-6274 or JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @J0seQuintero, and on Instagram at @VVDailyPress_Sports. 

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: High Desert wrestlers to keep an eye on this season