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.

UPDATE, 4:57 p.m.: Since this one is ridiculously long, I'll start a new post for the championship matches, which are slated to begin at 6 p.m. Here are your top 10 in team standings heading to the finals. The consolation bracket was good to Selma, but not good enough. It's a three-horse race heading to the finals, with the top two your likely contenders. If everything breaks right, Bakersfield could still make some noise, but three of the Drillers' four finalists are going in as underdogs.

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)

UPDATE, 4:29 p.m.: Just received word that the Oakland Section winners didn't meet CIF requirements for state at 119, 125, 130 and 140 pounds, giving the Central Section an extra spot at those weights. The lucky losers are: Exeter's Jason Gagnon, Tehachapi's Jared Steinbach, Clovis' Sonny Cervantes and Arvin's Francisco Bugambilia.

UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: I'm taking a look at state qualifiers per team and still trying to get math to work out, but here's what I've got so far: Buchanan has nine qualifiers, followed by Selma with eight, and Clovis and Bakersfield with seven each. It looks like 24 Kern County wrestlers will make it to state, down from 27 last year, though I dare say this group has a little more quality.

Third-place results: 103—Stevan Knoblauch, Clovis West, dec. David Rico, Washington Union, 6-4; 112—Chris Diaz, Sanger, pinned Natrelle Demison, Bakersfield, 1:25; 119—A.J. Valles, Selma, inj. default Sonny Perez, Hoover; 125—Nick Pena, Selma, dec. Damien Arredondo, Buchanan, 4-0; 130—Timmy Box, Bakersfield, dec. Jose Mendoza, Selma, 14-12; 135—Nathan Zarate, Selma, dec. Alec Dieter, Clovis, 7-6; 140—Nick Escalera, Selma, dec. Javier Sanchez, Ridgeview, 3-2; 145—Alex Rodriguez, Washington Union, pinned Martin Cueto, Liberty, 1:30.

Fifth-place results: 103—Adrian Rodriguez, Buchanan, dec. Justin Jauregui, Clovis East, 3-0; 112—Diego Quintana, Selma, maj.dec. Silverio Esparza, Lemoore, 10-1; 119—Connor Larson, Clovis East, dec. Alex Perez, Lemoore, 4-0; 125—Chris Calcagno, Clovis East, dec. Robert Patino, Exeter, 5-3; 130—Kevin Rojas, Kerman, pinned Anthony Waters, Buchanan, 1:57; 135—Gabe Ramirez, Monache, dec. Moses Quesada, Clovis East, 7-5; 140—Matt Negrete, Buchanan, pinned Michael Martinez, Wasco, 2:28; 145—Brian Perrault, Clovis East, inj. default Lance Castenada, Frontier; 152—Justin Lozano, Selma, pinned Mago Ramos, Hoover, 1:10; 160—Amandeep Singh, Delano, maj.dec. Tyler Grandal, Kingsburg, 15-6.

UPDATE, 3:55 p.m.: Another survivor who has had a bad day is Buchanan 215-pounder Holden Smith, a runner-up at divisionals last week who had to wrestle for seventh. Smith pinned McFarland's Jesus Urrea in the second period to move on to state.

Consolation semifinal winners: 171—Zach Nevills, Clovis, and Erik Sotelo, Yosemite; 189—Jake Gingold, Buchanan, and Nick Corona-Zamarripa, Hanford West; 215—Noel Gomez, Cesar Chavez, and Michael Renteria, Washington Union; HWT—Byron Mancia, Sunnyside, and Angel Posadas, Foothill.

Seventh-place winners: 215—Holden Smith, Buchanan; HWT—Teddy Furnish, Kerman.

UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: Dwight Flores, Tulare Union's top-ranked 171-pounder, has survived to state. He lost two overtime matches earlier, but since he was the top seed, he still had a chance to wrestle for seventh place. In that match, he just pinned Tanner Roberts of Kingsburg in 0:28, and he'll live to see another day.

Consolation semifinal winners: 140—Javier Sanchez, Ridgeview, and Nick Escalera, Selma; 145—Alex Rodriguez, Washington Union, and Martin Cueto, Liberty; 152—Nikko Reyes, Clovis West, and Martin Fabbian, Buchanan; 160—Lewis Pedraza, Madera South, and Jose Ramirez, Bakersfield.

Seventh-place winners: 145—Nick Gizzo, Madera Ranchos-Liberty; 152—Vincent Rubio, Clovis East; 160—James St. John, Tehachapi; 171—Dwight Flores, Tulare Union; 189—Michael Machado, Arvin.

UPDATE, 3:16 p.m.: We've begun consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches here, but I wanted to update team standings and finalist information. Here are the top 10 in team standings with number of finalists in parentheses:

Clovis 113 (5)
Buchanan 104.5 (3)
Bakersfield 102.5 (4)
Lemoore 79.5 (3)
Selma 70 (1)
Clovis West 53 (2)
Washington Union 38.5 (1)
Clovis East 38 (0)
Madera 29 (1)
Clovis North (1), Madera South (1) and Liberty (1), 27

So, strength over numbers so far today. Bakersfield is in competition for a championship, something that seemed pretty unlikely last week, when the Drillers were a distant third to Clovis and Buchanan. But with Buchanan struggling and Selma having a disastrous semifinal round, Bakersfield fills that gap. Consolation matches will be huge here in determining positioning in team standings before the finals.

A new set of brackets, through the semifinals, is attached. To add to that...

Some consolation semifinal winners: 103—Stevan Knoblauch, Clovis West, and David Rico, Washington Union; 112—Chris Diaz, Sanger, and Natrelle Demison, Bakersfield; 119—A.J. Valles, Selma, and Sonny Perez, Hoover; 125—Nick Pena, Selma, and Damien Arredondo, Buchanan; 130—Jose Mendoza, Selma, and Timmy Box, Bakersfield; 135—Nathan Zarate, Selma, and Alec Dieter, Clovis.

And some seventh-place results for the last state spot from the Central Section: 103—Lupe Flores, Exeter; 112—Marc Collier, East; 119—Peter Gonzalez, East; 125—Gabriel Velasquez, Hanford; 130—Derik Rizo, Foothill; 135—Mickey Phanthavong, Granite Hills; 140—David Gevorgian, Bullard.

UPDATE, 2:43 p.m.: An upset here that's good for Kern County and bad for Clovis' team chances. Shafter's Rene Medina, down 3-0 to Clovis' Zach Nevills, gets a takedown, lets Nevills escape and then gets another takedown with seconds left to tie the match. In overtime, Medina got a funky-looking takedown that he turned into a pin with 12 seconds on the clock. He'll wrestle another upstart, Washington Union's Mark Narvaez, who beat Yosemite's Erik Sotelo 5-4.

At 189 pounds, Tommy Burriel has already dispatched Hanford West's Nick Corona-Zamarripa with a 15-4 major decision. He'll wrestle Central's Rodolfo Juarez in the championship. Juarez avenged a loss to Buchanan's Jake Gingold last week with a 5-2 decision.

They're wrestling semis on three mats now, so I've got a paragraph going for each weight. Bakersfield's Brian Schoene just took down Hanford West's Jonathan Garcia in the first 215 semifinal. A quick tilt and Schoene leads 5-0. He'll hang on 7-1 and wrestle Edison's Rykeem Yates, who's busy dominating Chavez's Noel Gomez. Gomez nearly turned a five-point move to stun everyone there, but Yates recovered, got to his belly and will win 6-2. Schoene beat Yates in an entertaining semifinal match at last week's divisional (3-1 maybe?).

Finally, at heavyweight, Lemoore's Loren Baize dominated Foothill's Angel Posadas in what figured to be a close match. He led 5-0 already when he pinned Posadas in 1:39. That's only a mild upset, but the ease of Baize's victory is pretty surprising. Baize gives Lemoore two finalists and will wrestle divisional champ Kyle Papendorf of Buchanan, who's not as big as some of the other heavyweights but is solid technically. Papendorf out-pointed Byron Mancia of Sunnyside 3-0. Should be a real contrast in styles in the final, another semifinal rematch from last week.

Now onto seventh-place matches and consolation semifinals. Remember, the seventh placers are important. Winners go to state; losers are just alternates.

Finalists: 171—Rene Medina, Shafter, vs. Mark Narvaez, Washington Union; 189—Tommy Burriel, Clovis, vs. Rodolfo Juarez, Central; 215—Brian Schoene, Bakersfield, vs. Rykeem Yates, Edison; HWT—Loren Baize, Lemoore, vs. Kyle Papendorf, Buchanan.

Consolation winners: HWT—Luis Contreras, Madera, and Antonio Hernandez, East

UPDATE, 2:13 p.m.: Bryce Hammond was upset in last week's Divisional semifinals, but he's still dangerous, and he's proving it in his semifinal with Clovis West's Nikko Reyes. Hammond has a slim 2-0lead late in the third period, and twice he's turned Reyes shots into stalemates late. Hammond will wrestle for the championship against Clovis'  Cameren Kelley, who turned in another head-to-head victory for the Cougars against Buchanan's Martin Fabbian. That score was 3-2, with Kelley's early takedown holding up with a third-period escape for victory.

A quick note from the consolations, where Tulare Union 171-pounder, who won the Yosemite Divisional last week, lost his second straight overtime match and is now dangerously close to missing state. He'll wrestle Tanner Roberts of Kingsburg for seventh.

In the 160-pound finals, the saga that is James Cook of Madera and Stephen West of Buchanan, former Bears teammates, have wrestled the past two weeks for league and divisional titles (West has won both), and they're trying to meet again. West is facing Bakersfield's Jose Ramirez, and Cook against Lewis Pedraza of Madera South in a repeat of last week's semifinalists at divisionals. Cook won easily against Pedraza from the looks of it, and I believe West has a comfy lead on Ramirez. West will win 6-0. Actually, Cook's match was tight, but he moves on for the rematch with a 5-4 decision.

Next round will be consolation semifinals plus the all important seventh-place matches. Then we'll wrestle for third and fifth place.

Finals matchups: 152—Cameren Kelley, Clovis, vs. Bryce Hammond, Bakersfield; 160—James Cook, Madera, vs. Stephen West, Buchanan.

Consolation winners: 171—Chris Heath, Sunnyside, and Matt Wykoff, Mt. Whitney; 189—Wade Jackson, Kingsburg, and Shane Ellis, Frontier; 215—Juan Hernandez, Sunnyside, and Michael Renteria, Washington Union.

UPDATE, 1:51 p.m.: For the second straight week, it's a great show when 140-pounders Jonah Cruz of Bakersfield and Javier Sanchez of Ridgeview (and formerly of BHS) get together. Last week, Cruz won 3-1. This week, Sanchez gets the first takedown and nearly has another in the second period, but Cruz, always so technically sound, ducks under his arm and gets his own TD, then adds two quick nearfall points on a tilt for a crucial swing and a 6-2 lead. Now Cruz, who held on for a 7-4 win, will get another shot at Lemoore's Nicholas Sierra, who beat him in OT in last week's divisional final. 8-3 for Sierra over Buchanan's Matt Negrete.

At 145 pounds, Scott Sakaguchi overpowered Martin Cueto of Liberty and pinned him in 3:48. Frontier's Lance Castaneda and Bakersfield's Adam Fierro are staging a battle over on Mat 1 to meet Sak. Looks like Fierro is a 5-1 winner.

Finalists: 140—Nicholas Sierra, Lemoore, vs. Jonah Cruz, Bakersfield; 145—Scott Sakaguchi, Clovis, vs. Adam Fierro, Bakersfield

Consolation winners: 140—Michael Martinez, Wasco, and Nick Escalera, Selma; 145—Brian Perreault, Clovis East, and Alex Rodriguez, Washington Union; 152—Justin Lozano, Selma, and Mago Ramos, Hoover; 160—Tyler Grandal, Kingsburg, and Amandeep Singh, Delano.

UPDATE, 1:29 p.m.: Things in both 130-pound semifinals have slowed down a bit. It's hard for me to get a read on exactly what the scores are, though I think Raul Estrada of Madera South beat Jose Mendoza of Slema with a late takedown. And that's confirmed. In the other semifinal, another Buchanan upset victim, this time Anthony Waters, who blew a 3-0 lead after two periods and lost 4-3 to Porterville's Shane Yacuta. Waters was penalized a point for stalling and one for three cautions on Waters, it looks like. The Bears are still ahead for now in the team standings, but they're losing chances at valuable points.

