Coyotes win eighth straight CMAC
Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Dylan Miracle works to put Madera’s Josiah Morales into a pinning position during the CMAC 170-pound championship match. Miracle won by pinfall for his fourth straight league title.
The Madera Coyotes wrestling team closed out an eighth straight County/Metro Athletic Conference championship with a tournament title.
The Coyotes closed the dual meet part of the CMAC season undefeated and then won the CMAC tournament championship over Madera South on Saturday at Madera South. Madera finished 249 points while Madera South finished second with 228 points.
“We graduated nine starters last year,” Madera head coach Joe Romine said. “How are we going to replace those guys? We did. The boys stepped up. It feels pretty good to get our eighth straight win. My assistants work really hard and make me look good. A lot of credit goes to James Cook, Miguel Ruiz, Miguel Martinez and Dane Cook. They put a lot of time in and they believe in these kids. They respond to everything.”
The Coyotes sent eight wrestlers to the championships and five came away with CMAC championships — Matt Ornelas, Mario Moreno, Emmanuel Solorio, Mauro Alejo and Rudy Paredes.
The Stallions, playing with their projected full squad, also sent eight wrestlers to the finals and came away with four championships, including Dylan Miracle’s fourth straight CMAC championship. Also with CMAC titles were Juan Garcia, Ricardo Adame and Auggie Garcia.
“Madera schools won nine championships,” Madera South head coach Sal Gonzalez said. “That shows that wrestling is good in Madera. That’s nine championships out of 14 weight classes.”
Madera South were missing wrestlers during CMAC duals due to disciplinary issues and they were reinstated before the Feb. 7 Senior Night match in time for Saturday’s championships.
“We did well as a team,” Gonzalez said. “We had a couple of kids that didn’t do their job and that was the gap between us and Madera. Madera wrestled smart and things went their way. We tend to get some bad luck. I think we’re going to change that with state coming up.”
At 106 pounds, Madera’s Ornelas came back to pin his Sanger opponent in the championship match. Earlier in the season, Ornelas was pinned by the Sanger wrestler and lost to him three days earlier by a point. He came back to win in the third period.
Meanwhile, Madera South’s Christian Perez lost by pin to Ornelas in the semifinals for a third place finish.
Moreno advanced straight to the finals based on his seeding at 115 pounds. He won the championship with a first period pin over his Bullard opponent.
Solorio also received a direct path to the finals at 122 pounds. He earned an 8-7 decision in the championships, but it didn’t come without controversy.
“The referee called for a two-point takedown at the end of the match,” Romine said. “ That gave us the win. By rulebook, we met the criteria. They were making a claim our hands weren’t placed properly. The second referee ruled against the first one. I saw differently and had the head referee come over. It was a 2-1 decision against the call. The head referee and told the referee to make the call and he saw a takedown. We got the match.”
Madera South’s Ricardo Rivera lost in the semifinals and earned a third place finish.
Alejo also received a direct route to the finals at 128 pounds. Madera South’s Angel Figueroa defeated his Bullard opponent by a 13-5 major decision to advance to the championships. Alejo took an early 4-0 lead into the second period and put Figueroa on his back with 19 seconds left in the period.
At 134 pounds, Paredes pinned Madera South’s Enrique Rodriguez 56 seconds into the second period to advance to the finals. Paredes trailed 4-3 at the end of the second period. He picked up a takedown and added another with 43 seconds left for a three-point lead. Paredes allowed an escape with 25 seconds left in the match and was called for stalling with a second left, but held on for an 8-7 victory.
Madera South’s Florencio Hernandez defeated Madera’s Matt Montelongo in the semifinals by a 14-0 major decision at 140 pounds. However, in the championship match, Hernandez fell by major decision, 14-2. Montelongo pinned his Sanger opponent in the third period to place third.
Madera South’s Juan Garcia defeated Madera’s Akram Pacheco in the semifinals by a first period pin. After Garcia led 4-1 in the championship, he pinned his opponent with 19 seconds left in the period to win the CMAC title. Pacheco lost by a 3-2 decision to place fourth.
In the 154 pound bracket, Adame received byes to the championships. Meanwhile, Madera’s Oscar Ruiz lost by a 4-1 decision in the semis to place third. Adame then used a takedown and a near fall in the third period for an 8-4 win for the CMAC championship.
Garcia, ranked No. 5 in the state at 162 pounds, had an easy time. He pinned his first opponent with 35 seconds left in the first period. He then defeated Madera’s Elias Garcia by pin with five seconds left in the match. Garcia jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the championship match before recording a pin with 1:32 left in the second period. Elias Garcia lost by major decision in the consolation championships.
Madera South’s Miracle pinned his Sanger opponent in the first round of the 172-pound semifinals. Meanwhile, Madera’s Josiah Morales advanced to the championships with a quarterfinal decision and a 9-6 win in the semifinals.
In the championship match, it took Miracle, ranked No. 4 in the state, just 17 seconds to get Morales into a cradle and into a pin for his fourth CMAC championship.
“It’s awesome,” Miracle said. “I’m glad to be able to do my thing and wrestle. I’m the first in Madera South history, so it’s really awesome. I’m just starting here. It’s not the end. I was really excited. I knew what I had to do. I got really pumped up for my match.”
In the 184-pound championship, Madera South’s Jonathan Contreras lost in the championship by a 6-2 decision.
Madera’s Codi Slayton recorded a semifinal pin over Madera South’s Patricio Ramirez in the 197-pound bracket. However, he lost by a 12-2 major decision in the title match.
Madera’s Rangel Miranda won by pin over Madera South’s Preston Fisher in the 222-pound quarterfinals. After a pin in the semifinals, Miranda lost by a 5-3 decision in the championship match. Fisher, meanwhile, won by a 12-5 decision to place third.
Madera South’s Daniel Daza advanced to the championship match with a 5-2 victory over Madera’s John Cook in the 287-pound bracket. Daza lost by a 4-0 decision in the championship match. Cook defeated his Edison opponent with 20 seconds left in the third period to place third.
The two teams will next wrestle in the Valley Master’s tournament Friday and Saturday in Lemoore.
