Buchanan wins fifth straight state wrestling title; Renteria and Figueroa get three-peats
Buchanan High is still the emperor of California high school boys wrestling and two Fresno-area wrestlers completed three-peats as the state meet wrapped up in Bakersfield.
Juniors Maximo Renteria of Buchanan and Richard Figueroa of Selma each won a third straight state title in finals Saturday night at Mechanics Bank Arena, putting them in line for history next year as seniors.
Three other Fresno-area wrestlers won championships: Tristan Lujan of Selma, Giano Petrucelli of Clovis and Cristelle Rodriguez of Buchanan. Ten Fresno-area boys and three girls advanced to Saturday night’s championship bouts.
Three of the 14 boys finals were all-Fresno-area affairs.
Buchanan reiterated why it calls its program “The Empire.”
The Bears had 10 semifinalists and four finalists and totaled 261 points, third-most in state meet history, to wrap up their fifth straight team championship. With six overall (Buchanan first won in 2006), the Bears are one behind Calvary Chapel-Santa Ana’s total of seven.
Clovis is still the king with 13 state titles, but Buchanan pulled even with the Cougars for longest championship winning streak; Clovis’ came just prior to the Bears’ current run.
St. John Bosco-Bellflower was second with 183.5 points. Clovis, Selma and Clovis North finished 4-5-6 and Clovis West was 13th.
Three-peaters
Figueroa cruised to the 113-pound class final with two pins and two technical falls, then got pushed by Clovis North sophomore Joey Cruz before winning 5-3. Cruz, the No. 2 seed, beat No. 3 Jack Gioffre of Buchanan 5-3 in the semifinals.
Renteria finished a dominant run through 126s with a 13-2 major decision in the final; he had two pins, a technical fall and a 5-1 semifinal decision. Selma’s seventh-seeded Kimo Leia lost in the 126 semis but came back to finish third.
Four wrestlers have each won four state boys titles, The first three came from the Central Section: Seth Nevills (2015-18) and Justin Mejia (2014-17), both from Clovis, and Bakersfield’s Darrell Vasquez (1999-02). Saturday, Jesse Vasquez of Excelsior Charter-Victorville joined the club with a title at 145.
Petrucelli, Lujan win titles
Clovis’ Petrucelli completed his state meet climb by winning at 170. The Air Force commit placed all four years: sixth at 106, sixth at 113 and fourth at 132 before winning as a top-seeded senior. He decisioned No. 2 Joseph Martin of Buchanan 4-2 in the final.
In a matchup of seniors at 120, No. 2-seeded Lujan of Selma beat No. 8 Laz Maldonado of Clovis West 7-1 for the title. Maldonado upset top-seeded Carlos Negrete of Buchanan in a 2-1 quarterfinal decision; Negrete left the tournament with an injury.
Second-seeded Tyler Gianakopulos of Clovis lost the 195 final in a tiebreaker. Felipe Rodriguez of Clovis West placed fourth in the class.
Buchanan busy on podium
Buchanan had 11 medalists (top eight).
Raymond Lopez, seeded second at 106, finished second. Lopez, a junior, started the meet with three pins and an 18-15 quarterfinal win, then won his semifinal Saturday 1-0.
At 132, No. 2 Hunter Leake of Buchanan finished second. He advanced with a 3-1 semifinal decision over No. 3 Ryan Franco of Clovis North.
Other Bears who climbed the podium were Rocco Contino (third, 160), Jack Gioffre (fourth, 113), Kyler Lake (fourth, 138), Logan Gioffre (fourth, 145), Reymundo Raiz (fourth, 152), Jadon Martin (fifth, 182) and Kade Campbell (eighth, 285).
Girls: Rodriguez 2-time champ
Buchanan sophomore Cristelle Rodriguez is 2 for 2 at the state meet with another dominating run.
Rodriguez started her romp through the 111s with two pins and finished with three major-decisions, including 16-3 over fifth-seeded Valaree Ornelas of Clovis in the semis. Ornelas placed fifth.
Runners-up: Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of Monache (116) and Melanie Mendoza of Selma (121) both were seeded second and finished second. Mendoza had four pins to reach the final.
Third place: Central’s Paige Morales (101) and BaoAhn Duncan-Perez of Clovis (170) each placed third. Morales, the top seed in her weight class, showed her grit: after losing in the first round, she won seven straight in the double-elimination bracket.
Duncan-Perez bounced back with a pin after losing her semi in a tiebreaker.
This story was originally published February 29, 2020 at 1:39 PM.