Now for the chance at an all-Kern County final at 135. Liberty's Greg Kapler is tangling with Selma's Nathan Zarate. I don't think there is score yet in that match, but Kapler is on the mat hurt. In the other semi, it's undefeated Seth Hicks of Centennial and Gabe Ramirez of Monache, which I believe was a semifinal last week also won by Hicks.

Kapler is up and wrestling again. It looks like Hicks has a lead way over on Mat 1. Kapler is one of the funkier wrestlers you'll ever see, one second on his back and the next with his opponent on being pinned. Can be very dangerous for both guys. I think Zarate got nearfall in that last exchange, but I didn't see the signal. Meanwhile, Hicks takes Ramirez down to his back, and though the Monache wrestler was able to spin around, Hicks is in complete control. He's the winner, 7-2.

Will Kapler finally join him for that showdown? You bet! Some late nearfall from Kapler and he beats Zarate 11-6.

Finals matchups: 130—Shane Yacuta, Porterville, vs. Raul Estrada, Madera South;  135—Seth Hicks, Centennial, vs. Greg Kapler, LIberty.

Consolation winners: 130—Kevin Rojas, Kerman, and Timmy Box, Bakersfield; 135— Moses Quesada, Clovis East, and Alec Dieter, Clovis.

UPDATE, 1:08 p.m.: I've attached a copy of the brackets, but they're only updated through the quarterfinals. I'll try to update the file when the semifinals end.

There's another great semifinal ongoing, this one at 119 pounds. Clovis West's Chris Martinez and Selma's A.J. Valles are locked 2-2 heading to overtime on Mat 2. Buchanan's Stephen Meredith beat Clovis East's Connor Larson already in the other semi, 8-1. Now Martinez is in on a shot, trying to finish as Valles wraps his legs around Martinez's head. They continue to circle, and Martinez is awarded two! He'll meet Meredith in the final.

Clovis comes up with a big win at 125 pounds as Clinton McAlester edges Selma's Nick Pena for a spot in the finals opposite the favorite from Lemoore, Brandon Rocha.

Final matchups: 119—Stephen Meredith, Buchanan, vs. Chris Martinez, Clovis West; 125—Brandon Rocha, Lemoore, vs. Clinton McAlester, Clovis.

Consolation winners: 119—Alex Perez, Lemoore, and Sonny Perez, Hoover; 125—Chris Calcagno, Clovis East, and Damien Arredondo, Buchanan.

UPDATE, 12:46 p.m.: Fantastic 103-pound semifinal to start things off here between Clovis West's Stevan Knoblauch and Selma's Alex Cisneros. Cisneros, heavily favored and No. 1 in the state, just got a third-period escape to lead 5-4 with about 1:30 left. We'll see if Knoblauch can come up with a takedown for the stunner. Cisneros just warned for stalling. About a minute left, I'm guessing. Clovis' Daniel Gaytan has already won the other semifinal, 11-4 over Washington Union's David Rico. And Cisneros hangs on for a 6-5 victory after a late double stalling call gave both wrestlers a point.

Up next are the 112 semis and a rematch of a great quarterfinal from last week, BHS' Natrelle Demison and Clovis North's Vince Rodriguez. Other semi is Chris Diaz against Zach Zimmer. Demison lost to Rodriguez 9-6 last week, and this one looks a bit more lopsided, from what I can see. Several takedowns for the Bronco in the second period. And a 9-2 final.

Finalists: 103—Daniel Gaytan, Clovis, vs. Alex Cisneros, Selma; 112—Vince Rodriguez, Clovis North, vs. Zach Zimmer, Clovis West.

Consolation winners (state qualifiers): 103—Adrian Rodriguez, Buchanan, and Justin Jauregui, Clovis East; 112—Diego Quintana, Selma, and Silverio Esparza, Lemoore.

UPDATE, 12:21 p.m.: The final winners from the first round of consolation: 145—Brian Perrault, Clovis East; 152—Anthony Tirado, Kingsburg; 189—Shane Ellis, Frontier; 215—Jesus Urrea, McFarland; HWT—Logan Enos, Dos Palos, and Antonio Hernandez, East

UPDATE, 12:12 p.m.: This round is going quickly, with lots of pins and an injury default or two to boot. A couple of notable wrestlers who are out already: Josh Zinkin of Clovis West at 140 (he was pinned by Bullard's David Gevorgian and appeared to injure his right leg pretty badly) and Nathan Poteete of Buchanan, who I think was hurt in the first round and tried to wrestle in the consolations. He was pinned in the third period by Mt. Whitney's Matt Wykoff.

Consolation quarterfinals — where winners are statebound — and semifinals are coming up next, probably about 12:30 or 12:45. Finals tonight are slated for 6 p.m.

More consolation winners: 119—Jason Gagnon, Exeter; 130—Derik Rizo, Foothill; 135—Mikeal Ruiz, Kerman, and Alec Dieter, Clovis; 140—Francisco Bugambilia, Arvin, and David Gevorgian, Bullard; 145—Nick Gizzo, Madera Ranchos-Liberty; 152—Vincent Rubio, Clovis East; 160—James St. John, Tehachapi, and Dalton Endes, Centennial; 171—Matt Wykoff, Mt. Whitney, and Chris Heath, Sunnyside; 189—Hugo Ferrer, Caruthers, and Shane Ellis, Frontier. 215—Holden Smith, Buchanan.

UPDATE, 11:57 a.m.: Your first batch of consolation winners is here. Remember, winners here go on to the conso quarters and need to go just 1-1 from here on out to qualify. Losers won't be going to Rabobank Arena next weekend for state, at least not to wrestle.

103—Adrian Rodriguez, Buchanan, and Harley Davis, Monache; 112—Juan Santos, Farmersville, and Marc Collier, East; 119—Sonny Perez, Hoover; 125—Chris Calcagno, Clovis North, and Gabriel Velasquez, Hanford; 130—Kevin Rojas, Kerman.

UPDATE, 11:47 a.m.: The lightweight consolation matches have just started, and these are big ones. Losers at each weight are two of the unlucky three who won't make it from here to state; winners go on to the consolation quarterfinals, where even if they lose, they can wrestle for seventh and a spot in state.

While we have a second, though, let's take a look at semifinalists (and automatic state qualifiers) by school.

Buchanan had 11 wrestlers here, the most of anyone, with Selma and Clovis at 9 each and Bakersfield at 7. Here's who's still alive for a championship:

Buchanan 7
Clovis 6
Bakersfield 6
Selma 5
Clovis West 4
Lemoore 3
2 each — Washington Union, Madera South, Liberty, Hanford West
1 each — Clovis North, Sanger, Clovis East, Exeter, Porterville, Centennial, Monache, Ridgeview, Sunnyside, Foothill, Shafter, Frontier, Madera, Central, Yosemite, Cesar Chavez, Edison

And the top 6 in team scores at this juncture:

Buchanan 57
Bakersfield 53.5
Clovis 48
Selma 38
Lemoore 33.5
Clovis West 31

UPDATE, 11:28 a.m.: It's now time for the big-boy quarterfinals, with one 215 quarterfinal ongoing and all four at heavyweight. That includes an early showdown between Foothill's Angel Posadas and East's Antonio Hernandez. The rivals have split four meetings this year. After this, one will be safely in state and the other in the consolation bracket.

Meanwhile, that 215 match just ended, and it looks like — don't hold me to this just yet  as it's on a far mat — an upset and another blow for Buchanan. I believe Cesar Chavez's Noel Gomez just took out the Bears' Holden Smith. Smith, who nearly beat Bakersfield's Brian Schoene in last week's Yosemite final, should be OK in the consolation bracket, but you never know. That's confirmed, now, 5-1 for Gomez over Smith.

As for Posadas and Hernandez, it's your typical heavyweight match, with little scoring and lots of leaning. Posadas just rode out Hernandez in the third period and apparently won the match. I'm guessing it was 1-0. And that's confirmed by the bout sheet, the same score Posadas won by last week.

The rest of the quarterfinal results: 189—Nick Corona-Zamarripa, Hanford West ; 215—Jonathan Garcia, Hanford West; Raykeem Yates, Edison; Noel Gomez, Cesar Chavez; HWT—Angel Posadas, Foothill; Loren Baize, Lemoore; Byron Mancia, Sunnyside; Kyle Papendorf, Buchanan

UPDATE, 11:15 a.m.: A collision of big names in a 152-pound quarterfinal now, and it's on a far mat, but from here it looks like Selma's Justin Lozano is getting the best of Bakersfield's Bryce Hammond. Could be a back-and-forth match, though, as Hammond just got a reversal and is super-dangerous on top.

Clovis wrestlers Zach Nevills and Tommy Burriel also are wrestling and appear to be in control. Nevills just wrapped things up, and in his 171 weight class, a big upset just happened right in front of us, with Yosemite's Erik Sotelo getting an overtime takedown of Yosemite champion Dwight Flores of Tulare Union for a 5-3 win. That opens up the weight class for Clovis' Nevills or Shafter's Rene Medina (who meet in one semi), though Sotello obviously is dangerous. Flores, meanwhile, is in a precarious position. Three of the four semifinalists at 171 are from the Sierra/Sequoia division.

I'm not positive Lozano was ever up in that match with Hammond, but the Drillers wrestler just had his hand raised, so a big win for Bryce Hammond there. Score was 6-4, and Hammond was down 4-2 going to the third.

More quarterfinal winners: 119—Stephen Meredith, Buchanan; 152—Martin Fabbian, Buchanan; Cameren Kelly, Clovis; Bryce Hammond, Bakersfield; 160—Stephen West, Buchanan; James Cook, Madera; Lewis Pedraza, Madera South; 171—Erik Sotelo, Yosemite; Mark Narvaez, Washington Union; Zach Nevills, Clovis; Rene Medina, Shafter; 189—Rodolfo Juarez, Central; Tommy Burriel, Clovis; Jake Gingold, Buchanan; 215—Brian Schoene, Bakersfield.

UPDATE, 10:58 a.m.: It was a 6-4 decision for Anthony Waters over Clovis' Sonny Cervantes. Right now, the loaded bracket at 140 pounds is starting to take shape. Lemoore's Nicholas Sierra got a quick pin of Wasco's Michael Martinez, and Bakersfield's Jonah Cruz and Ridgeview's Javier Sanchez are ahead on their mats. Those will be semifinals to watch. A quarterfinal to watch is Clovis' Scott Sakaguchi against Washington Union's Alex Rodriguez (no, not that one), just starting on Mat 3. They're battling in wizzer position right now, with Sakaguchi fighitng off a Rodriguez shot.

Sakaguchi now has a second-period takedown for a 2-1 lead. Cruz leads Clovis West's Josh Zinkin 6-2, though the match is starting to tighten up as Cruz appears to be getting tired. Now it's 7-4 as Zinkin gets a late takedown, but that's how it'll end.

Clovis' Scott Sakaguchi gets another takedown in the third period and now leads 4-2, I believe (I'm not facing the scoreboard). It looks like he hung on by that final score.

An overtime victory for Ridgeview's Javier Sanchez against Selma's Nick Escalera also, setting up a semifinal rematch from last week with Jonah Cruz.

More quarterfinal winners: 125—Nick Pena, Selma; 130—Anthony Waters, Buchanan; 135—Seth Hicks, Centennial; 140—Nicholas Sierra, Lemoore; Matt Negrete, Buchanan; Jonah Cruz, Bakersfield; Javier Sanchez, Ridgeview; 145—Martin Cueto, Liberty; Adam Fierro, Bakersfield, Lance Castenada, Frontier; Scott Sakaguchi; 152—Nikko Reyes, Clovis West; 160—Jose Ramirez, Bakersfield.

UPDATE, 10:38 a.m.: A big win for Liberty's Greg Kapler, who got a late tilt to put away Clovis' Alec Dieter 13-8 in a rematch of a terrific finish, won by Dieter, in last week's Yosemite Divisional. Maybe this is the week we see Kapler and his friend and rival, unbeaten Seth Hicks of Centennial, finally meet up.

