Buchanan puts 8 wrestlers in state semifinals to put a headlock on 4th straight team title
How dominant is the Buchanan High wrestling empire?
Even their third-place qualifier made the Final Four of the California Wrestling State Championships this weekend.
That would be Bears sophomore Rocco Contino, who stunned third-ranked Mark Caldwell of Monache at the buzzer Friday to make it eight Buchanan wrestlers who advanced to Saturday’s semifinals at Rabobank Arena.
That’s the short explanation of Buchanan’s 18-point lead (151-134) over second-place Gilroy heading into the final rounds of wrestling including the finals beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday.
None of the teams still chasing can match Buchanan’s count of eight wrestlers standing, all but guaranteeing a fourth straight state team title for coach Troy Tirapelle and friends.
LINK: Day 2 boys results, team scores
Contino is joined in the Final Four by top-seeded teammates Maximo Renteria (120) and Matt Olguin (160); second-seeded Bears Jack Gioffre (106) and Carlos Negrete (113); third-seeded Tyler Deen (138) and Jadon Martin (195); and fifth-seeded Joseph Martin (145).
The surprise isn’t that Contino won; he’s seeded sixth, and has a victory over No. 2 Christian Rodriguez of Selma this season.
The stunner is how he won. Contino trailed 5-0 early, and was down 8-4 with less than 15 seconds left in his quarterfinal match. From the bottom position, Contino flipped Caldwell to his back for a 5-point move at the buzzer to send his coaches’ corner and teammates into a frenzy.
His semifinal opponent: a rematch with Rodriguez.
Selma has five in semifinals
Rodriguez is one of five Bears who advanced to the semifinals, along with top-ranked Richard Figueroa (106), Tristan Lujan (113), Jace Luchau (152) and second-seeded Jacob Rivera.
Selma sits fourth in the team standings with 93.5 points, trailing No. 3 Clovis (126.5) The Cougars, who brought a section-best 14 wrestlers (one for each weight class) to the state meet, have three semifinalists: Brandon Paulson (120), Jacob Good (220) and Tyler Gianakopulos (182).
Other local semifinalists include Lemoore’s Wayne Joint (126), Clovis North’s Ryan Franco (132) and Bullard’s Dawson Sihavong (145).
The biggest upset of the tournament? Edison senior Kwabena Watson, seeded 16th, pinned No. 1-ranked Victor Jaquez of Bellarmine Prep-San Jose in the second round.
David White: bydw@sbcglobal.net, @bydavidwhite
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 8:11 PM.