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2024-25 Boys Wrestling Preview
Key dates
Feb. 8: Last possible league competition
Feb. 15: Division tournaments begin
Feb. 21-22: Masters’ tournament
Feb. 27-March 1: State tournament
Defending champions
Division 1: Poway
Division 2: Mira Mesa
Division 3: Brawley
Division 4: Imperial
Wrestler of the Year: Colin Guffey, Granite Hills (now at Stanford)
Preseason Top 10
1. Poway
2. Granite Hills
3. Brawley
4. Rancho Bernardo
5. Mira Mesa
6. La Costa Canyon
7. Holtville
8. Carlsbad
9. Imperial
10. Central Union
Returning state qualifiers(in alphabetical order)
Diego Arias, Brawley, Sr.
Ben Bomberger, Poway, Sr. Cal Poly SLO commit
Junior Bumanglag, Granite Hills, Sr.;
Lyland Calvo, Mt. Carmel, Sr.
Mario Carini, Poway, So., Third at state in 2024 (144 pounds)
Ryan Carroll, Granite Hills, Sr.
Jacob Cava, Torrey Pines, State qualifier in 2023
Aiden Chur, Granite Hills, Jr.
Mason Carnrite, Poway, So.
Dominic Dotson, Poway, Jr.
Emilio Escobar, Granite Hills, Jr.
Layronz Fraser, Granite Hills, Sr. State qualifier in 2023
Josue Garcia, Bonita Vista, Sr.
Liam Gonzalez, Ramona, So.
Victor Grosswiller, Valhalla, Sr.
Mathew Guiterrez, Brawley, Sr. Top-12 in state in 2024 (190 pounds)
Shane Ito, La Costa Canyon, So.
Robert Jones, Poway, Sr. Sixth at state in 2024 (120 pounds), Cal Poly SLO commit
Arseni Kikiniou, Poway, So. Second at stake in 2024 (106 pounds)
Noah Larios, Imperial, So.
Benjamin Limentang, Brawley, So.
Xamian Munoz, Brawley, Jr.
Mason Navarro, Holtville, Sr.
Richard Ortiz, Brawley, Jr.
Gabriel Pacheco, Central Union, So.
Angelo Posada, Poway, Sr., Defending state champ (175 pounds), Stanford Commit
Estaban Sanchez, Granite Hills, Sr., Transfer from Montgomery
Edwin Sierra, Poway, Sr. Second at state in 2024 (113 pounds), Stanford commit
Joseph Smith, Granite Hills, Sr.
Billy Townson, Poway, Sr., Fifth at state in 2024 (126 pounds), Rutgers commit
Sardor Usmonov, Mira Mesa, Sr.
Gabriel Vargas, Ramona, Sr.
Evan Velez, Brawley, Sr. Three-time state qualifier
Chris Villegas, Rancho Bernardo, So.
Ethan Vinoray, Patrick Henry, Jr.
Samuel Weinberg, La Costa Canyon, Sr.
PREVIEW
Remember the Titans
The 2023-2024 Poway wrestling season was special. The Titans won their fifth state title, setting an all-time scoring record with 290.5 points in Bakersfield. Seven Titans made the state finals, with Elias Navida (132 pounds), Angelo Posada (175) and Robert Platt (215) all taking home crowns. They won medals in 12 of the 14 weight classes.
Posada is back, joined by medalist Arseni Kikiniou, Edwin Sierra, Paul Kelly, Mario Carini, Robert Jones and Billy Townson.
“It’s a different team, I have to remind myself of that sometimes,” said Poway coach John Meyers, who team was ranked No. 4 in the state by CalGrappler in its preseason poll. “There’s not many times you can be called (the) best team in state history. That’s tough to follow.”
Other contenders
Granite Hills lost state champion Collin Guffey (160) and third-place medalist Abram Cline (113) from last year’s eighth-place state final squad.
But Eagles coach Jesse Sheard feels he has a deeper squad with who’s back and who they’ve added. Back are state qualifiers Ryan Carroll, Aiden Chur, Junior Bumunglag, Emilio Escobar, and Joseph Smith. Throw in the return of 2023 state qualifier Layronz Fraser and the transfer of section finalist Esteban Sanchez from Montgomery, and you can see why the Eagles are ranked No. 11 in the preseason state poll.
Brawley, under second-year coach Sawyer Smith, earned a No. 17 preseason state ranking with his young team . Leading the way for the Wildcats are Diego Arias, Benjamin Limentang, Xamian Munoz, Richard Ortiz, Evan Velez and Matthew Gutierrez.
Rule changes
Following the college ranks, the National Federation of High Schools approved a trio of new rules.
The new three-point takedown will put more emphasis on wrestling on your feet. The new additional near-fall point and the takedown points could change matches quickly. The new out-of-bounds clarifies that any part of either wrestler in the circle will be inbounds, helping referees calls more consistent.
— KEVIN J. FARMER
Originally Published:
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