Next up on that mat is a battle between Clovis and Buchanan, rivalry matches that will always be key to the team battle: It's Sonny Cervantes against Anthony Waters at 130 pounds. Looks like Waters is signing the bout card there, though I'm not sure how the victory came about.

Other quarterfinal winners: 112—Zach Zimmer, Clovis West; 119—A.J. Valles, Selma; 125—Brandon Rocha, Lemoore; 130—Jose Mendoza, Selma; 135—Greg Kapler, Liberty; Gabe Ramirez, Monache and Nathan Zarate, Selma

UPDATE, 10:26 a.m.: Several great matches — all perhaps key to Selma's title hopes — going on right now, with East's Peter Gonzalez battling Selma's A.J. Valles at 119, Clovis West's Zach Zimmer and Selma's Diego Quintana going at it at 112, and Bakersfield's Timmy Box taking on Jose Mendoza at 130.

It looks like Quintana was given a penalty point for an illegal hold during overtime against Zimmer. Quintana came back to his coaches, one of whom kept saying, "That's chicken, that's chicken." But Zimmer is the winner, and he's into the semifinals to face Sanger's Chris Diaz.

Meanwhile, a big win for Mendoza, 15-9, in a back-and-forth match over Bakersfield's Timmy Box. Box now has work to do if he's going to make state. And I see Valles signing a bout card on his mat, meaning he's beaten East's Gonzalez. So 2 of 3 for Selma ain't bad there.

UPDATE, 10:14 a.m.: Marc Collier of East had a nice start in his match with Sanger's Chris Diaz, but he couldn't stay ahead. Collier took Diaz down and very briefly to his back before the Apache got away and worked for a second-period pin.

Other quarterfinal winners are pouring in: 103—Alex Cisneros, Selma, and Daniel Gaytan, Clovis; 112—Chris Diaz, Sanger, and Vince Rodriguez, Clovis North; 119—Connor Larson, Clovis East, and Chris Martinez, Clovis West; 125—Robert Patino, Exeter, and Clinton McAlester, Clovis; 130—Shane Yacuta, Porterville, and Raul Estrada, Madera South

UPDATE, 10:01 a.m.: We're quickly into quarterfinal matches for those wrestlers who didn't have a pigtail. Those who did will have to wait a few minutes before they can hit the mats again (against the divisional winners), and those that lost have to wait for the losers of these matches for an elimination match.

Winners here are guaranteed a spot in the semifinals, at least sixth place and therefore a spot in next weekend's state tournament.

Nice start for Bakersfield High so far: Timmy Box and Bryce Hammond had pins in the pigtails, and Natrelle Demison just got a tech fall at 112 to open the quarterfinals. The freshman is the first state qualifier in the Central Section, so congrats to him.

Quarterfinal winners so far: 103—Stevan Knoblauch, Clovis West, and David Rico, Washington Union; 112—Natrelle Demison, Bakersfield.

UPDATE, 9:53 a.m.: We have our first big upset of the day, though it came about in injury default fashion. Nathan Poteete, Buchanan's 171-pounder, defaulted to Tanner Roberts of Kingsburg in his pigtail match (they were tied 4-4 at the time). Sorry, I wasn't able to catch exactly what happened, but if Poteete is unable to recover, the Bears are dealt a major blow to their section and state title hopes. Poteete is one of their best.
Also the first Kern County loser — that's Mychal Quiddam of Delano, who dropped a 6-3 decision at 171 pounds to Eric Sotello of Yosemite. Score one for the Sierra/Sequoia guys. Remember, these pigtail losers have to win twice in the loser's bracket to make state. Winners are in much better shape.

The rest of the pigtail winners: 152—Bryce Hammond, Bakersfield; 160—Amandeep Singh, Delano, and Lewis Pedraza, Madera South; 171—Tanner Roberts, Kingsburg, and Eric Sotello, Yosemite; 189—Rodolfo Juarez, Central, and Wade Jackson, Kingsburg; 215—Juan Hernandez, Sunnyside, and Raykeem Yates, Edison; HWT—Loren Baize, Lemoore, and Luis Contreras, Madera

UPDATE, 9:41 a.m.: Good day for Kern County so far, with all wrestlers who had pigtail matches winning. That includes Wasco freshman Michael Martinez, who turned in a 5-3 decision over Bullard's David Gevorgian at 140 in a bit of an upset. Bakersfield's Bryce Hammond is in control, and Delano's Mychal Quiddam has just begun wrestling.

More pigtail winners: 135—Moses Quesada, Clovis East, and Micky Phanthavong, Granite Hills; 140—Michael Martinez, Wasco, and Javier Sanchez, Ridgeview; 145—Alex Rodriguez, Washington Union, and Lance Castenada, Frontier; 152—Mago Ramos; Hoover.

If you're looking for a specific match result, let me know and I can post the score. I'm sitting at the scorer's table and have access to all of the results.

ORIGINAL POST: Welcome to the one and only day of the Central Section Grand Masters wrestling tournament from East Bakersfield High School. I'm going to post live results as much as I can here, plus some commentary or play-by-play as I can.

Here's what we know so far:

Pigtail round winners: 103—Lupe Flores, Exeter, and Justin Jauregui, Clovis East; 112—Silverio Esparza, Lemoore, and Zach Zimmer, Clovis West; 119—Alex Perez, Lemoore, and Peter Gonzalez, East; 125—Damien Arredondo, Buchanan, and Jared Steinbach, Tehachapi; 130—Timmy Box, Bakersfield, and Sonny Cervantes, Clovis

More to come shortly.

It's a crazy one in the office tonight with boys and girls soccer Central Section championships and boys basketball quarterfinals roaring along all over the Valley. I went to Frontier to watch the school unveil the new lights on its stadium and then the Titans girls soccer team, which won the Division II section championship with a 4-0 rout of Reedley.

On my way back downtown, I stopped in at Centennial and caught the final quarter of the Golden Hawks' basketball quarterfinal with Clovis. Centennial won it 63-59 behind 24 points and 20 rebounds from Nick Jensen and will advance to play at Fresno-Central in Wednesday's semifinals.

Before I get to the other scores we've got (soccer scores are section championships, basketball are quarterfinals), let me mention that I'll be live-blogging the Grand Masters wrestling tournament from East High on Saturday. Follow along and ask for specific results if you like. I'll get to as many as I can.

BOYS SOCCER
Division I
No. 2 Fresno-Central at No. 1 Fresno-Bullard, 1 p.m. Saturday
Division II
No. 4 Tulare Western 3, No. 3 West 0
Division III
No. 1 Golden Valley 1, No. 3 Porterville 0
Division IV
No. 6 Arvin at No. 1 Fresno-Roosevelt, 1 p.m. Saturday
Division V
No. 2 Lindsay at No. 1 Parlier
Division VI
No. 2 Tranquillity at No. 1 Mendota

GIRLS SOCCER
Division I
No. 4 Stockdale at No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan, 1 p.m. Saturday
Division II
No. 8 Frontier 4, No. 11 Reedley 0
Division III
No. 4 Golden Valley 1, No. 3 Clovis North 0, 2OT
Division IV
No. 3 Selma at No. 1 Visalia-CVC
Division V
No. 2 SLO-Mission Prep 1, No. 1 Bakersfield Christian 0
Division VI
No. 4 Avenal at No. 3 Mendota

BOYS BASKETBALL
Division I
No. 2 Fresno-Central 66, No. 10 Fresno-Bullard 62
No. 3 Centennial 63, No. 6 Clovis 59
Division II
No. 1 Liberty 70, No. 9 Tulare Union 49
No. 2 Lemoore 84, No. 7 Visalia-Redwood 55
No. 3 Garces 68, No. 11 Porterville-Monache 56
No. 4 Fresno-Sunnyside 63, No. 5 Hanford 60
Division III
No. 1 Ridgeview 67, No. 9 Madera South 47
No. 2 Fresno-Hoover 71, No. 10 Oakhurst-Yosemite 43
No. 3 Hanford West 49, No. 11 Foothill 45
No. 4 Visalia-El Diamante 67, No. 5 Cesar Chavez 47
Division IV
No. 1 Bakersfield Christian 76, No. 8 Lindsay 54
No. 3 Kingsburg 63, No. 11 Chowchilla 45
No. 5 Corcoran 71, No. 13 Madera Ranchos-Liberty 52
Division V
No. 4 Clovis Christian 44, No. 5 Visalia Christian 40

The Chinese are calling this the Year of the Ox, and that's fine and dandy. Oxen are strong, formidable animals with a good reputation, I guess, though I don't know the first two things about them.

But strong, formidable teams in Kern County aren't the story of the year so far in high school sports. No, sirree, not this February. This is the Year, or at least the Winter, of the Underdog. Consider the following examples.

— In the girls soccer playoffs, the Division I final is No. 4 Stockdale against No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan, and that wouldn't too surprising under normal circumstances, especially considering Buchanan is a three-time defending champ, but think about this: Stockdale stunned — and I mean stunned — top-seeded Clovis 1-0 in the semis. All the Cougars had done is go 23-0-2 before that game and earned a No. 6 ranking nationally (No. 2 in the West) in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll.

— But if you think Stockdale is an unlikely finalist, check out the Division II girls final, where No. 8 Frontier has made the championship and actually has a home game! That's because No. 11 Reedley came through the bottom half of the bracket. Both teams have survived a penalty-kick shootout (against Garces for Reedley, and twice for Frontier, including against No. 1 seed Tulare Union), and now they'll play the first game — in any sport — under the new lights at Frontier.

— Throw in the Division III girls title game, which is No. 4 Golden Valley at No. 3 Clovis North, the D-II boys final, which is No. 4 Tulare Western at No. 3 West, and No. 6 Arvin's run to the D-IV boys championship, and you've got a whole closet full of glass slippers.

— But the underdog theme doesn't stop in soccer. In wrestling, there are a few unlikely athletes who just a top-seven finish at Saturday's Grand Masters tournament away from the state tournament. Getting this far is quite an accomplishment, and for Bakersfield's Adam Fierro, Frontier's Shane Ellis and Centennial's Dalton Endes, that's an understatement.
Fierro wasn't even going to be a starter for BHS until erstwhile 145-pounder Jonah Cruz decided to drop to the 140-pound class, opening the 145 spot for the sophomore Fierro. Unable to cut to 140 himself, Fierro wouldn't have had another place to wrestle, with section-ranked studs Bryce Hammond residing at 152 and Jose Ramirez at 160. He's taken advantage with a league championship and a second-place finish at last week's Yosemite Divisional.
For Ellis and Endes, the problem wasn't getting in the starting lineup but staying there. Ellis was disqualified in Frontier's final dual of the season, which normally would require him to sit out the next event, which would have been the SWYL tournament. If you don't wrestle in league, you can't move on in the postseason. But the Titans found a loophole, got Ellis into the postseason and to a fifth-place finish in the divisional.
As for Endes, he missed weight at league last year and ended his season as a state-ranked wrestler and no postseason. This year, he's battled injuries all winter and then battled fatigue in the league championship, where he lost to Stockdale's Roman Flores. He then got the short end of a questionable call in a divisional match, sending him to the loser's bracket. There, he survived three straight matches — including a rematch with Flores — to place fifth at 160 and get to the Masters.

So will this translate to basketball, where the playoffs have just begun? Maybe. Home teams Stockdale, Bakersfield, East and Tehachapi all lost boys games at home last night in the first round. My candidate for a sleeper? How about Foothill, the No. 11 seed in a relatively weak Division III boys bracket? The Trojans upset Tehachapi last night on the mountain and have been playing their best ball late, beating East and giving both Liberty and Garces good games. On the girls side, I'll take Ridgeview as my sleeper, coming from the No. 6 slot in Division III.

UPDATE, 8:32 p.m.: And that'll do it. A 3-1 final in favor of Golden Valley. Hope you've enjoyed the live blogging. I'll update scores throughout the night, so continue to check back. One update I just received: Garces' girls went to overtime with 11th-seeded Reedley in Division II, but no word on how it turned out. How's that for suspense?

