Tehachapi Valley Wrestling Club

TVWC took their biggest team yet to the Central Valley Wrestling Association Southern Section Valley competition held in Porterville Feb. 11. Twenty-five members of the squad competed to try to make the top four, which then qualifies them for the Masters tournament.

In the K-1 Division wrestlers Michael Ramirez 40Ibs, Jordan Cardenas 43Ibs, Jacob Cardenas 61Ibs and Ivan Madueno 73Ibs all placed second. Dalton Vaughan 55Ibs did not qualify. The K-1 team placed fourth overall.

Wrestlers in the 2-3 grade division, Jacob Mesa won his 73Ibs weight class. In the 61Ibs division, Roland Pina came in second and teammate Kayden Gonzales finished fourth. Julianna Ramirez 49Ibs, Gannon Renehan Lee 55Ibs, Cade Peterson 61Ibs, and Bill Fuller 67Ibs all missed qualifying by placing fifth. "Those are the tough matches to lose" said Coach Curt Nelson. "all those kids could have moved on" Nelson added.

The 4-5th Grade wrestlers won their division as a Team, with all 7 wrestlers qualifying for Masters. Michael Murillo 110Ibs was crowned champion. Stephan Meek 58Ibs, Levi Hart 82Ibs and Julian Cardenas 88Ibs, were runner ups in their weight classes. Adrian Pina 70Ibs, Kaidyn Roberts 76Ibs, and Caleb Peterson all placed fourth to move on to Masters.

The Middle School division had Jairdan Medina placing first at 76Ibs. Elijah Graves 106Ibs class 2nd, Denver Kipp 120Ibs 3rd. Ryan Wilson 120Ibs and Wyatt Ritchie 83Ibs made it in to Masters with fourth place medals. Cayden Castrellon missed moving on with a fifth place finish.

Some of the team stepped up their game and competed the next day (Feb. 12) at the KCWA Chimera Unlimited tournament held in Bakersfield. In the Bantam division, Kayden Gonzales earned the 1st place medal at 60Ibs, with teammate, John Aguirre getting second. Dalton Vaughan 55Ibs and Ivan Madueno 70Ibs also placed second. For the Intermediate class Kaidyn Roberts won the 70Ibs class. Andrew Aguirre 80Ibs and Cade Peterson 60Ibs finished with second place medals. Caleb Peterson paced third and Gavin Vincent 80Ibs came in fifth place. The Novice age group had three champions, Bryce Rodriguez 90Ibs, Jairdan Medina and Levi Hart 80Ibs. Luke Tapola received the Bronze Medal.

The Wrestlers of the Week awards were given to: K-1 wrestlers Dalton Vaughan and Ivan Madueno. 2-5 grade wrestlers Bill Fuller and Gannon Renehan Lee and for the Middle school, Ryan Wilson was selected.

TVWC had 17 wrestlers compete at the Central Valley Wrestling Association "Masters" tournament Feb. 18 in Selma. The K-1 Division had the best team results with all four wrestlers placing. Ivan Madueno 73Ibs came away with the second-place medal. Michael Ramirez placed 3rd at 40Ibs, Jacob Cardenas 61Ibs 4th and Jordan Cardenas 43Ibs finished 5th. The 2-3 grade division had Roland Pina medaling with a 4th place at 61Ibs. Kayden Gonzales 61Ibs and Jacob Mesa 73Ibs did not place. In the 4-5 grade division Michael Murillo was TVWC only Champion at 110Ibs. Levi Hart 82lbs placed 4th and Julian Cardenas 88lbs placed 5th. Stephan Meek 58lbs, Adrian Pina 70lbs and Caleb Peterson 82lbs did not place. Middle Schooler Jairdan Medina finished in second place at 76Ibs. Wyatt Ritchie 83lbs, Elijah Graves 106lbs, and Denver Kipp 120lbs did not place. " It was a tough second round of wrestling that put most of our kids out of the tournament " said Coach Curtis Nelson.

Wrestlers of the week were K-1 Ivan Madueno, 2-3 grade Jacob Mesa, 4-5 grade Levi Hart and MS Jairdan Medina. TVWC has the KCWA Folkstyle Championship and Calif. USA Kids Folkstyle State, then they will be taking new registration for their Freestyle program. For more information on joining contact Curtis Nelson (661) 557-1366.