Photos: California CIF high school state wrestling championships finals, award ceremonies (2/24/24)
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA — View photos from the finals of Day 3 of the 2024 California (CIF) high school state wrestling championships at Mechanics Bank Arena.
Twenty-eight individual state champions were crowned — 14 boys and 14 girls — as well as two team champions, the boys from Poway of San Diego and the girls from Walnut.
Poway set an all-time scoring record with 290.5 points and Walnut captured the first state girls crown.
This is the 51st event for the boys and 13th for the girls that determines the very best individuals and teams in the Golden State. This is the fifth year the boys and girls tournaments have run at the same time.
Buoyed by seven wrestlers making the finals — three who emerged victorious — Poway's boys broke state-meet scoring record with 290.5 points to edge Buchanan (255).
Five boys became two-time state champions: Ronnie Ramirez (Walnut, 120), Daniel Zepeda (Gilroy, 138), Brock Mantanona (Palm Desert, 150), Robert Platt (Poway, 215) and Cody Merrill (Gilroy, 285).
With 96 points, Walnut won its first girls championship, edging Newport Harbor (87).
Anaya Falcon (Walnut, 105) became the seventh three-time state girls champion, while Issabella Marie Gonzales (Clovis East, 115), Duda Rodrigues (Newport Harbor, 155) and Leilani Lemus (Clovis, 170) won their second state titles.
All photos by Joe Bergman for SBLive Sports