UPDATE, 8:29 p.m.: Man, it takes a lot longer than you think to drive from Liberty to Golden Valley. A long way south and a long way east. Anyway, I've just checked here at the home of the Bulldogs, and Golden Valley scored its third goal just as I sat down. Eric Chavarin hammered home a free kick to make it a 3-1 GV lead in front of a really nice crowd. Californian correspondent Steve Lynch tells me that Highland actually had a 1-0 lead at the half of this game, even though the Bulldogs have controlled play throughout. They tied the game just three minutes after halftime and finally took the lead with about 15 minutes to go.
I also have some news from back at Liberty — Stockdale's girls, seeded fourth, have stunned unbeaten and No. 1 Clovis 1-0 up  north.  That means the Mustangs will play Buchanan for the Division I title for the third time in five years. They haven't won yet (Buchanan's won three in a row). In other news, I was faked out late in the Liberty game. Mariah Alvidrez actually shot the ball just wide on what I thought had been a goal. The Patriots celebrated, but the ball was lodged in the side of the net on the outside, not the inside. So the final score was 2-0. Makes no difference in the end, I suppose.
Another score: Golden Valley's girls beat Hanford 4-2 earlier here at GVHS to advance to the girls D-III final. There's a chance we could have a championship doubleheader here Friday, depending on who won the other girls semifinal. Pretty exciting stuff for this school.

UPDATE, 7:29 p.m.: There's only a couple of minutes left here, but Liberty now trails 2-1. No really good chances for either side in the last 15 minutes or so until Mariah Alvidrez got through the Buchanan defense to poke one home with just under five minutes left on the (unofficial) clock. Otherwise, these final minutes have gone exactly how Buchanan wants them — though Alvidrez just had another breakaway chance before she shot the ball well over the top of the goal.
It looks like the Bears will be off to another Division I final, against either unbeaten Clovis (which has defeated Buchanan twice this year) or Stockdale, which lost to the Bears 3-1 in the final last year.
I'm going to do a couple of interviews and figure the name situation out, then I'll be off to Golden Valley, where hopefully they'll have just started the second half by the time I get there. Meanwhile, if we get a late goal here for Liberty, I'll let you know.

UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: Boy, if Liberty's not getting out-played, then they're getting unlucky. Another point-blank shot off a cross (and this one literally was point-blank, no keeper or anything), and another ball off the woodwork, this time the crossbar. Can't miss those chances against a good team. About 21 minutes to go and counting.

UPDATE, 7:06 p.m.: And that's exactly what I'm talking about. Buchanan able to get a breakaway off a counter-attacking clear, and now the Bears lead 2-0 (that was No. 16, but now I've got a roster with no numbers. No worries, I'll figure out the names after the game.) The important thing right now is that Liberty has about 25 minutes to score twice on one of the section's best teams. It's going to be rough going — they're chasing the game, now — though they can now go even more for abandon. There was a nice opportunity there, but another Buchanan save means it's still 2-0.

UPDATE, 7:01 p.m.: This place is really starting to buzz a little bit now. Liberty had two fantastic opportunities in the Buchanan box, both coming off Darci Smith's powerful throw-ins. Mariah Alvidrez ended up with a rebound right at her foot that was saved on a diving attempt, and another rebound was pushed off the post by the Buchanan goalkeeper. If Liberty keeps this up, they're going to equalize this game, but the Pats are sending an awful lot forward to get those chances, too. Careful of what could be a  back-breaking counter-attack.

UPDATE, 6:58 p.m.: Liberty with the best opportunity for either team here int eh second half about six minutes in. A free kick about 30 yards from goal ended up barely over the crossbar in the corner after two Patriots faked taking the shot and allowed Becky Johnson to have a rip. She did, but it's still 1-0 Buchanan.

UPDATE, 6:44 p.m.: The score remains 1-0 Buchanan at the half. The Bears added a few more chances in the last three minutes of the first 40, but came away empty, in part thanks to a heady save from Liberty's Sabrina Spinks, who tipped a dangerous ball over the crossbar off a corner kick. She came out and nabbed a loose ball on the ensuing corner kick, too.

UPDATE, 6:37 p.m.: I did a little in-game research to check on the indirect-in-the-box situation, and it turns out that any indirect-kick foul in the box does indeed result in an indirect kick. I played soccer my entire youth and watch it regularly on TV and have never seen that. But interference is one of those fouls. And that's what I think we had earlier.
Of greater concern for Liberty is the fact that Buchanan went back down and scored for real a few minutes later. Buchanan is now thoroughly controlling the game in front of a big Liberty contingent, though the Patriots have had a few counter-attack chances in the last few minutes. The next goal, obviously, will be huge, either tying the game or giving the Bears complete control. There's just a couple of minutes before halftime.

UPDATE, 6:24 p.m.: And there you have it. Buchanan (the same girl who brought the ball in from the sideline I described earlier) just hammered home a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on a beautiful give-and-go. Again, I can't tell Buchanan names (the numbers are hard to read even from field level), but the defending champs are a big step closer to the Central Section final again.

UPDATE, 6:21 p.m.: A strange sequence of events here at Liberty. Buchanan had a great individual effort from the left sideline (sorry, their dark red on dark blue numbers are impossible to read from the press box, so I don't know who it was) gave the Bears a clear path to a shot. That girl ran into a Liberty defender, and a foul in the box was called. As I understood it, that means a penalty kick in soccer. That's apparently how both Liberty and Buchanan players understood it too, because as the Patriots stood back, Buchanan took a shot that went into the net.
One problem: It was an indirect kick called by the referee, who then awarded Liberty the ball because only one player touched the ball. I'm not sure what the call was that warranted an indirect kick (interference?), but the goal did not count. The bad news for Liberty is that Buchanan seems to have found its groove and is now controlling the flow of play. Liberty star Mariah Alvidrez just received a yellow card to give Buchanan a free kick about 50 yards from goal. The Patriots are weathering the storm so far, but we'll see. The teams split two meeting earlier in the year, 3-2 Buchanan here at Liberty and 1-0 LHS at the Garces Tournament in an abbreviated game.

UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.: Liberty has had the best chances in limited time so far tonight. There was an early corner that was cleared, a shot in the box that went barely wide and a narrow offsides call. Buchanan had a shot at one loose ball in the Liberty box but was called for a hand ball. It's still scoreless about 10 minutes in.
I'm impressed with how the Patriots are controlling play, though, against a team that has been at this stage many times before. We'll see if that translates into any goals.

ORIGINAL POST, 4:21 p.m.: Here's the agenda for tonight: I'm headed over to Liberty in an hour or so for the semifinal showdown in girls soccer that is second-seeded Liberty and defending champion Clovis-Buchanan. That one starts at 6, with a trip to the finals on the line against either No. 4 Stockdale or top-seeded and unbeaten Clovis, which will play at the same time at Clovis.

After I'm done with that, I'll race down to Golden Valley. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to catch the end of the Highland-GV boys game that's slated to start at 7.

I'll update with scores from those games throughout the evening, so check back often. Also, if you've got a score from another game, please share below so everyone can keep tabs on a busy night on the pitch, with 14 local teams in action in 12 games.

Here's the complete slate:

BOYS SOCCER
Division I
No. 1 Fresno-Bullard 2, No. 5 Stockdale 1
No. 2 Fresno-Central 1, No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan 1, Central wins on PKs
Division II
No. 4 Tulare Western 2, No. 1 Fresno-Memorial 1, OT
No. 3 West 2, No. 2 Visalia-Golden West 1, OT
Division III
No. 1 Golden Valley 3, No. 5 Highland 1
No. 3 Porterville 3, No. 7 Hanford West 1
Division IV
No. 1 Fresno-Roosevelt 1, No. 4 Visalia-Central Valley Christian 0
No. 6 Arvin 3, No. 2 Wasco 3, Arvin wins 5-4 on PKs
Division V
No. 1 Parlier 2, No. 4 Fowler 2, Parlier wins on PKs
No. 2 Lindsay 4, No. 3 SLO-Mission Prep 1
Division VI
No. 1 Mendota 4, No. 5 McFarland 2
No. 2 Tranquillity 3, No. 3 Farmersville 2

GIRLS SOCCER
Division I
No. 4 Stockdale 1, No. 1 Clovis 0
No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan 2, No. 2 Liberty 0
Division II
No. 8 Frontier 2, No. 4 Visalia-Redwood 1
No. 11 Reedley 0, No. 2 Garces 0, Reedley wins 3-1 on PKs
Division III
No. 4 Golden Valley 4, No. 8 Hanford 2
No. 3 Clovis North 2, No. 10 Hanford West 1, OT
Division IV
No. 1 Visalia-Central Valley Christian 7, No. 4 Wasco 1
No. 3 Selma 2, No. 2 Fresno-McLane 1
Division V
No. 1 Bakersfield Christian 3, No. 5 Parlier 0
No. 2 SLO-Mission Prep 3, No. 3 Madera Ranchos-Liberty 1
Division VI
No. 4 Avenal 2, No. 1 Strathmore 0
No. 3 Mendota 5, No. 2 Farmersville 3

Instead of doing a paragraph on each team in the basketball rankings this week, I'm going to do a quick 'n' dirty version, then do some playoff predictions for each division in boys and girls hoops. Girls start tonight with first-round games in all divisions except the big one, which starts Thursday. On a related note, Stockdale's girls and boys will play a Wednesday doubleheader, with the girls playing Bullard in a quarterfinal at 5 p.m. and the boys Clovis-Buchanan in a first-round game at 7. Good place to go for some hoops.

On to the rankings:

BOYS
1. Clovis East (25-4, No. 1 in Div. I)

2. Liberty (24-3, No. 1 in Div. II)

3. Garces (19-7, No. 3 in Div. II)

4. Fresno-Edison (22-6, No. 5! in Div. I)

5. Fresno-Central (20-7, No. 2 in Div. I)

6. Clovis West (16-8, No. 4 in Div. I)

7. Lemoore (27-5, No. 2 in Div. II)

8. Fresno-Sunnyside (23-5, No. 4 in Div. II)

9. Centennial (23-4, No. 3 in Div. I)

10. Clovis (18-12, No. 6 in Div. I)

11. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (25-4, No. 1 in Div. V)

12. Hanford (20-7, No. 5 in Div. II)

13. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (19-10, No. 6 in Div. II)

14. Visalia-Redwood (22-9, No. 7 in Div. II)

15. Bakersfield Christian (17-7, No. 1 in Div. IV)

Like you'll see in the girls rankings below, Division II is pretty darn stout. Consider that the No. 3 seed in D-II, Garces, beat the No. 3 seed in D-I, Centennial, by 10 points this year. Garces also beat D-I No. 6 Clovis and No. 5 Fresno-Central, but it lost three times to Liberty, the top seed in its own bracket. I'd love to see the Rams and the Patriots have a crack at the title in D-I, where the list seems to be Clovis East and everyone else. Clovis East beat Liberty by 13 earlier, but that only goes to show you they'd probably get a better game from the D-II champ than anyone in D-I.

Now, on to some boys predictions:

DIVISION I
Semifinals: Clovis East d. Clovis West; Fresno-Central d. Centennial
The top half of the bracket, with Edison, Clovis West and Clovis East is much tougher, but I'll say CW gets through to the final four based on championship experience, where they'll lose for a third time to CE.

Championship: Clovis East d. Fresno-Central
Again, a team gets a third crack at the Timberwolves, but again, I don't think they'd beat 'em in six tries.

DIVISION II
Semifinals: Liberty d. Fresno-Sunnyside; Garces d. Lemoore
Don't be fooled by these teams' successful seasons; their path to this point is anything but a given, with East, Hanford, Memorial and Redwood also lurking in this bracket.

Championship: Liberty d. Garces
Every time these teams play, I think Garces will finally find a way to win. Maybe that'll finally be true this time, but I'm done doubting the Patriots.

DIVISION III
Semifinals: Ridgeview d. Cesar Chavez; Fresno-Hoover d. Tehachapi
By contrast, this division is relatively weak. Ridgeview and Hoover shouldn't have any problems getting to Selland.

Championship: Ridgeview d. Hoover
I'm sure Hoover has seen the type of athleticism the Wolf Pack brings to the court, but they haven't done well against it — losses by 22 and 21 to Edison, by 16 to Fresno-Bullard and by 15 to Sunnyside speak to that.

