Grand Masters championships (updates below)

103—Alex Cisneros, Selma, dec. Daniel Gaytan, Clovis, 4-3 2OT
112—Zach Zimmer, Clovis West, dec. Vince Rodriguez, Clovis North, 2-1 2OT
119—Chris Martinez, Clovis West, pinned Stephen Meredith, Buchanan, 3:53
125—Brandon Rocha, Lemoore, maj. dec. Clinton McAlester, Clovis, 18-5
130—Raul Estrada, Madera South, dec. Shane Yacuta, Porterville, 5-3
135—Seth Hicks, Centennial, dec. Greg Kapler, Liberty, 6-3
140—Nicholas Sierra, Lemoore, dec. Jonah Cruz, Bakersfield, 6-4
145—Scott Sakaguchi, Clovis, pinned Adam Fierro, Bakersfield, 3:05
152—Bryce Hammond, Bakersfield, dec. Cameren Kelley, Clovis, 5-3, 2OT
160—Stephen West, Buchanan, dec. James Cook, Madera, 10-4
171—Rene Medina, Shafter, dec. Mark Narvaez, Washington Union, 5-2
189—Tommy Burriel, Clovis, dec. Rodolfo Juarez, Central, 8-1
215—Rykeem Yates, Edison, maj. dec. Brian Schoene, Bakersfield, 11-3
HWT—Loren Baize, Lemoore, dec. Kyle Papendorf, Buchanan, 1-0

UPDATED, 8:41 p.m.: It's always nice when the team title comes down to the heavyweight match, and that's what we have here. If Buchanan's Kyle Papendorf can beat Lemoore's Loren Baize, as he did last week, the Bears edge past Clovis. If Baize wins, the Cougars win. Think they're rooting for the guy in purple a little bit? After a scoreless first period, Baize gets a second-period escape for a 1-0 lead. Front headlock locked up for Baize, but Papendorf wiggles out of bounds. Papendorf briefly had a single-leg, but Baize backs out. No takedowns in the second period, either. Now Papendorf on bottom. Baize is doing a fine riding job here in the third period. One minute to go. Twice Papendorf has been on his feet but Baize has taken him back down both times. Out of bounds with 40 ticks left. No stalling warnings, so Papendorf really needs to get out. Baize is a big fella, though, and it's not easy. Can he indirectly clinch Clovis the team title? It sure looks like it. Papendorf is in trouble, and that's it. 1-0 for Loren Baize of Lemoore, and a 1.5-point team victory for Clovis.

UPDATED, 8:33 p.m.: Brian Schoene has been the top dog at 215 pounds all year long in the section, but I think if anybody can beat him, it's Edison's Rykeem Yates. Yates is a physical specimen with either a strange hobby or a sense of humor — he wrote on his finalist's info sheet that he enjoys basket weaving. Anyway, he lost 3-1 to Schoene in the semifinals last week and now meets him in the finals, where the Driller got a late first-period takedown, followed by a Yates escape for a 2-1 lead. Now Yates has a nearside cradle locked up! He's got nearfall in the second period for a 4-2 lead. 34 seconds left, and if Schoene could get out here, he still might be in OK shape heading to the third. Running out of time though, and Yates got the cradle locked up again. He very nearly got the pin there, but the period ran out first. It's 7-2 Yates. Now he's taken Schoene down for a 9-2 lead in the third. Folks, I knew it'd be tough for Schoene, but this margin is pretty shocking. Yates wrestles with an attitude and he's got the motor and the skills to back it up. An escape late for Schoene, but he's been stunned here, 11-3 after another late takedown.

UPDATED, 8:22 p.m.: Again doing interviews there, but Clovis' Tommy Burriel thoroughly dominated Central's Rodoljo Juarez 8-1 in the 189-pound final. That certainly makes things interesting in the team standing. Clovis now has a 1.5-point lead on Buchanan but needs the Bears' Kyle Papendorf to lose the heavyweight final to win the section. Bakersfield is now hamstrung into third, albeit a close one.

UPDATED, 8:13 p.m.: A quick team standings update as we enter the 171-pound final. Buchanan has the lead back with 135.5 points, followed by Clovis with 133 and Bakersfield with 128. Each team has one (favored) wrestler left, so that win by Stephen West eliminated Bakersfield. Now it's time for the only all-Sierra/Sequoia final of the night, Shafter's Rene Medina against Washington Union's Mark Narvaez. These actually are two of the only three S/S finalists. Medina a takedown just barely inbounds in the first period, and he rides Narvaez out for a 2-0 lead. Medina beat Narvaez in the S/S championship last weekend, so this is another rematch. I saw Medina a few weeks back at the South Sequoia League championships, where he lost the final to Tehachapi's Jason Hail (who didn't qualify for Masters), and I have to say, this guy looks like a different wrestler out there. Like a threat to place in state, maybe. He qualified at 160 last year and won a couple of matches, I believe, before being eliminated. Medina and Narvaez trade escapes to start the final two periods, and it's 3-1 Shafter. Narvaez needs a takedown. Medina gets one instead. He'll be the section champ at 171 with a 5-2 final.

