Nine Inland girls wrestlers claim CIF Southern Section Masters Meet championships – San Bernardino Sun

Jillian Wells, Tilly Kakuk, Zahra Stewart and Jestinah Solomua found their way back to the winner’s circle at the CIF Southern Section’s Master Meet.

That quartet was among nine Inland girls wrestlers to win individual championships Friday at the 2025 Masters Meet at Sonora High School in La Habra.

This marked the third year the Masters Meet has used an updated format. Instead of a two-day event with one wrestler in each of the weight classes being crowned as the individual champion, the section has a one-day meet with two 16-person brackets and two champions for each of the 14 weight divisions.

Eight wrestlers in each classes (top four in each bracket) secured spots for the CIF State Championships (Feb. 27 to March 1) at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, and 37 wrestlers representing 22 Inland schools were among the 112 fortunate ones who advanced to compete for a state championship.

Wells won a Masters Meet title in 2023 while wrestling for Lakeside, but she transferred to Modesto Central Catholic and won the CIF State championship at 100 pounds last year. She returned to Lakeside this season and captured this year’s Masters Meet Gold Division championship, again at 100 pounds. Wells claimed her second Masters title with an 11-7 decision over Arroyo’s Destiny Huitron, Wells trailed 7-3 in the second period but rallied for the victory.

Kakuk, a senior from Chino High School, won a 120-pound Master Meet championship for the second consecutive season following a 7-3 decision over Northview’s Samantha Rivera. Kakuk used a reversal late in the second period to take a 5-3 lead and another in the third to take the Gold Division title.

Stewart won the other 120-pound Masters title last year while wrestling at Yucaipa. Two things have changed. The junior now competes at 125 pounds and wears an Orange Vista singlet. She pinned all three of her Gold Division opponents Friday, including Rancho Cucamonga’s Sussette Bell in the final.

Solomua claimed one of the 135-pound Masters Meet titles last year, her freshman season at Corona. She made it 2 for 2 at the Masters Meet when she won the 145-pound Gold Division championship. Solomua recorded three pins and won the title after Esperanza’s Olivia Davis defaulted due to an injury.

Solomua’s individual win was part of another big day for the Corona girls wrestling team, which added a Masters Meet team championship to its long list of accomplishments this season. The Panthers won the Southern Section’s Division 1 dual-meet title and the Southern Section’s Eastern Division team title earlier this month. Corona finished with 171 points, 12 more than Northview. The two teams led the way with eight wrestlers qualifying for the state meet.

Five other Inland wrestlers claimed a Master Meet championship for the first time in their careers.

Sophomore Natalie Blanco gave Chino a second individual champion when she won the 155-pound Gold Division title. Blanco pinned three opponents to advance to the final and then scored a 7-3 decision over Citrus Valley’s Gia Coons in the championship match.

Orange Vista had a second individual champion, as well, as senior Ayana Contreras brought home the 110-pound Gold Division crown. Contreras pinned all four of her opponents Friday, including a victory over Peninsula’s Leila Witzerman in the championship match.

Colony was the third Inland school to produce a pair of individual champions Friday, as seniors Renice Gonzalez and Aubree Hernandez captured titles. Gonzalez cruised through the 130-pound Gold Division and won the title when she pinned Palm Desert’s Victoria Espinoza in the championship match. Hernandez trailed 4-3, but she rallied with an escape and a takedown to defeat Roosevelt’s Sophia Cardenas 7-4 in the 135-pound Gold Division final.

Hemet senior Diara Pomares outlasted Orange Vista’s Alyssa Guzman and grabbed a 2-1 decision in the 170-pound Gold Division championship match.

Orange Vista finished fifth in the team standings (94 points) and had four wrestlers qualify for the state meet, fifth most among Southern Section teams.

Here a list of the Inland girls wrestlers who qualified for the CIF State meet, with their bracket finishes in parentheses.