DIVISION IV
Semifinals: Bakersfield Christian d. Corcoran; Fowler d. Reedley-Immanuel
The Panthers spring a quarterfinal upset, only to run into BCHS, just like the football team did. The Eagles' road to the semifinals is almost laughable.

Championship: Bakersfield Christian d. Fowler
BCHS is as big a favorite as you'll find in any section bracket, at least on the boys side. Even in D-IV, the Eagles are a budding basketball powerhouse.

DIVISION V
Semifinals: Central Valley Christian d. Clovis Christian; Mission Prep d. Laton
This five-team division has no entrants from Kern County, but it does have some good teams

Championship: Mission Prep d. Central Valley Christian
Give this one to the Royals in an upset.

GIRLS
1. Hanford (22-4, No. 1 in Div. II) 

2. Clovis West (21-5, No. 1 in Div. I)

3. Stockdale (23-4, No. 2 in Div. I)

4. Fresno Edison (25-3, No. 3 in Div. I)

5. Fresno-Roosevelt (24-2, No. 1 in Div. III)

6. Garces (27-1, No. 2 in Div. II)

7. Oakhurst-Yosemite (17-8, No. 4 in Div. II)

8. Sanger (22-5, No. 3 in Div. II)

9. Porterville (26-1, No. 2 in Div. III)

10. Corcoran (25-7, No. 1 in Div. IV)

11. Porterville-Monache (22-6, No. 6 in Div. II)

12. Bakersfield (21-7, No. 4 in Div. I)

13. Visalia-Redwood (23-8, No. 5 in Div. II)

14. Fresno Christian (20-5, No. 1 in Div. V)

15. Clovis (20-13, No. 8 in Div. II)

Two things are pretty apparent here: No. 1 is that I agree with most of the seeding choices, and No. 2 is that Division II is not only the deepest but probably the toughest division overall. Yeah, Clovis West, Stockdale and Edison are elite, but so is Hanford, and I'd argue Garces is close to that level, too. And then, go on down the line and see the number of quality teams. Clovis, which is a Division I competitor in every other sport I can remember, had a nice season and could only garner an eight seed in that bracket. You know what that means — a second-round date with the mighty Bullpups.

With that in mind, here are some quick championship predictions for the girls side of the ball:

DIVISION I
Semifinals: Clovis West d. Bakersfield; Stockdale d. Edison
BHS should be able to squeak by dangerous Buchanan at home, but they don't have the horses to run with the Golden Eagles. Stockdale will improve on its 13-point margin earlier this year against Edison

Championship: Clovis West d. Stockdale
Anyone who didn't see this one coming hasn't been paying attention. Stockdale isn't 37 points worse than CW, like last year's final margin showed, but the Mustangs will have to play the perfect game even to have a chance at the end. Odds are against that.

DIVISION II
Semifinals: Hanford d. Redwood; Garces d. Sanger
No matter who comes out of an intriguing quarterfinal between Redwood and Yosemite, they'll be no match for Hanford. As for Garces, Sanger might be the toughest team it's faced all year; there is something to be said for knowing how to win, though.

Championship: Hanford d. Garces
Yeah, there's not that much to be said for it. Not when you're going up against a team that has its eyes on much more than a section title.

DIVISION III
Semifinals: Roosevelt d. Tulare Union; Porterville d. Ridgeview
The Rough Riders and Panthers have been the two best teams by far in this division, and they'll prove it against a couple of Cinderellas.

Championship: Porterville d. Roosevelt
Both teams sport gaudy records, but something tells me Porterville will come up with the goods in front of a large contingent that makes the trip north to Selland Arena.

DIVISION IV
Semifinals: Corcoran d. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial; Kingsburg d. SLO-Mission Prep
The Panthers have been the most consistent team in this bracket all year; Kingsburg might have the biggest upside.

Championship: Kingsburg d. Corcoran
And if there's a good time for upside to show up, it's in the title game, where Corcoran comes up short of a section title again.

DIVISION V
Semifinals: Fresno Christian d. Visalia-Central Valley Christian; Cambria-Coast Union d. Strathmore
This final four has the potential to be three private schools plus Coast.

Championship: Fresno Christian d. Cambria-Coast Union
No one in D-V is a match for the Eagles this year.

Well, that was a lost weekend. Sorry I wasn't able to post more updates from Lemoore and the wrestling, but at first I had computer problems, and then I just got too busy. But I'll make up for it with an exquisite post tonight. Or at least an average one, right?

All three winter sports are into their biggest times.

Let's start in boys and girls basketball, where the Central Section playoffs start Tuesday for girls and Wednesday for boys. Seedings were released for the Central Section brackets Saturday morning.

Starting with the boys .... Liberty and Garces, the two best teams in Bakersfield all year, could meet for a fourth time — and if they do, it'll be in Selland Arena in Fresno for the Division II section championship. Liberty earned the top seed in D-I and Garces the No. 3, which means they'll have to travel to No. 2 Lemoore in the semifinals if both teams make it that far.

A couple of intriguing quarterfinal matchups are potentially waiting for those teams first: Garces could play No. 6 Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial on Friday, continuing a rivalry that is played every year but wasn't this year because somehow Memorial didn't have the game on its schedule. Ironic that the game could be a juicy playoff quarterfinal instead. For Liberty, the ironic matchup is SEYL rival East, which is the No. 8 seed and could be traveling to see the Patriots on Friday. Hmmmm. East at Liberty? The first time we saw that, it resulted in Liberty's only league loss.

Up in Division I, Clovis East is the top seed as expected. After that, it gets interesting. Fresno-Central, another TRAC team, was given the No. 2, and Centennial was rewarded for its undefeated SWYL season with a No. 3 seed. No time to rest on its laurels for the Golden Hawks, though: They'll face No. 6 Clovis in a Friday quarterfinal, and that's not going to be a picnic even though the game's at home. The other quarterfinal already set will be a juicy matchup of No. 5 Fresno-Edison at No. 4 Clovis West. First, though, on Wednesday, we'll get Fresno-Bullard at Bakersfield for the right to face Central and Clovis-Buchanan at Stockdale for the right to travel to Clovis East.

Ridgeview is the top seed in Division III, with a potential finals matchup waiting with Fresno-Hoover, Hanford West or even Tehachapi. Cesar Chavez is the No. 5 seed there. In D-IV, Bakersfield Christian is the top seed as expected. That gives Kern County the top seeds in three divisions this year. To that end, it's almost too bad Liberty and/or Garces isn't playing Division I. It'd be nice to see how they'd stack up with the beasts up north.

If you're interested, check out Division V with no local teams.

As for the girls, there weren't too many surprises. Division I sets up as a potential finals rematch between No. 1 Clovis West and No. 2 Stockdale. If that's the case, the Mustangs had better hope it goes better than last year's final. First, though, they'll have to beat No. 3 Fresno-Edison for a second time and Clovis West will have to get by No. 8 Centennial and then either No. 4 Bakersfield or No. 5 Clovis-Buchanan. Honestly, I don't see anything preventing a Golden Eagles-Mustangs clash at Selland.

Similarly in Division II, the best teams all year long have been Hanford and Garces, and they were given the top two seeds. Here though, the split seems to be Hanford and then everyone else. The Bullpups are ranked in MaxPreps' top 25 and should march to a championship. Garces, meanwhile, would be happy to get there but has to get through a minefield that includes Sanger and North. Poor Yosemite was placed on Hanford's side.

Golden Valley got a nice No. 4 seed in Div. III, and Ridgeview is the No. 6. Arvin split the SSL title with Bakersfield Christian, but that only got the Bears a No. 9 seed — and a road game at No. 8 Delano, followed by a possible trip to No. 1 Fresno-Roosevelt — while the Eagles, down in D-IV, have just the No. 10 seed. Here is the Division V bracket.

What about the postseasons that are already in full swing? Well, Tuesday and Friday are going to be very big days for soccer fans, with both boys and girls action moving to the same days this year — a ridiculous change, if you ask me. In my experience, you're either a soccer fan or you're not, and the people who want to see these games are being forced to choose boys or girls. Why not have them on separate days like always? Not to mention the headache it causes newspaper folk.

Anyway, here's a sampling of Tuesday's semifinal slate:
Boys
Division I, No. 4 Stockdale at No. 1 Fresno Bullard
Division II, No. 3 West at No. 2 Visalia-Golden West
Division III, No. 5 Highland at No. 1 Golden Valley
Division IV, No. 3 Chowchilla or No. 6 Arvin at No. 2 Wasco
Division VI, No. 5 McFarland at No. 1 Mendota

Girls
Division I, No. 3 Clovis-Buchanan at No. 2 Liberty
Division II, No. 11 Reedley at No. 2 Garces
Division II, No. 8 Frontier at No. 4 Visalia-Redwood
Division III, No. 8 Hanford at No. 4 Golden Valley
Division IV, No. 4 Wasco at No. 1 Visalia-Central Valley Christian
Division V, No. 5 Parlier at No. 1 Bakersfield Christian

Finally, in wrestling, Saturday brings the section's Grand Masters meet at East High, where seven of the 10 wrestlers in each weight bracket advance to state. Twenty-three Kern County wrestlers advanced from last weekend's Yosemite Divisional, and nine advanced from the Sierra/Sequoia. That includes Yosemite champions Seth Hicks of Centennial at 135 and Brian Schoene of Bakersfield at 215, and S/S champs Rene Medina of Shafter at 171 and Michael Machado of Arvin at 189.
The brackets at Masters are set up by formula, with the Yosemite champ and the S/S champ on opposite sides with the other division's runner-up. You only need to win one match (sometimes two, if you come in as a low seed) to guarantee state qualification, but that's easier said than done: Everybody at this tournament is as tough as a finals opponent at most tourneys.

We'll have more on all the playoff excitement as the fortnight progresses.
 

It's no secret I'm a wrestling fan. If you've followed the blog for long, you've seen my fervor.

So this, then, is the best time of year for those of us former wrestlers lucky enough to stay in the sport in some capacity. The state meet is in two weeks at Rabobank Arena. It's a spectacle worth seeing whether you know wrestling or not. And if you do, it's the mecca.

For Central Section wrestlers, the road to that mecca begins in earnest tomorrow at Lemoore and Mendota, where the section's Yosemite and Sierra/Sequoia Division meets are held. The top six from Lemoore and top four from Mendota advance to next week's Grand Masters tourney at East High. There seven of the 10 wrestlers make it to state.

The real drama on this road, though, happens in Lemoore. The big-school tournament has 32 wrestlers in each weight, and just six make it on (as opposed to 4 of 16 in the less deep Sierra/Sequoia Division).

But, disregard whether the big-school, small-school advancement process is fair. I'm more concerned with the seeding process in the Yosemite Division this year.

In no fewer than 13 cases — in 10 different weight classes — a wrestler was seeded below a guy he just beat in their league tournament. How does that happen? I understand that one league result or three might have been an anomaly, but 13 times?

Let me be more specific: Bakersfield High's Natrelle Demison beat East's 112-pounder Marc Collier 10-4 on Saturday at the SEYL meet. It was the first time the two had wrestled all year. So how in the world does Collier get a No. 5 seed at the Divisional meet when Demison was only given a No. 7? It doesn't make sense.

Again, same two schools at 125: BHS' Maxx Ramirez beat East's Nick Gonzalez 9-0 at league; Gonzalez is seeded seventh, Ramirez is unseeded.

Why is this important? Well, Demison will have to face the No. 1 seed, Clovis North's Vince Rodriguez, in the quarterfinals. If he can't spring the upset, he'll be one bad match away from failing to advance to Masters. Meanwhile, Collier (and this is nothing personal against a guy who is a quality wrestler) will wrestle the No. 4 seed in the same round with a much better chance of winning, reaching the semifinals and guaranteeing advancement.

Because he's unseeded, Ramirez was randomly drawn into the bracket. He'll have to face the No. 2 seed, Clinton McAlester of Clovis, in the second round. Without an upset, he'll need a four-match winning streak just to make Masters. And imagine if another seed is upset and thrown into the losers bracket — you could have two guys who have earned the right to be seeded meeting with their seasons on the line.

