wdeboard's blog

And we're just about ready to tip off here at a pretty crowded Modesto Christian gymnasium. The lineups are about to be announced, which I'll give in the next comment. I'll be updating in the comments, so just keep refreshing about every couple of minutes or so.

OK, the doors are open and we're about an hour from firing up here at Bakersfield. I'll be keeping a running tally going throughout the finals.

The finalists are all on the championship mat (raised on a 4-5 foot platform). Backstage, I saw Merced coach Clayton Schneider who was a little dressed up! He was talking with Temecula Valley assistant coach Nick Kindred, who was a state runner-up for Turlock several years ago.

We're back at Rabobank after a lengthy Friday. Semifinalists and consolation wrestlers are warming up and only six mats remain after 10 from yesterday. There are a couple of us here on press row. Most of us are yawning, this is very early for a sportswriter!

We've got consolation fifth round matches set to go in about 25 minutes. These matches are huge, because the winner of these matches wins a coveted state medal. I'm going to try to keep up woth as many matches as I can, but the biggies are:

103: Brandon Egleston (Turlock) vs. Ty Stevenson (McKinleyville)
103: Jake Congleton (Beyer) vs. Matt Correa (Righetti)
125: David Ferry (Central Catholic) vs. Chris Calcagno (Clovis North)
125: Shane Tate (Oakdale) vs. Daniel Garibaldo (Cathedral City)
171: Ryan Mackey (Ripon) vs. Conor Trombetta (Napa)
215: Marco Delgado (Turlock) vs. William Knowles (Calvary Chapel)
215: Giovanni Sani (Central Catholic) vs. Brian Schoene (Bakersfield)

We'll use this thread for the quarterfinals. A total of 18 Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinalists, and nine from the Stanislaus District. Stanislaus District represent!

Coming up:
103: Jake Congleton (Beyer) vs. Alex Cisneros (Selma)
103: Brandon Egleston (Turlock) vs. Daniel Gaytan (Clovis)

Cisneros is ranked #1 in the state and has been for much of the season. Gaytan is another 103-pound freshman out of the Central Section.

So the AT@T wifi folks apparently have gotten the wireless going again. And we are live from Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield!

What I know from watching the last few moments:

Oliver COngleton of Beyer is 1-0, and he has Central Section champion Raul Estrada of Madera South next.

I saw Chris Urquizo of Merced dominate his guy.

Both of those guys are moving on to the round of 16.

A shocker out of the SJS: Oak Ridge's Kyle West lost in the first round, 8-5, to Matt Negrette of Buchanan. Negrete was the fifth-placer out of the Central Section.

I'm at the University of the Pacific, where we're poised for a long night after the first game goes down to the wire.
Merced beats Burbank 76-72 in the first Division I boys quarterfinal, behind 37 points from superstar guard Allen Huddleston. At one point in the third quarter, Huddleston hit two consecutive 3-pointers from deep followed by a drive to the bucket for eight straight.

Merced took a 73-71 lead on a Huddleston drive to the basket with 38 seconds left, and after Burbank's Terrance Mitchell made one of two free throws to pull his team with 73-72, Brian Cooksey got behind the Titans' defense for an easy layup and, eventually, the game.

Merced plays the Enochs-Folsom winner, which I'll be live-blogging later tonight.

A girls game: Bradshaw Christian beat Turlock Christiasn in a Division V quarterfinal, but I don't have the final score.

CHAMPIONSHIPS
103: Brandon Egleston (Turlock) vs. Jake Congleton (Beyer)
112: Isa Hurtado (Sheldon) vs. Bryden Lazaro (Bella Vista)
119: Fabian Garcia (Turlock) vs. Terry Allen (Hogan)
125: Jake Whatley (Folsom) vs. Shane Tate (Oakdale)
130: Connor Morgan (Del Oro) vs. Jake Briggs (Bella Vista)
135: Tyler Johnson (Vacaville) vs. Corey Johnson (Del Oro)
140: Nalan Ludwig (Elk Grove) vs. Vlad Dombrovskiy (Natomas)
145: Jordan Hart (Folsom) vs. Taylor Hodel (Vacaville)
152: T.J. Belton (Central Catholic) vs. Chris Urquizo (Merced)
160: Adam Delagarza (Vacaville) vs. Nick Rohrer (Oak Ridge)
171: Jordan Williams (El Dorado) vs. Hudson Buck (Vacaville)
189: Ryan Loder (Granite Bay) vs. Taylor Mobley (Turlock)
215: Charlie Gilstrap (Oakdale) vs. Brandon Barone (Rocklin)
285: Peter Anguiano (Franklin-EG) vs. Mathew Galas (Central Catholic)

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
103: Tanner Feuerstein (Central Catholic) vs. Jake Butler (Oakdale)