BAKERSFIELD -- Isaiah Martinez's quest to make history hit one pebble-of-a-speed-bump, at least according to Lemoore High's nationally No. 2-ranked 160-pounder.

Mason Pengilly of Porterville and Nick Nevills of Clovis, meanwhile, extended perfect seasons, and Clovis put a third straight team title well within its grasp Friday at the CIF State Wrestling Championships at Rabobank Arena.

Martinez, who has won all but one of his state-meet matches by pin or technical fall the past two seasons while winning titles at 152 and 140 pounds, had to settle for a 16-4 major decision over Calaveras-San Andreas' Justin Brown in the Sweet 16. He rebounded with a 24-9 technical fall over Marina-Huntington Beach's Colin Navickas in the quarterfinals to keep alive his pursuit of becoming only the 17th three-time state champion in the event's 41-year history.

"I was pretty bummed I didn't get the tech in the second round," said Martinez, now 53-1 on the season entering today's semifinal against Ray Lomas of Central Catholic-Modesto. "But the guy just laid there and didn't try to get to his feet. Guys adjust to the way I wrestle and try not to get embarrassed, at least that's what I believe."

Pengilly moved to 39-0 with a 6-2 win over Oakdale's Ronnie Stevens as he guaranteed himself a state medal for the third straight year after finishing fifth at 113 last year and fourth at 103 as a freshman. Quarterfinal winners are assured a top-six finish.

"I feel like this is a great accomplishment, I am a state placer," Pengilly said. "But that's not the ultimate goal. I want to define my season as a state champion. I want to be on the big stage."

Looking to put the disappointment of a third-place finish last year -- when he entered top-ranked as the defending champion -- behind him, Nevills pinned all four of his opponents, running his season total to a school-record 42.

"I feel I am wrestling so much better than last year," said Nevills, now 48-0.

The Central Section produced 15 semifinalists in all, including Central's Adrian Camposano and Buchanan's Durbin Lloren at 106, Lemoore's Sean Williams and Wasco's Isaiah Hokit at 113, Clovis West's Michael Knoblauch at 126, Kingsburg's Javier Gasca at 132, Clovis' Jason Ladd at 145, Clovis East's Kyle Perreault and Bakersfield's Coleman Hammond at 152, Bakersfield's Bryce Martin at 170, Clovis' Adrian Salas at 182 and Wasco's Sean Medley at 220. There are 31 section competitors alive in the consolation bracket.

State No. 2-ranked Camposano, who rallied from a one-time 7-4 deficit to pull out a 12-11 win over Brawley's Vicente Elizalde in the quarters, seeks to become Central's first state champion. He'll face No. 18 Perez Perez of Windsor in the semis.

"People want a show, and I gave it to them," Camposano said. "I came here expecting to be in the finals, and I will be there."

Gasca, who was denied a spot in the state finals last season by Gilroy's Nikko Villareal, the same wrestler who denied Selma star Alex Cisneros' bid to become the second four-time champ, wants another shot at nationally No. 1-ranked 132-pound freshman sensation Aaron Pico of St. John Bosco-Bellflower.

"I want to bang with him," said Gasca, whose only loss on the season is a 10-5 decision to Pico at the Doc Buchanan Invitational finals. "I've beaten everyone else. He's got two arms and two legs just like me."

Ladd pinned Great Oak-Temecula's Carter Armendarez in 3:48 in the 145-pound quarterfinals, one of 17 falls for the Cougars and 24 wins with bonus points as they rolled up a first-day total of 114, 33.5 more than second-place Poway.

Clovis pushed through eight of its 12 qualifiers as it looks to win a third straight team title and 11th state crown overall.

"We expect to get them," Ladd said of bonus points. "That's why we push ourselves to the limit in practice."

Poway has seven wrestlers alive, including two semifinalists, so Clovis' bonus points have been crucial.

"My coaches said to get some falls because we need them for the team," Nevills said. "We're going after this team title, and Poway is on our tail. So we have to wrestle hard (today)."

Buchanan sits third in the team race with 68.5 points. The Bears lost 12 of their 13 state qualifiers on day one but can add to their point total when wrestling resumes at 9 a.m. today when Lloren, a state seventh-ranked freshman, takes on state No. 1-ranked Gionn Peralta of Vacaville in the semifinals.

"We knew we had talent, we just had to believe in ourselves," Lloren said of a team that features eight freshman or sophomore qualifiers. "We had gotten to a point where if we saw the blue singlet (of Clovis) we got down. But now we have confidence."

Going for mat glory

Vitals: The two-day championships concludes Saturday, with consolations starting at 9 a.m. and the finals at 7:15 p.m.

Site: Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield

Admission: $12 for early session, then $13 for the finals.