Clovis’ Mejia goes for 4th state wrestling title against unusually stout field

If Justin Mejia equals the greatest individual achievement in California high school wrestling history this weekend, he’ll have earned it the hard way.

Standing between the Clovis High senior and a record-tying fourth title at the CIF State Wrestling Championships – which begin Friday and conclude Saturday at Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena – is one of the most accomplished groups assembled into one of the 14 weight divisions in recent memory.

Mejia’s quest to join Bakersfield’s Darrell Vasquez (1999-2002) as the only four-time champions in the history of a single-division tournament launched in 1973 is the marquee attraction of what’s expected to be a banner weekend for the Central Section. Other highlights include top-ranked Buchanan’s bid to repeat as team champion, attempts for second straight individual titles by Buchanan’s Matthew Olguin and Ethan Leake, Bakersfield’s Navonte Demison and Clovis’ Seth Nevills, and 16 top-two seeded wrestlers.

Clovis coach Steve Tirapelle said Mejia’s task is huge: “It’s a very deep, tough weight class. It’s probably the toughest weight in the tournament, which is surprising. Usually, people try to avoid a defending champion.”

Not this time.

The state top-ranked and national No. 3 Mejia will chase a fourth gold medal in a 44-man, 126-pound weight division featuring nine other previous state medalists, including national No. 9 Isaiah Perez of Dinuba, No. 18 Jaden Abas of Rancho Bernardo and No. 19 Robert Garcia IV of Selma.

Poway’s Chase Zollman, Pitman-Turlock’s Adam Velasquez, Buchanan’s Tyler Deen, Bellarmine-San Jose’s Isaiah Palomino, Orland’s Enrique Landeros and Bakersfield’s Izzak Olejnik have also previously medaled at a state meet. The group has combined for 15 state medals.

By comparison, the 120-pound division features seven returning medalists who have combined for eight medals, including reigning 113-pound champ Leake. The 132-pound division has five returning medalists who have combined for eight medals with no reigning champion.

Not that the competition worries Mejia, who captured the 106-pound title as a freshman, 113 as a sophomore, 120 as a junior and has a career record of 163-1 entering the state meet. Vasquez was 201-7 in his four-year career.

“I had the opportunity to go 120, but I like a challenge,” said Mejia, who is 33-0 on the season. “I want to compete and wrestle the best. It doesn’t bug me having them in the same weight as me. I know it’s going to be a challenge, every state tournament is. But I’ve just got to go out and wrestle.”

Mejia is battled tested against several of his top competitors, going a combined 6-0 this season against Perez, Garcia, Abas and Deen, including a 4-3 victory over Perez in the semifinals and a 3-2 win against Garcia in the finals at Masters last weekend. Mejia beat Abas 6-0 during the Doc Buchanan final in a rematch of last season’s state 120-pound final, which Mejia won by pin in 3:35 over the son of former Fresno State star Gerry Abas.

“The more you wrestle them, the more difficult it is to beat them, that’s the nature of our sport,” Tirapelle said. “But I have faith in him. He can do it. I’ve seen him compete under pressure, seem him compete when it means something. When he needs more, he’s got it.”

Only three previous wrestlers have reached the finals with the opportunity to win a fourth state title: Independence-San Jose’s Jacob Palomino, Vasquez and Selma’s Alex Cisneros✔.

Palomino lost to Vasquez as the Bakersfield star won his third title in 2001, Vasquez beat Clovis’ Jason Williams for his fourth title in 2002, and Cisneros let a 3-0 lead in the final 9 seconds slip away in a 5-3 loss to Gilroy’s Nikko Villarreal in 2012.

Regardless of how Mejia does this weekend, one of the nation’s most coveted college recruits is headed to Illinois, where he hopes to emulate former Lemoore star Isaiah Martinez and become an NCAA champion.

“I set this goal a long time ago,” Mejia said. “It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time. It would be great to end with my fourth state title, but if it doesn’t go my way, I’ve just got to keep wrestling. I’ve got bigger things I want to do still.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Clovis’ Mejia goes for 4th state wrestling title against unusually stout field."