The second day of the 2025 CIF State Wrestling Championships took place Friday at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
Eight Inland wrestlers kept alive their dreams of bringing home a state championship by winning their quarterfinal matches.
North’s Coby Merrill was the lone boys wrestler from the Inland area to reach the semifinals. For the first time in the postseason, Merrill failed to pin an opponent, but the top-seeded heavyweight still walked away with a 17-1 technical fall over Noah Larios of Imperial. Merrill will face No. 5-seeded Devin Alarcon of Clovis North in Saturday morning’s semifinal round.
Seven Inland girls wrestlers punched their tickets to the semifinals with wins Friday.
Lakeside’s Jillian Wells continued defense of her 100-pound state title with a 7-6 decision over Destiny Huitron of Arroyo. Wells scored the winning points with a reversal with 14 seconds left in the bout. The No. 3 seeded Wells faces Stephanie Martinez of Bakersfield Highland in the semifinals.
Chino’s Tilly Kakuk advanced to the semifinals in the 120-pound bracket with a 2-0 decision over Ava Ebrahimi of Poway. Kakuk, who is seeded fifth at 120 pounds, will square off against top-seeded Isabella Marie Gonzales of Clovis East in the semifinals.
Orange Vista’s Zahra Stewart scored an 11-7 decision over Jocelyn Mendoza of Gilroy to advance to the 125-pound semifinals. Stewart, seeded fifth in the bracket, will face top-seeded Lilyana Balderas of Anaheim in the semifinals.
Corona’s Jestinah Solomua advanced to the semifinals at 145 pounds when she pinned Anakarla Hernandez of St. Helena in the second period. Solomua, seed third, will take on No. 2-seeded Olivia Davis of Esperanza in the semifinals.
Citrus Valley 155-pounder Gia Coons pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the afternoon, when she scored a 9-6 decision over top-seeded Angelinah De Leon of Santa Clara. Coons faces No. 5-seeded Angelina Jang of Palo Alto Gunn in the semifinals.
Chino’s Natalie Blanco joins Coons in the 155-pound semifinals. The No. 7-seeded Blanco advanced when she pinned No. 2-seeded Symone Jewell of Walnut Creek Northgate in the second period. Blanco faces No. 3-seeded Eva Garcia of Marina in the semifinals.
Charlene Smith of San Dimas advanced to the semifinal round of the girls heavyweight division when she pinned No. 2-seeded Noe Sedano of Fresno Garza. Smith squares off against Olivia Ruacho of Fresno Central in the semifinals.
The eight aforementioned wrestlers secured podium spots (top eight) by reaching the semifinals.
An additional 23 wrestlers (14 girls, 9 boys) from Inland schools remain in podium contention in the consolation brackets of their respective weight classes. Those wrestlers can secure a podium spot by winning their first match Saturday morning.
The 14 girls in consolation brackets are Hamilton’s Evelyn Lopez (105), King’s Giada Tanahara (110), Orange Vista’s Ayana Contreras (110), Colony’s Renice Gonzalez (130), Roosevelt’s Sophia Cardenas (135), Colony’s Aubrey Hernandez (135), Roosevelt’s Ava McGowan (140), Vista Murrieta’s Maiya Bradley (145), Hillcrest’s Lauren Pena (145), Hemet’s Diara Pomares (170), Orange Vista’s Alyssa Guzman (170), San Dimas’ Aubreyelle Baeza (190), Orange Vista’s Tiffany Bell (190) and Corona’s Jasmin Taulanga (235).
The nine boys wrestlers in consolation brackets are Chino’s Zachary Samano (113), Eisenhower’s Mathius Garza (138), Lakeside’s Axel Esparza (144), Etiwanda’s Jacob Bell (150), Lakeside’s Jesus Guzman (157), Temecula Valley’s Ashton Lassig (175), Paloma Valley’s Javon Major (175), West Valley’s Gabriel Barragan (190) and Temecula Valley’s Justice El Sayad (285).
