Eli Mayer could be in store for more than he can handle if he reaches the quarterfinals of the state wrestling championships in Bakersfield. The Vacaville High junior could face Chavez junior Frank Fuentes, who manhandled Mayer at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III and Masters tournaments.
Fuentes wasted no time in disposing of Mayer in the two matches. He needed just 2:31 for an 18-3 technical fall in the Division III finals and 1:58 for a 19-3 technical fall at the Masters. The Masters victory clinched Fuentes’ trip to the state tournament because he could finish no lower than fourth.
Mayer bounced back by pinning Del Oro’s Benson Tanner to become the fifth and final qualifier at 108 pounds for the state tournament. Tanner had beaten Mayer 11-0 in the quarterfinals, so Mayer proved he could settle a score with a ticket to the state tournament and his entire season at stake.
Getting even with Fuentes, who is ranked 13th in the state, will not be so easy. An eternal optimist would give Mayer little chance of avoiding another lopsided loss should he again run into Fuentes. One week is not enough time for Mayer to reinvent himself and devise a new strategy for Fuentes. He will have to stick with what has worked for him this season and believe it will be enough.
Vacaville’s eight state qualifiers traveled Wednesday to Bakersfield with the tournament at Dignity Health Arena beginning Thursday. The girls will begin at 9 a.m. and wrestle two rounds on the 10 mats before the boys get going at noon. Quarterfinal matches are scheduled for 1-4 p.m. Friday.
Senior Kaelena Ahrens will compete in the state tournament for the third consecutive year and will be joined by sophomore Jenna Patzer, the Masters champion at 190 pounds. Ahrens was the top seed at 120, but she settled for third place after a 7-4 semifinal loss to Oak Ridge’s Jordan Deleon.
Ahrens wants to add her name to those of Vacaville’s state medalists on the walls of the practice room. Patzer won each of her four Masters matches by pin and needed just 1:11 to flatten Casa Roble’s MacKenzie Miller in the finals. Her first two pins were in 16 and 29 seconds, respectively.
Patzer won her first two matches by pin at the section Central Regional tournament in Lodi on Feb. 13-14 before being pinned by Merrill West’s Jiraeh Faiaipau in the finals. Ahrens finished first at the Central Regional by pinning Rodriguez’s Mikayla Rayrao. Ahrens had four pins in the tournament.
Joining Mayer on the boys side will be Ethan Busby (120), Daniel Maranan (132), Jack Giangrasso (138), Brady Wight (190) and Ezra Cremo (285). Cremo, Maranan and Wight made it to the finals at the Masters. Maranan brought home the only title with an 8-5 win over Pitmam’s Ronaldo Wilharm.
Like Mayer, Wight ran into a familiar foe at the Masters. Pitman’s Carter Vannest defeated Wight by a 17-2 technical fall in the finals last Saturday after placing third in 2025 with a 22-6 technical fall against Wight. Fortunately for Wight, Vannest is the opposite side of the state championship bracket.
Cremo won two matches by pin and two by decision to advance to the finals, but the third decision went against him in a 10-1 loss to Oakdale’s Matthew Cooley. Busby lost in the semifinals at 120, but he won his first consolation match before finishing third by beating Elk Grove’s Kayleb Chao 4-3.
Also going to the state tournament is Will C. Wood’s Abigail English-Reed, who finished fourth at 145 pounds at the Masters. She recovered from a loss in the quarterfinals to win three consolation matches to earn a trip to Bakersfield. English-Reed placed third at the Central Regional in Lodi.
