There's a great team race developing here at Rabobank Arena. Clovis lost a big chance to distance itself from Modesto-Central Catholic and Gilroy in the heavyweight semifinals, but Cougars 285-pounder Jonathen Zamora lost 6-5 to Central Catholic's Dominic Galas in that match.

That result gives Catholic another 11 points (semifinals of wrestling tournaments are where the big points are) and brings it within 8.5 points of Clovis, 106.5-98. The interesting thing is, Catholic has three finalists: Stephen Vasquez at 160, Louis Bland at 189 and Galas. Vasquez and Galas will be underdogs, Bland a big favorite. Clovis 130-pounder Stephen Weimer, Clovis' only finalist, has already lost six times this year to his opponent, Clovis-Buchanan's Justin Arredondo.

Gilroy has two finalists and is in third at 94. Of course, Clovis has seven wrestlers still racking up points in consolation brackets, compared to four for Central Catholic and three for Gilroy. So the difference could be there.

Poway, long a contender but never a winner of this tournament, was a close second after last night but lost its only semifinal match. Both Clovis and Poway have several wins this morning in consolation matches, but it will be difficult for Poway to catch the teams in front of it.

Bakersfield High is in 12th place with 50.5 points.

On an invidual level, here's a complete list of tonight's state wrestling championships:j

103 pounds — Zach Zimmer, Clovis West, vs. Gilberto Camacho, Fresno-Washington Union
112 — MarkJay Acosta, San Leandro, vs. David Klingsheim, Brentwood-Liberty
119 — Brandon Rocha, Lemoore, vs. Martin Gonzalez, Gilroy
125 — Kody Klaus, Vacaville, vs. Angel Garcia, San Dimas
130 — Stephen Weimer, Clovis, vs. Justin Arredondo, Clovis-Buchanan
135 — Kyle West, El Dorado Hills-Oak Ridge, vs. Vinny Pisani, Orange-El Modena
140 — Vlad Dombroski, Sacramento-Natomas, vs. David Watts, Visalia-El Diamante
145 — Travis Rasmussen, Bakersfield, vs. Andrew Balch, Clovis-Buchanan
152 — Anthony Meza, Vista, vs. James Cook, Clovis West
160 — Steven Vasquez, Modesto-Central Catholic, vs. Jason Welch, Walnut Creek-Las Lomas
171 — Jake Meredith, Temecula Valley, vs. Hunter Collins, Gilroy
189 — Louis Bland, Modesto-Central Catholic, vs. Phil Brandt, Fresno-Bullard
215 — Josh Boger, Coalinga, vs. Rudi Burtschi, Oakdale
285 — Roger McCovey, Crescent City-Del Norte, vs. Dominic Galas, Modesto-Central Catholic

— Posted by Zach Ewing

It wasn't the most eventful match in the world, but that's how Travis Rasmussen likes it.

The Bakersfield High 145-pounder will be the first Kern County wrestler in a state championship in two years tonight after he beat Taylor Hodel of Vacaville 2-0 in a semifinal a few minutes ago.

Rasmussen got a takedown in the first 30 seconds of the match, using a duck-under and popping out on top of Hodel. He rode him out for the first period, picked bottom and couldn't get out in the second (Hodel was warned for stalling once). Then Hodel picked bottom but Rasmussen rode him out, nearly turning him a couple of times.

Meanwhile, Peter Gonzalez of East just won his consolation quarterfinal despite an injury to his left shoulder. He held on to beat Fabian Garcia of Turlock 4-3. Now he'll have a chance in the consolation semifinals, where a win puts him in the third-place match. A loss, and he'll wrestle for fifth.

Jonah Cruz is about to begin his consolation quarterfinal at 140. Centennial's John Musquez lost a tough 6-4 decision in his Cinderella match at 171.

— Posted by Zach Ewing

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

UPDATE: Just arrived here at the arena. One Cinderella's dream has already been broken. Los Angeles-Reseda 189-pounder Nasar Mohammad was a no-show to this morning's weigh-ins, which means that Jack Robinett of Atascadero will default into the medal rounds.
Mohammad was the only remaining wrestler from any of the L.A. City, San Francisco or Oakland sections.

ORIGINAL POST

No, I'm not quite at Rabobank Arena again for the second day of action at the 2008 CIF State Wrestling Championships (I don't get up that early), but I'll be on my way shortly.

Wanted to let you early risers know what we'll be keeping an eye on today:

— Local kids making good?
There are only two Kern County wrestlers in today's semifinals (that's one fewer than last year), a number that seems pretty low for how good the wrestling is around here. But there are still seven alive, with five in the consolation bracket. The semifinalists have already earned a top-eight finish and a state medal, no matter what happens today. The others need to win their first match to place.

— Cinderella round
That's the great thing about the first consolation round today, which starts in about 45 minutes. Win and you place, which is a goal for anyone who loses in the championship bracket and a dream come true for a lot of kids. Standing on that podium is a fantastic way to end a career, even if it's not on the very top. So some of the most emotional matches of the whole tournament come in this "Cinderella" round.

— Central Section superb
The Valley is making sure everyone knows where the wrestling powers in the state lie. Despite a so-so performance by Kern County, you can see why it's so hard to get to state from this area. Out of 56 semifinalists, 18 of them are from the Central Section — only 14 are from the Southern Section, which has nine entries at each weight class, and just 11 are Sac-Joaquin wrestlers (that section gets between 7-8 qualifiers.) The Valley sends seven to state. With 43 still alive (one fewer than the Southern Section), the section has more than showed it deserves at least that number.

— Super semifinals
Shortly after the consolation matches start, we'll begin the semifinals, matches that are of better quality than the final at almost any tournament across the state. Here are a few great ones to keep an eye out for:
103 pounds: No. 2 Bryan Grubbs, Carlsbad-La Costa Canyon vs. No. 3 Zach Zimmer, Clovis West
112: No. 1 Jesse Delgado, Gilroy vs. No. 3 David Klingsheim, Brentwood-Liberty
125: No. 3 Angel Garcia, San Dimas vs. No. 4 Steven Fitzgerald, Clovis East
130: No. 1 Justin Arredondo, Clovis-Buchanan vs. No. 3 Scott Chene, Irvine
135: No. 1 Nick Fisher, Clovis West vs. No. 3 Vinny Pisani, El Modena
160: No. 2 Steven Vasquez, Modesto-Central Catholic vs. No. 3 Morgan McIntosh, Santa Ana-Calvary Chapel
171: No. 2 Tito Pica, Concord-De La Salle vs. No. 3 Jake Meredith, Temecula Valley
189: No. 2 Phil Brandt, Fresno-Bullard vs. No. 3 Caleb Gerl, Downey-Calvary Chapel
215: No. 1 Rudi Burtschi, Oakdale, vs. No. 3 Brett Sanchez, Clovis
HWT: No. 2 Jonathen Zamora, Clovis vs. No. 3 Dominic Galas, Modesto-Central Catholic

We'll try to keep you updated on the goings-on this morning as best we can. I'm off to the arena; enjoy the wrestling everybody!

 — Posted by Zach Ewing