And this happened time and again in the section (the other local example is 189 pounds, where South's Kiefer Davenport was given the No. 8 seed even though he was pinned by Centennial's Chace Walker in the SWYL final. Walker is unseeded and now has to face the No. 4 seed in the first round.) There are other discrepancies with the section rankings put out by The California Wrestler, which are generally well-researched and informed. For instance, Ridgeview 140-pounder Javier Sanchez, who is undefeated, is ranked third in the section; he received a No. 6 seed. Buchanan heavyweight Kyle Papendorf is ranked No. 4 by TCW; he's seeded first, ahead of both East's Antonio Hernandez and Foothill's Angel Posadas, who are Nos. 2 and 3.

So what gives? There is a formula by which these wrestlers are seeded, and it gives points for placings in tournaments and head-to-head results and state rankings, among other things. I think it's safe to say the powers that be need to add a common-sense quotient to that equation. If one wrestler dominated the other less than 24 hours before Sunday's seeding meeting, how can you not take that into significant account?

It goes even deeper than that, I'm afraid. I'm still digging, but East coach Joe Triggs, whose wrestlers benefited from head-scratchers in the above two examples, complained about the whole process. He said Buchanan athletic director Chris Hansen — who has become the Bears' interim coach, coincidentally or not — changed the seeding process at the last minute from what had been previously agreed upon. I'm trying to see if I can confirm this for a story for Friday's paper, but I'm not having much luck so far.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to watch what happens in Lemoore this weekend. I'll file a couple of blog updates from the road. They'll be mostly on wrestling, but I'll try to check in on the soccer playoffs and basketball seedings, which are unveiled Saturday for the playoffs that start next week.

UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.: So, make it dejå vu all over again. Liberty falls behind Garces in the third quarter, stays with it and nips the Rams at the end. This one was a good bit more exciting, given the way Westin Hill banked home a 3 in the final seconds ("lucky shot," he admitted to me later) and the way Liberty now has a share of the SEYL title for the first time in school history. The Patriots can clinch it outright with a win at home against Foothill (and don't sleep on the Trojans; they beat East tonight) on Thursday.
But no matter what happens Thursday, coming into Garces' lions' den and coming out with victory No. 3 against the talented Rams.
"Unbelievable," Liberty coach Andy Hicks told me after the game. "We have this gaping hole on the wall in our gym. Every sport's been so successful, but there's no banner for basketball."
Now there will be. Hill was the hero — and he scored 23 points to lead all scorers — but don't discredit the contributions of Cody Darling, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including three shots late that would have Bill Raftery screaming about onions, or those of Calen Coleman, who defended Stephon Carter most of the night and scored 18 of his own, or those of Sam Marcus, who shook off early foul trouble and stayed on the court to pace the offense for the entire second half.
Also don't discredit Garces, which has seen the same story play three times against Liberty but seems to be getting a little closer. They'll be on the road in the playoffs now for at least one round — possibly at Liberty in the semifinals? — but they'll be a tough out for anyone.
Tonight, though, was Liberty's night. And, I must say, this season has that feeling of destiny. It's been Liberty's season.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: And Westin Hill, with an open look, banks in a 3-pointer with 4 ticks left! Garces called time, but Stephon Carter's running 3 at the buzzer bricked off. 73-70, Liberty wins, clinches a tie for an SEYL title and makes it 3-for-3 with possibly a playoff meeting to come.

UPDATE, 8:37 p.m.: This game was billed as a showdown, and it hasn't disappointed. Cody Darling and Stephon Carter have answered one another with buckets on either end of the floor in the final two minutes, and the game's knotted again, 70-70, with 15 seconds left. Liberty has the ball.

UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.: Garces leads 63-62, with sophomore Randall Jackson at the line to shoot a one-and-one with 3:03 left. The game's gone back and forth, most recently with Jackson answering Cody Darling's lead-changing 3 with one of his own.

UPDATE, 8:17 p.m.: And we're tied at 54 heading to the fourth quarter. I don't think this one will end up 63-56 or 58 like the previous two, but Liberty has been playing the game it wants since the first five or so minutes. I still think Garces is going to need a big run — or some big shots by its big guns in the final minutes — to win this game.

UPDATE, 8:15 p.m. Cody Darling just drained an open 3-pointer to give Liberty its biggest lead, which happens to be two, 52-50 with 1:15 left in the third. Garces is starting to get frustrated that the Pats continue to answer its runs; Ryan Bush picked up a technical foul a few minutes ago. All three games between these teams have now been a little like this. The question is, can Garces finish one off? As I write, Chris Dixon gets a big offensive rebound for the Rams and draws a foul on the putback. It's 54-52 Garces.

UPDATE, 8:03 p.m.: I'm ready to take my sweater off here in the pressure cooker, literally and figuratively, that is the Garces gym. A late flurry from the Rams gives them a 40-35 halftime lead after Liberty had taken a brief lead with 3:40 to play and then tied the game at 33 with 0:57 seconds left.
That's right; Garces scored seven points in the last minute of the half, showing off their quick-strike ability at just the right time. Stephon Carter finally scored his first points on a transition bucket with 3:05 left, but here's why I've still been impressed with his 4-point scoreline: Carter is not forcing the game. He once had a semi-open path to the hoop and dished to Josh Morris for an easy layup instead, and he's only forced one shot that I can count. Credit also goes to Calen Coleman, the Liberty defender who has done a fine job keeping Carter away from the lane.
Coleman also got it done for the Pats on the offensive end, scoring nine points in the second quarter. He has 14 points and Westin Hill has 11 for Liberty. Ryan Bush leads all scorers with 15 points for Garces.
Another quick note: Sam Marcus did indeed pick up foul No. 3 before the half. He's got to be cognizant of that stat here in the second half. Other than that, it's time to see if Garces can build on momentum and get a comfortable lead again. Otherwise, Liberty will squeeze out another close one, I think.
Here are the rest of the halftime stat lines:
Liberty — Sam Marcus 5, Calen Coleman 14 (plus four rebounds and a steal), Westin Hill 11, Jeff Hicks 3, Cody Darling 2.
Garces — Ryan Bush 15, Randall Jackson 7, Chris Dixon 2, Christian Gapper 6, Josh Morris 4, Stephon Carter 4, Josh Shambaugh 2.

UPDATE, 7:44 p.m.: The Patriots have turned things around in the second quarter, trimming a Garces lead that was once 11 down to just a point, 26-25, with 4:07 left before halftime. Biggest thing Liberty's doing right? Discipline. No turnovers, and that's not a big surprise for this team. Meanwhile, Garces has turned it over six times. Stephon Carter is still scoreless, but his rebound total is already up to 7.

UPDATE, 7:34 p.m.: First round of the night goes to Garces, which rebounded the ball well and shot it even better in a fast-moving first quarter. The Rams have the pace to their liking and a 25-18 lead after the first eight.
Part of Liberty's problem has been that stellar point guard Sam Marcus committed two quick fouls and was on the bench for most of that quarter. He's back in now, but he'll have to be careful not to pick up a third before the half. The bigger problem for the Pats right now, though, is that Garces is shooting the lights out. Ryan Bush has hit a couple of 3s and has 12 points already, and Christian Gapper, of all people, also has a couple of treys. Stephon Carter didn't score (he has four rebounds), but the Rams are on pace for 100 points anyway.
Remember, though, Garces had the early lead in both of these teams' previous meetings too.

UPDATE, 6:38 p.m.: Looks like we'll be starting a little bit after 7 p.m. here. The junior varsity game — which, I might add, has set the tone for the night be being a little chippy — isn't to the end of the third quarter yet. Liberty leads by 16 as I write.

But Garces' JV team doesn't have Stephon Carter. Or, for that matter, Chris Dixon or Ryan Bush. All of those guys have scored points in bunches at times this season for a team that likes to run, run, run. The Rams routinely score more than 80, and they've topped 90 a couple of times and 100 once this year already.

But against Liberty, that hasn't been the case. The Patriots have beaten Garces 63-56 back in December in the final of the Garces Holiday tourney, and then they beat them 63-58 at Liberty in the first round of league season. Nobody around here plays more fundamental defense — or offense, for that matter — than Liberty. That might be true for the entire section, actually. But that doesn't mean there's no talent on that team, either. Sam Marcus is the best ball-handling point guard around (Centennial's Cody Kessler is more of a scoring PG), and Cody Darling shoots from outside or rebounds from inside with the best of them.

So we should have a heck of a game. Both teams are 9-1 in the league, and they'll likely be the top 2 seeds when the Division II bracket is unveiled next week. There is a chance that tonight's loser would fall to the No. 3 seed, meaning that they'd potentially have to travel to Lemoore in the semifinals.

Really, though, it's almost too bad neither of these teams will get to try its hand in D-I. I think both are capable of at least a run to the final.

Anyway, we've got the end of the third quarter of the JV game now. The place is already packed. If you're thinking of coming out but haven't yet, I wouldn't bother. I don't think the fire marshal will let anyone else in, and I'm serious. This joint is packed to the brim, and it's an early-arriving crowd. Probably the most people these JV teams have ever played in front of.

ORIGINAL POST, 5:04 p.m.: For those of you that notice in time, I've decided to take a page from my football playbook and do live updates from tonight's Liberty-Garces boys basketball game.

It's No. 2 vs. No. 3 in my section rankings, and it's two 9-1 SEYL teams fighting for a virtual lock on a league title (Garces plays Highland to finish the year Thursday while Liberty plays Foothill, both almost definite wins). The gym is probably already packed as I write this, so I best be getting over there. Check back around game time (scheduled for 7, but depends on the JV game) for some scene-setting and for live updates throughout the night.

Girls rankings below or at this link.

One more week of rankings next week, then we'll let the playoff results speak for themselves.

BOYS
1. Clovis East (23-4, 8-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — For all the talk about how wide-open boys hoops was in the section this year, and how much of an every-night-a-fight league the Tri-River Athletic Conference would be, Clovis East sure has made things boring. Congrats to the Timberwolves on an unbelievably dominant season. I just hope the playoffs are more exciting.
LAST WEEK: W 82-65 at No. 6 Fresno-Central, W 66-51 at No. 3 Clovis West
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Clovis-Buchanan, Friday at Madera

2. Liberty (22-3, 9-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 2) — The unfair thing for the Patriots is that they've already beaten Garces twice and they need to do it again — in Garces' rocking gym, no less — to win even a share of an SEYL title. The really unfair thing? Even if Liberty does it again, there might be a fourth meeting for all the section marbles in three weeks.
LAST WEEK: W 81-59 vs. Golden Valley, W 85-55 at Bakersfield
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at No. 3 Garces, Thursday vs. Foothill

3. Garces (18-6, 9-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 4) — Another week, another pair of tests for the Rams. On one hand, it should worry Garces that it took so long to put away Foothill (and West last week). On the other, winning close games is something that's vital to postseason success. Betcha Tuesday will be another barn-burner. Better get there early.
LAST WEEK: W 82-76 vs. Foothill, W 66-63 at No. 13 East
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. No. 2 Liberty, Thursday vs. Highland

4. Fresno-Edison (20-6, 8-0 CMAC, Division I, last week: 5) — If only because Clovis East has so dominated its league, Edison has emerged as the top threat to the Timberwolves in the D-I bracket. Then again, the first meeting was a 91-74 CE win.
LAST WEEK: W 64-49 vs. Fresno-Bullard, W 72-28 at Sanger
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Fresno-Hoover, Friday at Reedley

5. Fresno-Central (18-7, 5-3 TRAC, Division I, last week: 6) — The Grizzlies were in danger of letting a league slide get out of control, but held on against last-place Madera. To stay top five heading to the playoffs — and probably to get a No. 3 seed and stay opposite Clovis East — Central must sweep a difficult final week.
LAST WEEK: L 82-65 vs. No. 1 Clovis East, W 77-67 at Madera
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. No. 7 Clovis, Friday at Clovis-Buchanan

6. Clovis West (14-8, 4-4 TRAC, Division I, last week: 3) — Finally, Buchanan — by all rights just the fifth-best team in the TRAC, jumped up and bit somebody after a bevy of close games. The Golden Eagles were the unlucky ones, and then they went and got blasted by Clovis East to guarantee that they wouldn't win a ninth straight league title.
LAST WEEK: L 56-50 at Clovis-Buchanan, L 66-51 vs. No. 1 Clovis East
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Madera, Friday at No. 7 Clovis

