Clovis Wrestling – 2014 Team State Champions

By Nick Giannandrea
The Fresno Bee

BAKERSFIELD — Nick Nevills put the finishing touches on arguably the most dominant career in California high school wrestling history while scoring the final points for the latest conquest executed by the state’s most successful program.

Nevills ran his career record to 200-5 with his state-record 146th pin after stopping Roosevelt-Eastvale’s Nour Abdullatif in 2:36 during the 285-pound final at the CIF State Championships on Saturday at Rabobank Arena.

“This puts the exclamation point instead of a period to my career,” Nevills said.

Nevills’ victory pushed Clovis High to 197.5 points, third-highest by a team in the 42-year history of the event, as the Cougars won their fourth straight team title and 12th overall, both state records.

The Penn State-bound senior became the only three-time heavyweight champion, the 19th three-time champ overall and 31st four-time medalist (joining his older brother, Zach) in state history. He won the 285-pound title in 2011 (becoming the only freshman to win gold at heavyweight), finished third as a sophomore and won again last year to complete his first perfect season.

Nevills ends his high school career on a 105-match winning streak over three seasons.

Only eight others in state history have won three titles along with third-place or better medal.

“It’s pretty emotional now,” Nevills said. “After I lost (in the semifinals in 2012), I wanted to come back and prove to myself that I could win two more titles.

“Looking back, you could always do more, but I love what I’ve done.”

But Nevills, who had five pins and a technical fall en route to the title, was only one-half of a Cougars duo as dominant as any in the tournament that draws 560 wrestlers from across the state, 40 in each of the 14 weight divisions.

Freshman Justin Mejia pinned his way to the final, then topped Santiago-Corona’s Chris Lacayo 5-3 for the 106-pound title.

Mejia, 48-1, is the 12th freshman in state history to capture a title. He now will push to join former Bakersfield standout Darrell Vasquez as the state’s only four-time champions.

“Now it’s time to train hard for next year,” Mejia said. “I don’t want to win one time, I want to win four times.”

Clovis entered with designs on breaking its state finals scoring record of 256.5 points set in 2012 after becoming the third team in history to qualify all 14 of its wrestlers, including 10 ranked among the state’s top eight.

The Cougars lost four of the 14 on the first day, but bounced back on day two, finishing with eight medalists, including third-place finishers Isaiah Hokit (132) and Brody Brand (170).

“Setting the state record again wasn’t meant to be, but we still got the third-highest score in state history, and that’s not bad,” Clovis co-coach Steve Tirapelle said. “This is a tough tournament. It’s easy to get beat even if you are off your game just a little bit.”

Hokit, who along with brother Josh transferred to Clovis from Wasco, beat Mission Oak’s Jaden Enriquez 3-2 for third.

“It’s great to be part of a team where everyone has the same goals,” Hokit said.

“Everyone wants to place or even be a state champion.”

Brand, who entered sixth-ranked in the state, beat No. 4 Austin Flores of Clovis North 5-4 in his third-place match.

“We just don’t lose. I don’t know what it’s like,” said Brand, a senior. “We’ve never experienced losing (at the state meet) since I’ve been here. Four times in a row is four times as good. It’s a blessing.

“Not everyone gets this opportunity.”

Other Clovis medalists included Tristan Gilliland (seventh, 113), Josh Hokit (fifth, 160), AJ Nevills (seventh, 182) and Matt Weiss (sixth, 195).