The mission for Johnny Beltran was simple on the final day of the CIF State Wrestling Championships.
After losing in the semifinals that morning, Beltran had to find a way to make it back for third place.
First, though, someone had to find him.
The wrestlers for the 182-pound division were called to report, but Beltran didn’t. His name was called over the P.A. system in the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield again and again. A final warning was sent out.
“Johnny Beltran, please report.”
Eventually, Beltran arrived and he managed to wrestle his way to a third-place finish, defeating Alec Gamboa of Madera, 7-3, and Skyler Gonzalez of Rocklin, 3-2.
“I was in the restroom,” Beltran said about his brief but poorly timed disappearance.
That moment will probably last forever in Servite wrestling lore as will the memory of Beltran’s impressive senior season, which includes him being the Register’s Wrestler of the Year.
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Beltran, who is headed to Cal Poly SLO, completed his season by becoming the first two-time state medalist for the Friars.
He started the season winning the opening tournament, the Westminster Cossarek Classic. He followed that with individual titles at the Mann Classic and Five Counties Invitational. He finished second at the Sierra Nevada Classic.
Beltran was the Upper Weight MVP at the Cossarek and Mann Classic, helping lead the Friars to the team title.
When the postseason arrived, Beltran kicked things off by winning the Trinity League title and a CIF Individual title, helping the Friars to their first CIF team championship.
Beltran was also second at the Masters Meet.
As one of only two seniors in the starting lineup for Servite, Beltran provided much-needed guidance and leadership throughout the season.
“It has been a very rewarding four years for him,” Servite coach Alan Clinton said of Beltran, who was also first-team All-County as a junior.
“From where he started and where he finished. He set those goals and he went out there and accomplished them.”
As a junior, Beltran was seventh at the state tournament at 182 pounds.
He wasn’t always a state-medalist wrestler. He struggled with his consistency in his first couple of years at the varsity level, but the turning point came his junior year.
He won four tournaments as a junior and was second at four others, including CIF. He was eighth at Masters.
“I was committed,” he said earlier this season about his junior year. “I knew I had to be a leader on the team and I had to prove myself. My sophomore year, I didn’t believe in myself.”
Fortunately for Beltran and the Friars, he was able to find the right path to success.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
