Bakersfield is beckoning. The time has arrived. All season long, and even during the offseason, there was hard work, dedication and determination. Now, it has paid off. Four Mustang wresters have advanced to the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield. Wes Burford, Jesse Meza, Gideon Gerber and Matt Cooley will all be making the trip and competing for the honor of being a state champion.

This past weekend top wrestlers throughout the Sac-Joaquin Section made their way to the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton to compete in the Masters Meet. The top five finishers in each weight class qualified for State.

As a team, Oakdale finished fourth overall with a total of 166.0 points. Pitman placed first by the end of the day at 231.0. Rounding out the top five were Folsom (225.5); Del Oro (186) and Vacaville 161.0.

At 132 pounds, junior Jesse Meza placed second overall for Oakdale. In the first round Meza defeated Raphael Alonzo by technical fall 15-0. Meza followed up with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Ahmad ra Karimi. In the third round he put away Luca Cerasi of neighboring Escalon, 14-6. In the finals he met Folsom sophomore Orion Hill, who made short work of Meza as he pinned him in the first period.

Senior Gideon Gerber placed second in the 165-pound division. In the first round he faced off against Gabriel Richards and won via fall. Round two saw Gerber defeat Joseph Kalanui where he got a pin fall victory. Round three, Gerber defeated Michael Ramirez for his third pin fall victory. In the finals Brodie Johnson defeated Gerber by a 13-6 decision.

Junior Wes Burford battled his way to a Section Championship as he ran the table in Stockton. His first victim was senior Michael Pleitez via fall. He then defeated Casyn Hopping via a quick fall. In the third round Burford took out Byron Ryan via fall. Then he took care of Max Keough with an 18-6 major decision. In the finals Burford displayed more dominance as he defeated Logan Nguyen in a 10-0 first period major decision to win the 215-pound championship.

At 285 pounds Matthew Cooley battled his way to the finals. His journey began when he defeated Blake Meggers via fall. He then defeated Xavier Flores via fall. In his third match of the day, he defeated Joaquin Rodriguez 4-3. He advanced to the finals when he defeated Eli Swartz 4-1. His day ended with the second place showing when he lost to Troy Ceja 4-2 in the finals.

Just missing the cut to advance to state were Xander Birakos (190, sixth) and Cody Soares (157, seventh).

The State Meet runs Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, March 1.