Making some history, eight Oakdale Mustangs traveled to the 2018 CIF State Wrestling Championship Meet this past weekend in Bakersfield. Of the eight, four brought home medals.
Freshman Henry Porter (120), senior Jake Ryan (145), junior Gabe Martinez (170) and senior Colbey Harlan (195) all placed in the two-day tournament. As a team, Oakdale placed seventh overall having scored 111 points. Buchanan placed first with 219.
In his first season with the Mustangs, Porter finished the year on a high note as he placed second in the state in the 120-pound weight class. Entering the tournament as the 10th ranked wrestler in the state in his weight, Porter advanced to the finals by winning his first four matches, all of which were against upperclassmen. In the finals Porter squared off against the number one seed Nic Aguilar of Gilroy. Aguilar is a senior and defeated Porter 6-1.
“All the hard work has helped me achieve all of my goals this year,” Porter said. “I wrote down all of my goals in the beginning of the season and I can honestly say that every one of them was met.”
The young freshman also realized that it takes more than just an individual to make the season a success. He thanked his coaches, teammates and supporters for his memorable freshman campaign on the mats.
It has been an uphill battle for Jake Ryan. The senior has grappled with injuries during his four-year high school journey, but this year he made it to the state tournament healthy and motivated.
“This is the first time that I was 100 percent healthy and I was excited to compete in Bakersfield,” the Cal Poly-bound wrestler said.
Ryan entered the tournament as the third seed and started the tournament off with three straight victories before falling to the eventual champion, Peyton Omania of De La Salle. In the consolation round Ryan took on Bernie Truaz of Rancho Buena Vista and came up short 4-3. He then wrestled Josh Tolentino of Poway and defeated the fellow senior 9-3 to place fifth overall.
“I was excited. We all (as a team) had high expectations, as for myself, I made a few mental errors that cost me,” said Ryan.
Although his season is over, Ryan said he will take some time off to heal up, continue with his school work, go fishing and train for Cal Poly.
For the second straight year Gabe Martinez reached the state tournament. As the fifth ranked 170-pound competitor in the state, Martinez battled his way through the competition and into the finals. Martinez won his first two matches via fall and edged his next two opponents 1-0 and 2-0. In the finals Martinez met the number three ranked wrestler Trent Tracy of Frontier. Tracy defeated Martinez 10-2 in the finals.
“I wanted to compete my hardest and place in the tournament, that was my goal,” said Martinez. “Going into the finals it was nerve-racking, the lights and the amount of people there, it got to me a little, especially when it came time to shake hands.”
Senior Colbey Harlan entered the tournament undefeated and was ranked number one in the state. Harlan won his first match 5-0 and then put away three straight via fall. In the finals Harlan fell to Tony Andrade of Gilroy 3-1 for the lone loss of his senior season. He will continue his wrestling at Stanford University following graduation from OHS.
The other four wrestlers that made it to the State Meet were freshmen Brayden Abell and Clayton Bashor and juniors Ricky Torres and Cody Golding. Abell (106) went 2-2, Bashor (113) 0-2, Torres (138) 2-2 and Golding (182) 2-2 to finish their seasons.