UPDATED, 8:03 p.m.: With how well Buchanan's Stephen West dominated Madera's James Cook, his former teammate, in last week's divisional final at 160, it has to be a surprise that Cook started this match with a takedown. But there's an escape and takedown for West, followed by a Cook escape, and it's 3-3 after one. A takedown for West makes it 5-4 at the end of two for West, and an escape to start the third is 6-4. No question this is closer than last week's final. But there's a takedown for West with about 30 seconds left that should salt this one away. A couple of nearfall points and it's a 10-4 final.

UPDATED, 7:51 p.m.: Here we go, a match with huge team-title implications. Buchanan is favored in both of its remaining finals matches, and these two teams are favored in their final one. So this match could clinch it for Clovis, or get Bakersfield back in it and leave the door wide open for Buchanan. Scoreless first period, and Clovis' Cameren Kelly chooses neutral to start period 2, not wanting to give Bakersfield's Bryce Hammond a chance to work from top. Kelley was close in that second period, but he couldn't get the takedown. Now Hammond has the edge, starting from bottom. Kelley starts optional neutral to give Hammond a 1-0 lead. All about the takedown now. Another good shot from Kelley, but this time he's out of bounds. Kelley has been doing all the shooting in this match, but he can't finish. Now he has 2! I'm not sure about that, considering Hammond has a leg, but there it is. Now Hammond has 30 seconds to get out and tie the match. BHS argues, and the referees wave it off! Still 1-0 Hammond, though he has to survive 30 more seconds. The Clovis crowd, as you might imagine, is not happy about that change. Here we go. Stalemate with 10 seconds to go. And oh my goodness. Hammond figure-fours the head with just a second or two left and Kelley is awarded the tying point. HUGE call, and we're tied 1-1 and have OT. Finally some great action in OT, as both wrestlers scramble out of near-takedowns out of bounds. Now Hammond has a single-leg, almost has two, but they're ruled ob again. Now the BHS crowd is up in arms. Refs are not popular right now. 10 seconds left in OT. Still arguing. They're calling the head official over. Out of bounds, though, is a judgment call, and I don't think the Drillers will get this one reversed. BHS coach Andy Varner has now officially protested the call. I believe the Drillers have also been deducted a team point for misconduct, but I can't confirm that. Anyway, the call is not going to stand. More scrambling in the final seconds, but no takedowns and we have double OT. Hammond down first. He's got the granby for a four-point move! There's a reversal for Kelley, but it's 5-3 Hammond with one more shot for Kelley. He's down for 30 seconds. Hammond is so good on top. He's going to ride him out for what is certainly a controversial 5-3 decision. Big win for BHS.

UPDATED, 7:34 p.m.: Had to go do a quick interview for my daily story there, so I didn't get to watch too much at 145 pounds. But Clovis got the pin it wanted so badly from Scott Sakaguchi. He turned Bakersfield's Adam Fierro early in the second and then finally got the pin with 55 seconds left. That puts Clovis ahead of Buchanan by 1.5 points and ahead of Bakersfield by 9. All three teams have two finalists to go, including Clovis vs. Bakersfield at 152. If the Drillers don't get this one, they're eliminated and Clovis would be a huge step towards the team title.

UPDATED, 7:27 p.m.: I think when Bakersfield's Jonah Cruz dropped to 140 pounds a month or so ago, he wasn't planning on Lemoore's Nicholas Sierra following him. Cruz was the Five Counties champion and undefeated at 140 until last week, when Sierra beat him in an overtime decision in the divisional final. Now Sierra used a lightning-fast shot to take a lead in the first period in the Masters final. It's 2-1 after an escape, and Sierra gets a reversal to start the second. 4-1. Trouble for Cruz, who probably needs to rack up points on top if he's ever going to beat the Lemoore stud. That might have been his only chance on top in the whole match. Cruz an escape, and he's in on a shot, Sierra just will not allow a takedown. The guy has great balance and tree trunks for legs. But we'll see. It's a close match, 4-2 entering the third. Cruz gets out and it's 4-3. But Sierra quickly dispatches a Cruz throw attempt and gets his own takedown. Just no chance against this guy in neutral position. A stalling warning for Sierra, but there's not enough time left. Lemoore wins at 140, 6-4.

UPDATED, 7:17 p.m.: Here's the one west Bakersfield has been waiting for all season. Seth Hicks of Centennial, No. 1 in the state, and his rival and friend from the school down the road, Greg Kapler of Liberty, who has been ranked second in the section for most of the year. The schools are no more than 2 miles apart and this is their first meeting, in the Masters final. Kapler's funky style cost him in the first period, as Hicks rolled through one of his throws for a takedown and two nearfall. But Kapler got the takedown in the second period to cut the lead to 4-2. But Hicks gets a reversal of his own and takes a 6-2 lead as the second period ends. Looks like the Golden Hawk is too technically sound for Kapler, but you're only a moment's loss of focus away from trouble with this guy. Right there, Kapler had Hicks' head locked up and nearly turned hiim for at least a five-point move, but Hicks kept his hips up and pulled his head back out to stay on top. 47 ticks left. Now 19 as Hicks' headgear flies off. An escape for Kapler, but that's not going to be enough, and Hicks hangs on 6-3.

