The race to Bakersfield and the CIF State Tournament started in earnest Friday at the CIF-SS Masters Meet at Temecula Valley High.
At the end of the first day, several county wrestlers already have earned a spot in the top nine in their weight class, guaranteeing themselves a trip to state.
Martin Garcia (Laguna Hills, 106), Adam Alvarado (Calvary Chapel, 132), Aaron Negrette (Calvary Chapel, 152), Josh Baron (Valencia, 160), Colin Navickas (Marina, 160), Mason Kumashiro (Los Alamitos, 195), Ryan Minoofar (Dana Hills, 195), Dante Duke (El Dorado, 220) and heavyweights Alejandro Ruelas (Westminster), Alex Redmond (Los Alamitos) and Ahmad Sunda (Canyon) are all in the semifinals at their weights and are headed to state.
There are several county wrestlers in consolation.
Wrestling resumes today at 10 a.m.
Santiago of Corona and Northview of Covina lead all Southern Section schools with five state qualifiers.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
