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State wrestling meet yields one Oakdale medalist
mustangs

The ultimate goal for high school wrestlers is to compete in the State Meet and for seven Oakdale High School grapplers, their hard work, dedication and determination paid off as they competed at Bakersfield this past weekend.

The state championship meet began on Thursday, Feb. 22 and wrapped up on Saturday, Feb. 24. Those Mustangs that made the trip were Eziequel Vela (126 pounds), Jesse Meza (132), Gideon Gerber (157), Carlos Garcia (165), Wes Burford (190), Elias Corona (215) and Emilo Johnson (285).

The only Mustang to medal in the state tournament was Corona, as he placed eighth in his division. He defeated Ethan Naus of Frontier 4-0 and followed that up with a 2-0 win over Jayden TadeoGosal of JFK. In the quarterfinals he defeated Ryland Whitworth 9-1. In the seventh-place match Diego Morales defeated Corona 5-2, putting the Oakdale 215-pounder into the eighth-place spot.

At 126 pounds, Vela lost to Surdor Usmohov of Mira Mesa in the round of 32; 10-4. In the consolation bracket Vela defeated Pablo Adame of Matilda Torres 12-2. However, he lost to Mateo Ochoa of Martin Luther King 4-3.

In the round of 32, Meza lost in the 132-pound bracket to Leo Maestas of Clovis West 18-2. Meza regrouped and edged Aiden Chur of Granite Hills 4-3. His weekend came to an end when he lost to Ryan Espiritu of Vacaville 5-0.

At 157 pounds, Gerber defeated Jase Martin of Chico 9-2. In the round of 16 Gerber fell to Christopher Creason of El Diamante 18-7. In the consolation Gerber came away with a 2-0 win over Cash Byington of Sonora but then fell to Antonio Aramburu of Corna Del Mar.

Garcia, at 165 pounds, lost to Lewis Crumwell of Modoc 10-7. Garcia picked up a win over Alexander Webster of Folsom 3-2 and then lost to Aliaksandr Kikiniou of Poway 3-2.

Burford, at 190 pounds, started his day off with a 3-2 win over Daniel Antiyan of Granada Hills. Burford suffered a loss to Mark Martin of Clovis 11-6 but the came back and defeated Mason Walsh of Carlsbad.

At 285 pounds, Johnson defeated Peter Fulgentes of Royal 4-2. In the round of 16 Johnson lost to Joey Chacon of Clovis West 5-2. He picked up a win over Ed Berncich of Petaluma but lost to Jon Silvesrti of Yorba Linda.