Perez, Emperors roll to Dinuba Invitational wrestling titles
Isaiah Perez rolled to the 132-pound title, winning all of his matches by fall while earning Outstanding Lowerweight Wrestler honors, to lead the host Emperors to the team championship at the Dinuba Invitational.
Perez, who is ranked No. 9 nationally by InterMat and No. 3 in the state by The California Wrestler at 132 pounds, pinned Gabriel Castaneda of Kofa-Yuma, Ariz., in 3:26 during the final Saturday at Dinuba High.
That capped a 5-0 run through the tournament that included falls over Sunnyside’s Chris Torres (5:27), Santa Ana’s David Gonzalez (1:12), Shafter’s Xavier Garcia (3:45) and El Capitan-Merced’s Alexander Caudillo (1:56).
Dinuba, which topped Kofa 267.5-216.5 for the team title, also had individual champions in Gurjet Dhanda (106), Noah Cortez (138), Fresno State recruit Jacob Wright (145), Daniel Long (152) and Tony Serna (220).
Bullard was third with 169 points and had individual champions in Michael Ortega (120) and Dawson Sihavong (126).
Other local champions included Firebaugh’s Arthuro Rivas (160), Tranquility’s Richard Gonzalez (195) and Hanford’s Armando Barcenas (285).
Soccer – McLane finished second in the Boys Premier A division of the rescheduled and reconfigured Garces Holiday Soccer Festival.
The reigning Central Section Division IV champion Highlanders (10-2-3), opened with a 5-1 win over Independence, lost to eventual champ Arvin 1-0 and beat East Bakersfield 4-0 in the six-team, round-robin event.
McLane, ranked No. 3 in the Central Section by The Fresno Bee, opens defense of the North Yosemite League title at 5 p.m. Wednesday by hosting Hoover.
Memorial won the Boys Premier B division, beating Wasco 2-1 in the final to win the eight-team bracket. The Panthers, who resume County/Metro Athletic Conference play at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Edison, also beat Tehachapi 4-1 and Templeton 3-0.
On the girls side, Tulare Western received three goals and three assists from Melani Medina during a 3-0 run to win the Premier A division.
The No. 18 Mustangs beat No. 19 Highland 1-0, No. 20 Liberty-Madera Ranchos 2-1 and Sunnyside 5-0. Sierra Levy and Stephanie Medina also contributed two goals apiece over the three games for Tulare Western.
And Mission Oak capped a big week that fueled a rise from No. 14 to No. 9 in The Bee’s section rankings by winning the Premier B division.
The Hawks beat Coast Union 8-0, East Bakersfield 7-0 and No. 15 Hanford 5-0.
Mission Oak also beat then No. 7 Bullard 3-2 in overtime Jan. 3.
The tournament was originally scheduled for Dec. 16-17 but had to be revamped because of heavy rain that made field conditions unplayable. It was pared from 165 to 47 teams and made into a single-day event.
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
Central Section boys soccer rankings
OVERALL
(Records through Jan. 7)
- 1. Clovis (14-1-0)
- 2. Golden Valley (9-2-1)
- 3. McLane (11-2-3)
- 4. Ell Diamante (10-1-2)
- 5. Fresno (9-1-0)
- 6. Buchanan (7-4-3)
- 7. Mendota (11-2-2)
- 8. Ridgeview (7-1-0)
- 9. South (9-3-6)
- 10. Edison (10-4-0)
- 11. Golden West (9-2-0)
- 12. Central (8-7-1)
- 13. Sunnyside (7-4-1)
- 14 Bullard (6-9-0)
- 15. Dinuba (8-2-4)
- 16. Independence (8-4-2)
- 17. Clovis North (6-4-1)
- 18. Centennial (5-4-0)
- 19. Kerman (11-3-1)
- 20. Clovis West (3-5-0)
DIVISIONAL
D-I: 1. Clovis, 2. Golden Valley, 3. Buchanan.
D-II: 1. El Diamante, 2. South, 3. Edison.
D-III: 1. Fresno, 2. Ridgeview, 3. Dinuba.
D-IV: 1. McLane, 2. Kerman, 3. Arvin (9-2-0).
D-V: 1. Chavez (5-1-1), 2. Sierra (8-3-0), 3. McFarland (8-7-1).
D-VI: 1. Mendota, 2. Avenal (10-2-0), 3. Strathmore (4-3-0).
Central Section Girls Soccer Rankings
OVERALL
(Records through Jan. 7)
- 1. Clovis East (6-1-1)
- 2. Clovis (9-1-2)
- 3. Clovis North (7-3-3)
- 4. Buchanan (8-3-3)
- 5. Central (10-2-1)
- 6. Clovis West (7-1-2)
- 7. Liberty-Bakersfield (7-3-3)
- 8. Stockdale (8-1-2)
- 9. Mission Oak (9-1-0)
- 10. Bullard (5-5-1)
- 11. Independence (9-4-0)
- 12. Madera South (6-8-0)
- 13. Redwood (10-4-1)
- 14. Memorial (9-5-2)
- 15. Hanford (6-2-2)
- 16. Sanger (10-4-1)
- 17. Frontier (3-0-3)
- 18. Tulare Western (9-4-1)
- 19. Highland (8-6-0)
- 20. Liberty-Madera Ranchos (5-8-0)
DIVISIONAL
D-I: 1. Clovis East, 2. Clovis, 3. Clovis North.
D-II: 1. Madera South, 2. Redwood, 3. Memorial.
D-III: 1. Mission Oak, 2. Independence, 3. Hanford.
D-IV: 1. Bakersfield Christian (8-1-1), 2. Strathmore (7-5-0), 3. Exeter (6-1-1).
D-V: 1. Fowler (12-0-1), 2. Orosi (11-4-0), 3. Sierra Pacific (4-2-0).
D-VI: 1. Frazier Mountain (6-1-1), 2. Granite Hills (6-3-1), 3. Minarets (4-4-0).
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Perez, Emperors roll to Dinuba Invitational wrestling titles."