UPDATED, 7:07 p.m.: Quick correction on that last match. The last five-point move made it 18-5 for Rocha, so not a tech fall, just a major decision. Now an entertaining final at 130. Raul Estrada of Madera South got two quick takedowns in the first period, but Porterville's Shane Yacuta had a good second period and has closed to 5-3. Yacuta is also down to start the third, so a chance to score. Estrada, though, is making that difficult. He has, though, just been warned for stalling. That's only the first, so no points. 59 seconds left. Estrada rides out Yacuta for a championship.

UPDATED, 6:59 p.m.: No upsets here at 125 pounds, not at least without a big turnaround. Defending 119-pound state champion Brandon Rocha of Lemoore is giving a double-leg takedown clinic against Clovis' Clinton McAlester and leads 8-3 in the second period. One of the first-period takedowns sent McAlester to his back for two nearfall points. And there, with the score 8-4, is a throw to the back for Rocha, a five point move that'll put this one out of reach. An escape, and then another beautiful double and three nearfall. Folks, that's a 20-5 tech fall. Things are setting up well for Bakersfield High, with Clovis and Buchanan coming up empty thus far in the finals. BHS still needs upsets from Jonah Cruz and Bryce Hammond, though, so we'll hold off on any proclamations yet.

UPDATED, 6:49 p.m.: The 119-pound final opens slowly, with a double stalling warning for Stephen Meredith of Buchanan and Chris Martinez of Clovis West. It's pretty apparent that these guys are familiar with each other. Meredith opens the second period with an escape to make it 1-0. Another tight match. Now Martinez is on a single-leg, and he finally is able to trip Meredith. Half-nelson, and a quick pin! A stunner for Martinez with seven seconds to go in the second period! Clovis West pulls an improbable double at 112 and 119 pounds, and Buchanan loses what could have been valuable points.

UPDATED, 6:42 p.m.: We're looking at a possible upset in the 112-pound final. Vince Rodriguez of Clovis North, is ranked first in the state, but he's tied 1-1 with 12 seconds left with Zach Zimmer of Clovis West. Zimmer just nearly had a double-leg takedown, but the wreslters were ruled out of bounds before he could complete it. Now our second straight OT match. What a final round this could turn out to be if this trend continues. Wrestlers were locked up, now back to center. A good sprawl from Rodriguez late, but he can't get around to score, and it's our second straight double OT match. Rodriguez down first, and he gets everything out but his leg. And Zimmer hangs on to it and takes him back down! Time runs out, and now Zimmer down with a chance to win. He's out, and now he's in on another shot. Time's going to run out, and Zimmer has the 2-1 upset.

UPDATED, 6:31 p.m.: The 103-pound final between Clovis' Daniel Gaytan and Selma's Alex Cisneros is underway, with Cisneros' up 3-2 after an escape to begin the third period. Gaytan will need a takedown to be a section champ. Or he could do it that way. Cisneros dinged for stalling for the second time, and it's 3-3. Now the Selma wrestler is in on a shot late, but time runs out first and we've got overtime. Neither wrestler able to get a takedown. Double OT. Gaytan on bottom first, and he nearly gets out but Cisneros is able to ride the legs out of bounds. 13 ticks left. Gaytan can't quite get away. Now Cisneros likely is an escape away from a win. He gets it! 10 seconds left. Now he's in on a shot, and he doesn't finish it, but time runs out and Cisneros hangs on for a 4-3 win.

ORIGINAL POST: We're about to get started here at East with the Central Section Grand Masters championships. They've moved me to kind of a bad spot to see, but I'll go up to the bleachers to watch the finals and hopefully at least be able to report a score back here. Following is a list of team scores with number of finalists in parentheses. Then I'll list how many state qualifiers each team has. Turned out to be a pretty good day for Buchanan even with some early problems. The Bears have a 4.5-point lead on Clovis in the team standings (watch out, that half a point could be crucial, with finals matches being worth 4 points plus any bonus points) and qualified 10 of the 11 they brought here to state.

Team standings
Buchanan 131.5 (3 finalists)
Clovis 127 (5)
Bakersfield 124 (4)
Selma 114 (1)
Lemoore 79.5 (3)
Clovis West 68 (2)
Washington Union 61.5 (1)
Clovis East 44 (0)
Sunnyside 36 (0)
Madera 33 (1)

State qualifiers by school
Buchanan 10; Clovis 8; Selma 8; Bakersfield 7; Clovis East 6; Lemoore 5; Clovis West 4; Washington Union 4; Sunnyside 3, East 3, Exeter 3, Hoover 2, Tehachapi 2, Madera South 2, Kerman 2, Foothill 2, Liberty 2, Arvin 2, Frontier 2, Madera 2, Kingsburg 2, Hanford West 2; 1 each — Clovis North, Sanger, Hanford, Porterville, Centennial, Monache, Granite Hills, Ridgeview, Wasco, Bullard, Madera Liberty, Delano, Shafter, Yosemite, Mt. Whitney, Tulare Union, Central, Edison, Cesar Chavez.