7. Clovis (18-11, 4-4 TRAC, Division I, last week: 7) — Sign #358 that the TRAC is impossibly tough: The Cougars have a better-than-50 percent chance of dropping both games this week and finishing 4-6, but they're No. 7 in the section.
LAST WEEK: W 69-53 at Madera, W 64-62 vs. Clovis-Buchanan
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at No. 5 Fresno-Central, Friday vs. No. 6 Clovis West

8. Lemoore (26-4, 10-0 WYL, Division II, last week: 8) — Though the Tigers could have the West Yosemite League title wrapped up by the time they visit Hanford on the final day of the season, you can bet they'd like a sweep of the Bullpups to head to the playoffs with.
LAST WEEK: W 92-36 vs. Visalia-Mt. Whitney, W 77-59 at Visalia-El Diamante
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Visalia-Golden West, Thursday at No. 12 Hanford

9. Fresno-Sunnyside (21-5, 8-0 NYL, Division II, last week: 9) — There's some question to the quality of the North Yosemite League, but there's no debating the Wildcats' supremacy. After a close game at San Joaquin Memorial, they left no doubt when they returned the trip.
LAST WEEK: W 62-28 at Fresno-McLane, W 70-54 at No. 12 Fresno-SJ Memorial
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Madera South, Friday at Fresno-Roosevelt

10. Centennial (21-4, 10-0 SWYL, Division I, last week: 10) — Golden Hawks coach Alex Lee gave me a more indirect prodding to bump his team up, having an assistant offer me a steak dinner for a couple of spots (all in good fun, of course). Sorry, guys, but for now, this is where you belong — though I was plenty impressed with Centennial's beatdown of Stockdale this week.
LAST WEEK: W 80-56 at North, W 72-49 vs. Stockdale
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Frontier, Friday at Ridgeview

11. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (22-4, 9-0 CSeL, Division V, last week: 11) — It seems like the Cavaliers are a clear favorite in D-V (like Clovis East in D-I, which has soundly beaten almost every other contender), but remember: Mission Prep knocked CVC off 59-53 earlier. The Cavs have just been more consistent.
LAST WEEK: W 63-59 vs. Kingsburg, ?? at Dinuba
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Selma, Friday vs. Exeter

12. Hanford (18-7, 8-2 WYL, Division II, last week: 14) — If it weren't for Redwood's Jazzy Duran, the Bullpups' Cougar Williams would have a lockdown on the best name in the Central Section. If Cougar and Co. could steal a win against Lemoore this week, it'd be a huge coup to their seed.
LAST WEEK: W 67-47 at Visalia-El Diamante, W 51-42 at Hanford West
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Visalia-Mt. Whitney, Thursday vs. No. 8 Lemoore

13. East (14-10, 8-3 SEYL, Division II, last week: 13) — Big man D.J. Shelton missed a couple of more games for disciplinary reasons — word is he blew up at coach Milt Henderson in the locker room after a loss to Liberty — but in his return, the Blades had Garces on the ropes. That alone should tell you this team is as talented as anyone when the chemistry is working.
LAST WEEK: W 56-50 vs. Bakersfield, L 66-63 vs. No. 4 Garces
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Foothill

14. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (17-10, 6-2 NYL, Division II, last week: 12) — The Panthers had been rolling until they ran into Sunnyside. They had to be disappointed they didn't push a little harder with a league-title share on the line.
LAST WEEK: W 70-51 at Fresno, L 70-54 vs. No. 9 Fresno-Sunnyside
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Fresno-McLane, Friday at Madera South

15. Visalia-Redwood (21-9, 7-4 WYL, Division II, last week: 15) — There's something up with the Rangers — they needed late surges to escape both reeling El Diamante and Golden West — and they'd better figure it out in their one game this week before they try their hand at a loaded D-II bracket.
LAST WEEK: W 65-62 vs. Visalia-El Diamante, W 70-60 at Visalia-Golden West
THIS WEEK: Friday at Visalia-Mt. Whitney

Dropped out: none
Waiting: Bakersfield Christian, SLO-Mission Prep, Clovis-Buchanan, Fresno-Hoover, Stockdale, Bakersfield, Ridgeview, Fresno-Bullard

Welcome to the last week of the regular season, which in girls basketball is going to decide very little in the respective Kern County league races: Stockdale and Garces have clinched the two big leagues (and really, we knew that was coming a month or more ago) and Arvin has control over the SSL race with its overtime win at Bakersfield Christian on Friday. The Bears have a one-game lead and two games to go with a season sweep of BCHS in tow also.

It's the same way in most of the rest of the section. Aside from a very large boys showdown Tuesday (Liberty at Garces, which we'll get to in the boys rankings), this week means little in league races. Rankings and seedings, on the other hand, are up for grabs all over the place. By this time next week, we'll know playoff seedings. I'll do one more set of rankings next Monday, then let the playoff results speak for themselves after that.

Boys rankings are coming in a post to follow. If you're a soccer fan, we'll have coverage of the playoffs, which start tomorrow for girls and Wednesday for boys, throughout the fortnight, and if you're a wrestling fan, here's a link to the seeds for the Yosemite and Sierra/Sequoia Division tournaments to be held this coming weekend at Lemoore and Mendota respectively. I don't believe full brackets are out yet, but I'll post a link when they are.

On to the rankings:

GIRLS
1. Hanford (20-4, 10-0 WYL, Division II, last week: 1) — I don't think it will be a problem for the Bullpups in the D-II section playoffs anyway, but they haven't exactly been tested within their league: Every other team has lost at least once to someone other than Hanford.
LAST WEEK: W 72-41 vs. Hanford West
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Visalia-Mt. Whitney, Thursday at Lemoore

2. Clovis West (19-5, 8-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 2) — Strange as it sounds, the TRAC is not a test for the Golden Eagles. They won't have any sort of trouble until at least the section final against Stockdale (assuming no big upsets) and probably not until the state's D-I gauntlet.
LAST WEEK: W 77-34 vs. Clovis-Buchanan, W 74-33 at Clovis East
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Madera, Friday vs. No. 13 Clovis

3. Stockdale (21-4, 10-0 SWYL, Division I, last week: 3) — One of the people around Bakersfield I talked to about the new league system starting in fall 2010 was Stockdale co-coach Charles Stewart, who said it's sometimes hard to find good opponents before the league season and to stay sharp during it.
LAST WEEK: W 83-47 at Ridgeview, W 82-48 vs. Centennial
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. West, Friday at South

4. Fresno-Edison (23-2, 8-0 CMAC, Division I, last week: 4) — That the Tigers had to escape against mediocre Bullard early in the week did not bode well for the Thursday showdown with Sanger. But Edison pulled that one out too, and it now owns at least a share of the CMAC title.
LAST WEEK: W 43-41 at Fresno-Bullard, W 46-41 vs. No. 7 Sanger
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Fresno-Hoover, Thursday at Reedley

5. Fresno-Roosevelt (22-2, 8-0 NYL, Division III, last week: 5) — One more win, and the Roughriders will have an outright North Yosemite League title — and they shouldn't have too much trouble in the D-III playoffs either, at least until the final. Would you believe Roosevelt hasn't given up 50 in a game since beating Clovis 70-60 on Dec. 18?
LAST WEEK: W 69-30 at Madera South, W 59-40 at Fresno-McLane
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Fresno, Thursday at Fresno-Sunnyside

6. Garces (25-1, 10-0 SEYL, Division II, last week: 6) — Eight points from East in the second quarter Thursday was the best an opponent fared against Garces last week. The Rams can fill it up from outside, too.
LAST WEEK: W 64-11 at Foothill, W 70-21 vs. East
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Liberty, Thursday at Highland

7. Oakhurst-Yosemite (14-8, 7-0 NSeL, Division II, last week: 8) — The Central Section has been inconsistent with its seeding: Does it want to reward tough scheduling or gaudy records? If it's the former in this case, expect the Badgers, and not Garces, to have the No. 2 seed opposite Hanford in Division II because of its non-league slate.
LAST WEEK: W 73-37 at Madera Ranchos-Liberty, ?? at Fresno-Washington Union
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Chowchilla, Friday vs. Kerman

8. Sanger (20-5, 6-2 CMAC, Division II, last week: 7) — Here's another team that could have a chance at that No. 2 in D-II, which brings with it home games until the finals. But the Apaches might have blown their chance to impress the seeders when it was swept by Edison.
LAST WEEK: W 64-19 at Clovis North, L 46-41 at No. 4 Fresno-Edison
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Reedley, Thursday at Fresno-Bullard

9. Porterville (24-1, 9-1 EYL, Division III, last week: 9) — For all of the Panthers' success this year, the league season will come down to a single game at home against crosstown rival Monache. Porterville won the first meeting 64-60.
LAST WEEK: W 60-59 vs. Tulare Union, W 42-29 at Chavez
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Porterville-Granite Hills, Thursday vs. No. 10 Porterville-Monache

10. Porterville-Monache (21-5, 9-1 EYL, Division II, last week: 10) — The difference for the Marauders is that after the showdown with the Panthers, they've got to battle through the Division II bracket, instead of Porterville's D-III.
LAST WEEK: W 60-15 vs. Chavez
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Tulare Union, Thursday at No. 9 Porterville

11. Corcoran (22-7, 7-0 ESeL, Division IV, last week: 13) — The girls hoops version of the Panthers is starting to look like the football team — blowing out weak opponents left and right. Corcoran, though, won't have Derek Carr to face in the playoffs.
LAST WEEK: W 63-38 vs. Lindsay, W 89-10 vs. Orosi
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at McFarland, Thursday vs. Woodlake

12. Bakersfield (19-7, 8-2 SEYL, Division I, last week: 14) — For the first time in years, the Drillers won't be SEYl champions. But they won't have to deal with Garces in the Division I playoffs — just Clovis West, Stockdale and Edison, that's all.
LAST WEEK: W 63-12 vs. East, W 55-40 at Liberty
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Highland, Thursday vs. Golden Valley

13. Clovis (19-12, 5-3 TRAC, Division I, last week: 12) — The Cougars blew a halftime lead, came back in the fourth quarter, then lost a tight one in overtime at home against Buchanan. That sort of streaky play isn't going to cut it come playoff time.
LAST WEEK: W 66-56 at Madera, L 67-66 (OT) vs. Clovis-Buchanan
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Fresno-Central, Friday at No. 2 Clovis West

14. Visalia-Redwood (22-8, 7-4 WYL, Division II, last week: 11) — Only five points in two overtimes against El Diamante isn't going to get it done no matter how good your defense is, but what really has to stick in the Rangers' craw is that they blew an eight-point fourth-quarter lead.
LAST WEEK: L 64-60 (2OT) at Visalia-El Diamante, W 60-24 vs. Visalia-Golden West
THIS WEEK: Friday vs. Visalia-Mt. Whitney

15. Fresno Christian (18-5, 6-0 WSeL, Division V, last week: NR) — Welcome to the bracket a team that hasn't played a game closer than 40 points since January. I don't care who you're playing, it takes something to beat everyone by 40.
LAST WEEK: W 81-18 at Tranquillity, W 74-34 at Caruthers
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Fowler, Friday vs. Parlier

Dropped out: No. 15 San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep
Waiting: Kingsburg, North, Mission Prep, Fresno-Sunnyside, Clovis East, Clovis-Buchanan, Fresno-Bullard, Visalia-El Diamante, Tulare Western, Golden Valley, Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial

Had a fun day yesterday, running around to surprise my fiancée with some gifts and then checking out a couple of league wrestling tournaments. There weren't many surprises — Bakersfield High dominated, as did some spectacular individual wrestlers like Centennial's Seth Hicks, Liberty's Greg Kapler and Ridgeview's Javier Sanchez.

You can read all about the SEYL and SWYL championships at those links if you like (I've got brackets if you're looking for a really specific result), but wrestling's real postseason begins next Friday in Lemoore and Mendota, where the Central Section divisional championships are being held — big schools in Lemoore, small schools in Mendota. Those will be knock-down, drag-out affairs, especially the one in Lemoore, where just six wrestlers will survive to the Feb. 28 Grand Masters tournament at East. Four wrestlers from Mendota make it to East, where seven of the 10 wrestlers in each weight will go to state.

