BAKERSFIELD — As they have all season, Clovis West High’s Nikko Reyes and Lemoore’s Isaiah Martinez dominated their opposition.
As he has done for four years, Selma’s Alex Cisneros simply defeated everyone in his path.
That trio of defending gold medalists all advanced to the semifinals after the first day of the CIF State Wrestling Championships on Friday at Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena.
Reyes and Martinez are seeking their second straight state titles, while Cisneros is out to become only the second four-time champion in the event’s 40-year history.
They join 13 other Central Section wrestlers in today’s semifinals, which are set to start at 9:30 a.m.
Reyes ran his record to 48-1 this season — without giving up an offensive point to a wrestler from California — by winning his four matches, including a 16-0 technical fall over Chico’s Mark Jorgensen in the quarterfinals. That followed a technical fall and a pair of pins for the defending 171-pound champion.
“Two pins and two techs, can’t ask for more than that,” Reyes said. “Actually, four pins would have been ideal.”
Reyes holds himself to a high standard because winning a second state title isn’t the Illinois-bound senior’s only goal.
“I don’t just want to win another state title,” said Reyes, who next faces Ripon’s Trevor Smith. “I want people to remember how I won the state title.”
Martinez, the Lemoore, junior, also put on a show.
He won three matches Friday — all by pin — in a combined 4 minutes, 46 seconds, including a 2:50 pin of Granite Bay’s Adam Wagner in the quarterfinals. Martinez, last season’s 140-pound champ, is 42-1.
“I told myself I would dominate here,” said Martinez, who will take on Sultana-Hesperia’s Corey Griego in the semis. “When you have that confidence, the other wrestler can tell. It makes you a little more intimidating. And when you have your opponent nervous, they can’t perform as well as they possibly could.”
Cisneros will chase the grandest achievement of any California wrestler: becoming a four-time champion. Only Bakersfield’s Darrell Vasquez (1999-2002) has achieved the feat previously, while there have been 16 three-time champs.
The Cornell-bound Cisneros was methodical in reaching the semifinals against Centennial-Corona’s Christian Pagdilao. He opened with a tech fall, followed with an 8-1 win, then a 9-1 major decision over De La Salle-Concord’s Jon Jay Chavez.
“All my hard work is paying off,” said Cisneros, 175-3 in his career. “This has been a goal of mine since junior high, but I had to take it year by year and match by match. Now that it’s here, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Other section semifinalists include: Clovis’ Julian Gaytan (106), Jonas Gaytan (113), Daniel Gaytan (120), Adrian Salas (160), Zach Nevills (170), Dakota Gordon (195) and Nick Nevills (285), Kingsburg’s Javier Gasca III (132), Buchanan’s Racelis Cardenas (138), and Bakersfield’s Natrelle Demison (138), Coleman Hammond (152), Silas Nacita (170) and Kyle Pope (182).
By Nick Giannandrea
