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Oakdale’s Burford, Cooley among state’s elite wrestlers
OAK wrestlers 3-4
Oakdale High School wrestlers Matthew Cooley, left, and Wes Burford returned from the State Meet in Bakersfield with medals. Cooley earned third place in the state in the 285-pound (heavyweight) division while Burford battled his way to a second place overall finish in the state at 215 pounds. Photo Contributed

Eight wrestlers represented Oakdale High School at the 2026 CIF California State Wrestling Championship this past weekend. After months of training, battling through the section’s toughest competitors; these eight Mustangs traveled to Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield to compete in the prestigious tournament.

Ezekiel Hernandez, Jake Simmons, Jesse Meza, Griffin Gerber, Cody Soares, Xander Birakos, Wes Burford and Mathew Cooley earned the right to battle in Bakersfield.

Leading the way for Oakdale were the upper weights, as Wes Burford earned a silver medal, taking second place honors at 215 pounds, and Matthew Cooley captured third place honors at 285 pounds, the heavyweight division.

Senior Burford earned a first-round bye and followed up with an impressive 19-4 victory over Rocky Windrath. In the round of 16, Burford defeated Griff Lawson 3-0. In the quarterfinals Burford blanked Michael Baeza 3-0. The semifinals saw Burford defeat Brian Haran of Gilroy 4-2. The thrilling match had Burford down 1-0 heading into the third period. An escape by Burford tied the match at 1-1 with two minutes to go. A takedown less than 30 seconds later gave Burford a 4-1 advantage. With six seconds left Haran got an escape to make it 4-2.

In the finals, it was two seniors taking the mat. David Calkins Jr. of Liberty High School of Brentwood edged Burford 6-5 to take first place honors. A scoreless first period led off the drama-filled finale as Burford scored the first point of the match with an escape with 1:56 left in the second period. Calkins took a 3-1 lead with a takedown with 1:34 left in the second period. With less than a minute remaining in the second period, Burford scored another point with an escape. The third period saw Calkins Jr. further his advantage with an escape with 1:38 to go. A takedown by Burford tied it at 4-4 with 36 seconds to go. Burford was called for a technical violation with 30 seconds remaining and the match ended with an escape by Calkins to secure the title, Burford earning the state runner-up honors.

Cooley, a 285-pound junior, earned a spot on the podium as he finished in third place. A first-round bye was followed by a 15-4 win over Israel Pinzon. In the round of 16, Cooley picked up a 4-0 win over Noah Huss. In the quarterfinals, Cooley lost to Noah Larlos of Imperial. Cooley scored the first point of the match in the second period on an escape. It was a back and forth third period when Larlos took a 2-1 lead on a reversal. With 49 seconds to go Cooley regained the lead with a reversal to go up 3-2. However, a quick escape by Larlos tied the match at 3-3. In overtime, Larlos won on an escape in the second overtime period. In the consolation bracket, Cooley defeated Matthew Milner 15-0. Cooley then edged Sammy Seja 3-2. In the final match of consolation round he defeated Huss for the second time in the tournament, this time by a 4-2 final to secure his third place state medal.

Ezekiel Hernandez, a 113-pound senior for Oakdale, lost to Urlah Correa of Servite in the opening round. He lost by a 12-2 a major decision. His season came to an end when he lost to Caden Herrera in the consolation round of 32.

Senior Jake Simmons earned a first-round bye. Simmons competed in the 126-pound bracket. He fell to Jackson Humphrey of Sultana 11-2 in his first match. Simmons took a 1-0 lead into the second period but fell behind 5-2 heading into the third period. He then picked up a pair of victories in the consolation bracket before he lost 3-2 against Luke Schoch of Los Gatos.

It was an early exit for Jesse Meza, a 150-pound senior. Meza lost to Joshua Requena of Camarillo. His lone win came in the consolation round of 32 when he defeated Alan Resendiz of Skyline 3-0.

Sophomore Griffin Gerber, who battled in the 165-pound tournament, earned a first-round bye. In the next round, Gerber lost to James Curoso of Clovis 18-1. He then lost in the consolation round of 16 to Noah Soto, 22-6.

Cody Soares is a senior who drew a bye in the first round. He lost to Ashton Lassig of Temecula Valley 8-2 in the round of 32. He then defeated Jonathan Muxlow 10-5 in the following round. His high school career came to an end when he lost to Keshaun White 17-5.

Xander Birakos, at 190 pounds, earned a first-round bye. The OHS junior defeated Quentin Maumoynier 10-1 to advance to the round of 16. There, he lost to Dom Dotson 21-5. Birakos picked up a consolation victory over Raiden Bishop 7-2; however, his season came to an end as he fell to Dylan Natceli 8-4 in the next round.