Did Buchanan High’s wrestling team make it three in a row at the Zinkin Classic?
Make it a three-peat for the Buchanan High wrestling team at the 16th annual Zinkin Classic.
The Bears – the two-time defending CIF State champions and top-ranked by The California Wrestler this season, totaled 244.5 points, while runner-up Selma had 176.0 after two days of bouts wrapped up Saturday.
Fifty-nine teams and about 600 wrestlers, including some from Oregon and Nevada, took part in competition across 14 weight classes, tournament director Lonnie Nash said.
Selma is No. 2 in The California Wrestler state rankings, and the tournament drew 11 Top 25 teams in all.
Winning individual titles for Buchanan:
▪ 132: Ethan Leake won by decision over state No. 12-ranked Marcos Polanco of Bishop Amat-La Puente, 5-3. Leake is ranked third at 126.
▪ 182: Top-ranked Anthony Montalvo defeated state No. 5 Guillermo Escobedo of Bishop Amat by major decison, 11-2.
▪ 220: Trevor Ervin, fourth-ranked but a verbal commitment to play football at Air Force, won by fall over Preston Cobabe of Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills in 55 seconds.
285 Seth Nevills wins by fall at 2:14 over Ryan Higginbotham of Modesto Christian. @NevillsSeth takes 1st place at the 2017 Zinkin Classic!
— Clovis Wrestling (@ClovisWrestling) December 23, 2017
State top-ranked 285-pounder Seth Nevills of Clovis High, meanwhile, won by fall over No. 8 Ryan Higginbottom of Modesto Christian in 2:14 at 285.
Other central San Joaquin Valley wrestlers who won individual titles:
▪ Second-ranked Devin Murphy, Clovis North, 120
▪ Fourth-ranked Ryan Franco, Clovis North, 126
▪ Sixth-ranked Jace Luchau, Selma, 152
▪ Top-ranked Christian Rodriguez, Selma, 170
▪ Fourth-ranked Jacob Good, Clovis, 195
Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, @agalaviz_TheBee
Coming up
A look at the big wrestling events in the 2017-18 high school season:
- Jan. 5-6: Doc Buchanan Invitational, all day at Clovis High
- Jan. 25: Buchanan at Clovis, Tri-River dual, 5:30 p.m.
- Feb. 9: Tri-River Championships, all day at Buchanan
- Feb. 16-17: Central Section Championships, all day at Lemoore
- Feb. 23-24: Masters Championships, all day at North
- March 2-3: CIF State Championships, all day at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield
ZINKIN CLASSIC
First-place matches at Buchanan High
- 106: Richard Figueroa, Selma, over Carlos Negrete, Clovis North, dec 7-0.
- 113: Aaron Nagao, Esperanza, over Tristan Lujan, Selma, dec 4-2.
- 120: Devin Murphy, Clovis North, over Josh Poore, Buchanan B, dec 7-2
- 126: Ryan Franco, Clovis North, over Antonio Margiotta, Las Lomas, MD 12-1.
- 132: Ethan Leake, Buchanan, over Marcos Polanco, Bishop Amat), dec 5-3.
- 138: Mikey Mello, Oak Ridge, over Dawson Sihavong, Bullard, fall 5:15.
- 145: Peyton Omania, De La Salle, 1, Sr. over Brett Villarreal, Buchanan, dec 3-1.
- 152: Jace Luchau, Selma, over Chris Gaxiola, Buchanan, dec 4-2.
- 160: Noah Blake, Del Oro, over Tracey Hunter, Bullard B, dec 5-3.
- 170: Christian Rodriguez, Selma, over Mark Cardwell, Monache, fall 8:30.
- 182: Anthony Montalvo, Buchanan, over Guillermo Escobedo, Bishop Amat, MD 11-2.
- 195: Jacob Good, Clovis, over Breck Jeffus, Turlock, fall 3:26.
- 220: Trevor Ervin, Buchanan, over Preston Cobabe, Oak Ridge, fall 0:55.
- 285: Seth Nevillis, Clovis, over Ryan Higginbotham, Modesto Christian, fall 2:14.
This story was originally published December 23, 2017 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Did Buchanan High’s wrestling team make it three in a row at the Zinkin Classic?."