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Wrestling Continues With 10 Mustangs Headed To State
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Oakdale’s Eziequel Vela prepares to throw Folsom’s Chase Manski in a 120-pound semifinal won by Vela via pin. He was one of three Mustangs crowned as Section champions the Masters Meet in Stockton over the weekend. The team also earned a Section title. Leader Photo By Dave Campbell

Three Masters champions, 10 wrestlers qualifying for the State Meet in Bakersfield … and a Section Masters wrestling championship.

It was a good weekend for the Oakdale Mustangs on the wrestling mats at Stockton Arena.

Head coach Steve Strange and the Mustangs came home with a decisive title win, putting 10 wrestlers in the top five over the two days of competition, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17 and 18. Second place Vacaville trailed far behind Oakdale as the Mustangs claimed their first Masters title in more than a decade, the last one coming in 2011.

Battling to Masters championships for Oakdale were Eziequel Vela at 120 pounds, Carlos Garcia at 170 and Elias Corona at 195 pounds. The Mustangs also had a Masters runner-up honor, with a second place finished captured by Colton Silva at 145 pounds.

By weight division, here are the 10 Oakdale wrestlers that qualified for the State Meet by virtue of their placement at Masters.

106: Ezekiel Hernandez (5-2) placed fifth and scored 13.0 team points.

120: Masters Champion Eziequel Vela (5-0) placed first and scored 31.5 team points.

126: Jesse Meza (6-2) placed fourth and scored 20.0 team points.

145: Colton Silva (4-1) placed second and scored 24.0 team points.

152: Brodie Johnson (5-1) placed third and scored 25.0 team points.

160: Payne Perkins (5-1) placed third and scored 25.5 team points.

170: Masters Champion Carlos Garcia (5-0) placed first and scored 31.5 team points.

182: Wes Burford (4-2) placed fourth and scored 20.0 team points.

195: Masters Champion Elias Corona (5-0) placed first and scored 32.0 team points.

220: Emilio Johnson (7-1) placed third and scored 22.0 team points.

The State Wrestling Meet is scheduled at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, Thursday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 25. Wrestling for the boys begins at noon on Thursday.

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Mustang Payne Perkins, back, grabs Vacaville’s Carson Howell in a 160-pound quarterfinal match won via first-round pin by Perkins. Leader Photo By Sean Kahler