Orland wrestlers master the mats

A triumvirate of Trojan wrestlers will descend on the Boys State Championships in Bakersfield Friday, after placing in the top-3 in their weight classes at the NSCIF Masters Meet held last weekend at the Redding Convention Center.

Orland 114-pounder Hermilo Esquivel and 121-pounder Nathan Monck will each make the trip to Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena as Masters champions, while teammate Christian Wathen will join them by virtue of a third-place finish at 137.

In addition to the three state qualifiers, Bret Schumann was also a placewinner for the Trojans, taking fourth at 154; Casey Gingerich came in fifth at 173; and Dustin Olson finished fourth at 287.

Esquivel's road to the championship began with a pin of Modoc's Ben Bevil, and followed with falls over Trinity's Josh Plotzke and Wheatland's Angelo Santos, before earning the step at the top of the podium with a dominant 12-1 decision over Chico's Mason Sauseda.

Monck also pinned his way to the finals, flattening Pleasant Valley's Tylor Schofield, Wheatland's Trevor Mantz, and Corning's Tanner Johnson. In the championship bout, Monck came out on top 5-4 over Trinity's Levi Thomason.

Wathen pinned Big Valley's Tyrell Martin and won by an 11-2 decision over Paradise's Tanner Meyers, before being beaten by Shasta's Terry Mathews 7-2. In the third-place match, Wathen topped Chico's Pang Lee 4-0.

Masters Champions

105 - Nashon Garett, Chico

114 - Hermilo Esquivel, Orland

121 - Nathan Monck, Orland

127 - Efren Rodriguez, Chico

132 - Nick Morelli, Paradise

137 - Cody Pack, Quincy

142 - Kevin Maelfeyt, Trinity

147 - Desi Rios, Pleasant Valley

154 - Travis Gallegos, Foothill

162 - Marcus Zachary, Anderson

173 - Russ Longnecker, Chico

191 - Austin Morehead, Sutter

217 - Darren Lee, Lassen

287 - Miguel Torres, Modoc