Arvin coach Miguel Sanchez told me earlier this week not to be surprised if his 103-pounder, Edgar Diaz, made a run at a state championship this weekend. He said Diaz is the kind of guy who deserves everything he'll get because of how hard he's worked.

Yeah, but coach, I said, Edgar only took fourth at last weekend's Central Section Masters. How's he supposed to win a state title?

Well, Diaz nearly got his chance to wrestle for that title tonight. He had the first takedown against defending state champ Gilberto Camacho of Fresno-Washington Union this morning and led 2-1 after two periods. It was even 2-2 until the final 15 seconds, when Camacho finally got a takedown and knocked Diaz from championship contention.

The Arvin wrestler will continue to wrestle; he's guaranteed a top-six finish. Meanwhile East 103-pounder Marc Collier, ranked fourth in state and the third-place finisher at Masters, was pinned in this morning's Cinderella consolation round. His teammate, 112-pounder Peter Gonzalez, won his match and will be a state medalist. Bakersfield High 140-pounder Jonah Cruz got five big nearfall points in the second period of his Cinderella match, held on to beat Lemoore's Nicholas Sierra and will also be a placer.

Liberty 145-pounder Robert Rios, though, lost to his Lemoore opponent, Vincent Rubio, and was knocked out. Kern County will have four placewinners and five if Centennial's John Musquez can win his 171-pound consolation match.

More semifinals coming up, but here's who we know will be in the state championships tonight:

103 pounds — Zach Zimmer, Clovis West, vs. Gilberto Camacho, Fresno-Washington Union
112 — MarkJay Acosta, San Leandro, vs. David Klingsheim, Brentwood-Liberty

— Posted by Zach Ewing