It will be fun to see if Kapler and Hicks meet up at 135 pounds next week and if Sanchez and former BHS teammate Jonah Cruz meet at 140. Both have had extremely impressive seasons and are ranked 1-2 in the section at their weight, but neither matchup has happened yet.

Also keep an eye on heavyweight, where East's Antonio Hernandez avenged an earlier loss to Foothill's Angel Posadas with an overtime decision yesterday. Suffice it to say Posadas, who led most of the match, was not happy he let it get away from him. There are other top heavyweights around — Lemoore's own Loren Baize is one of them — but it will be great theater if Hernandez and Posadas resume their east Bako rivalry next weekend.

Meanwhile, another sport is ready for the section postseason, and that's soccer. On the boys side, Golden Valley earned the No. 1 seed in Division III for the second straight year despite some late-season stumbles. I think the Bulldogs are the odds-on favorites, but consider this: Highland is only the No. 5 seed in D-III, and the Scots took GVHS to double overtime just last Thursday.

Other notable boys seeds are Bakersfield as No. 4 in Division I (with Stockdale No. 5, Liberty No. 6 and Centennial No. 7), West as No. 3 in Division II and Wasco as No. 3 in Division IV. Here are brackets for D-V and the ridiculous Division VI.

On the girls side, Liberty received the No. 2 seed in Division I it was hoping for after running through the SEYL undefeated. Stockdale, a finalist from last year, is No. 4 and Bakersfield No. 6. Unbeaten Clovis is the top seed and defending champ Clovis-Buchanan has the No. 3 seed. Like its boys team, Centennial is No. 7.

Garces is No. 2 in Division II, SSL champion Tehachapi No. 2 (and Golden Valley No. 4 and Ridgeview No. 5) in D-III and Wasco No. 4 in Division IV. Bakersfield Christian earned the top seed in Division V ahead of SLO-Mission Prep, which beat the Eagles early in the year. Probably a nod to the strength of the Eagles' schedule there. As with the boys, there is an unnecessary Division VI.

League champions are rolling in left and right, with soccer season over tonight and basketball just a week behind.

Here's what we know so far:

Boys soccer
SEYL — Golden Valley (9-2-1 in league)
SWYL — West (11-0-1)
SSL — Wasco (8-2-0)

Girls soccer
SEYL — Liberty (12-0-0)
SWYL — Stockdale (11-0-0)
SSL — Waiting on a Tehachapi-Shafter result from Friday night; if the Warriors won, as expected, they're SSL champs at 8-0-2 against Bakersfield Christian's 8-1-1. A loss or a tie, and BCHS wins the title.

Boys basketball
SEYL — Liberty (9-1) and Garces (9-1) play Tuesday night. The winner has at least a share of the title
SWYL — Centennial (10-0) has at least a share for the second straight year. Ridgeview (8-2) has a slim chance to force another split.
SSL — Bakersfield Christian (8-0 with two games to go)

In wrestling, Arvin won the SSL tournament on Thursday, but the league uses a points-based system that includes dual-meet results, and so Tehachapi is the overall champion, with Arvin and Shafter tying for second.

As for the other two leagues, I'd be surprised if Frontier doesn't win the SWYL title. The Titans easily went undefeated in duals and probably have enough depth to rack up winning points in the league meet at Centennial tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I'll need recussitation if deep, talented Bakersfield doesn't win the SEYL wrestling tournament title at East for the 11th straight year.

That said, there's still some drama to look out for at these tournaments. This is the first weekend when wrestlers must be in their weight classes they will wrestle for the rest of the postseason — not to mention finishing in the top four, which usually means you have to win one match. Last year, Centennial's state-ranked 160-pounder, Dalton Endes, didn't make weight at league and so never got to see how far he'd go in the postseason.

Besides Endes' return (he's been battling injuries this year but should be ready to go tomorrow), there are several good storylines to look out for:

— In the SEYL, take a look at where Bakersfield's wrestlers end up as far as weight class. Freshman Natrelle Demison might try to cut to 112, where he'd be a force, but he's been at 119 for most of the year. Wherever he is, Demison likely will battle a standout East wrestler for a league title, either Marc Collier at 112 or Peter Gonzalez at 119. Demison beat Gonzalez in a dual earlier. Wherever Demison isn't, BHS will throw out talented Micah Cruz.

— Frontier sophomore 103-pounder Alex Gomez looks to win her second straight league title. Last year, she became the first female league champion in Kern County history.

— East's Antonio Hernandez was the heavyweight to beat in Kern County until the CIT at Morro Bay, when little-known Angel Posadas from Foothill beat him en route to the title. Posadas hasn't lost since, setting up what could quite literally be an earth-shaking rematch in the league championship.

— The team chase will be much more interesting in the SWYL, where Frontier might only have two or three one seeds but should be able to get points in nearly every bracket. Centennial, and to a lesser extent Stockdale, will rack up points in a few weight classes (either of those schools would likely beat Frontier at a large-scale meet like next week's) but it's doubtful if that'll be enough to keep the Titans from league title No. 2.

— Another state-quality matchup we might get to see at East is at 130 where Foothill's Derik Rizo and Bakersfield's Timmy Box are returning state qualifiers. Box has been battling injuries, so I'd favor Rizo here, but I don't recall seeing any results from the Trojan against top-notch wrestlers. Tomorrow will bring one chance.

— Stud wrestlers at 135 and 140 won't meet until next week's Yosemite Divisional at Lemoore, but look for Centennial's undefeated Seth Hicks and Liberty's Greg Kapler at 135 and Jonah Cruz and his former teammate, Ridgeview's Javier Sanchez at 140, to keep rolling in their respective leagues.

— Other BHS weight questions: Assuming state contender Jonah Cruz stays down at 140, will Adam Fierro stay at 145 and Bryce Hammond at 152. Will Jose Ramirez wrestle 160 or 171? Along with Box at 130 and Brian Schoene at 215, all of those Drillers hope to be wrestling deep into the tournament that's three weeks from now at Rabobank Arena.

— If Endes is back from injury, will he go 160 again, or will he be down at 152 as he was earlier in the year? At 160, he'll get a stiff challenge from Stockdale's Roman Flores. Either way, it'll be interesting to see how effective he is after missing some time.

— And of course, there could be a big story that throws a wrench into one or more of these things. That's really what league meets are about — surviving and getting your best wrestlers through uninjured and ready to go for the grinder that is the Yosemite Division tourney next weekend at Lemoore (the Sierra/Sequoia Divisional is at Mendota).

So with the regular season in soccer wrapping up in the next two days and basketball just a week behind and wrestling's league tournaments starting tomorrow with the SSL meet at Bakersfield Christian, is it too early to hand out awards for winter sports?

Well, yes. Yes it is. I always wonder about professional and college sports that hand out their regular-season MVPs and Cy Youngs and Heismans and such before the playoffs, but I guess I've come to grip with the fact that those are regular season awards. There are separate honors for those who shine when the lights are brightest.

So we'll take a cue from that at School House Zach. The following awards will be winter sports-wide. There's certainly room for argument here, but it's my blog and so no there isn't I'm right.

Most dominant team
Stockdale girls basketball — Yeah, there were some other choices here, but they all pretty much pale in comparison to the Mustangs, who didn't win a game by fewer than 17 points against Kern County competition and not by fewer than 23 within their own league.
Honorable mention: Those with undefeated league seasons thus far: Bakersfield wrestling (in duals), Centennial boys basketball, West boys soccer, Liberty girls soccer, Stockdale girls soccer, Bakersfield Christian boys basketball, Tehachapi girls soccer (with a couple of ties)

Biggest surprise
Highland boys soccer — Check out tomorrow's Californian for a story on the Scots, who went 1-10-1 in the SEYL a year ago and are now 7-2-2 with a chance to win the league title tomorrow (see more on that later). If the Scots win at home against Golden Valley and get good news from Liberty, where they need the Patriots to beat Bakersfield, and Highland is as improbable a league champ as we've seen around here in some time.
Honorable mention: Bakersfield soccer, in the same league, has had quite the turnaround. Also Liberty boys basketball, Golden Valley girls basketball, Foothill wrestling

Best athlete
Seth Hicks, Centennial wrestling — You can go back and forth on a lot of the sports (Stephon Carter or Cody Kessler or Kaylin Evans or Jordan Burris or Marcus Hall in boys basketball, Melissa Sweat or Jalei Kinder or Caitlin Bernardin in girls hoops, Mariah Alvidrez or Michelle Spinner in girls soccer, Hicks or Jonah Cruz or Greg Kapler or Brian Schoene or Angel Posadas or Marc Collier in wrestling) but Hicks is the guy who hasn't even been tested yet. He's the Doc Buchanan champion, he's the Gilroy-Mid Cals champion and he's undefeated at 135 pounds and a couple of more weekends away from being the odds-on favorite to win a state championship
Honorable mention: I just gave the entire list, I think, and with it, your candidates for athletes of the year in various sports (boys soccer is pretty wiiiiide open, I think). Guess I need to do a better job of keeping secrets

Best weekend
In the regular season? This one — Think about it. This is your slate:

Thursday — SSL wrestling finals, Bakersfield (10-1-0) at Liberty (11-0-0) girls soccer, Golden Valley (8-2-1) at Highland (7-2-2) boys soccer, Garces (8-1) at East (8-2) boys basketball

Friday — Stockdale (6-3) at Centennial (9-0) boys basketball, Arvin (6-1) at Bakersfield Christian (6-1) girls basketball

Saturday — SEYL and SWYL wrestling finals

Saturday or Sunday — Soccer's playoff seedings are announced

Tuesday (OK, long weekend) — Liberty (8-1) at Garces (8-1) boys basketball

Happy watching to all the prep sports fans out there.

Girls rankings below or at this link.

These rankings and records do not reflect Tuesday night's games.

BOYS
1. Clovis East (20-4, 5-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Remember when we thought the race for No. 1 in the section was wide-open? Maybe it still is, but the Timberwolves haven't left this spot in months. Ten straight wins against good competition will do that.
LAST WEEK: W 68-47 vs. Madera, W 68-42 vs. No. 6 Clovis
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at No. 6 Fresno-Central, Friday at No. 3 Clovis West

2. Liberty (20-3, 7-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 2) — No more excuses or talk of a fluke: Based on what's been done on the court, this is absolutely the section's No. 2 team thus far. That said, Thursday's game against resurgent Bakersfield is a trap.
LAST WEEK: W 64-42 vs. Highland
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Golden Valley, Thursday at Bakersfield

3. Clovis West (14-6, 4-2 TRAC, Division I, last week: 5) — The thing about the TRAC is that you can't look forward to games like Friday's until the teams involved take care of business Wednesday against other capable rivals.
LAST WEEK: W 64-55 vs. No. 6 Clovis, W 63-51 vs. No. 4 Fresno-Central
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Clovis-Buchanan, Friday vs. No. 1 Clovis East

4. Garces (16-6, 7-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 3) — A win is a win, but it raises some question marks when the Rams need a late flurry and overtime to edge Bakersfield and 35 points from Chris Dixon to squeak one out against West.
LAST WEEK: W 64-54 (OT) at Bakersfield, W 61-60 vs. West
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Foothill, Thursday at No. 13 East

5. Fresno-Edison (18-6, 6-0 CMAC, Division I, last week: 7) — Could the Tigers slip into a No. 2 seed and the rights to a home game in the D-I semifinals? Maybe. They'd better keep an eye on surging Bullard, first.
LAST WEEK: W 82-36 vs. Reedley, W 71-43 at Clovis North
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Fresno-Bullard, Friday at Sanger

6. Fresno-Central (17-6, 4-2 TRAC, Division I, last week: 4) — The Grizzlies are grinding through that hellacious league. They'd like to put a spring in their step by improving on last month's blowout loss to Clovis East.
LAST WEEK: W 74-66 vs. Clovis-Buchanan, L 63-51 at No. 5 Clovis West
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. No. 1 Clovis East, Friday at Madera

7. Clovis (16-11, 2-4 TRAC, Division I, last week: 6) — It's hard to punish the Cougars too much for losing to their crosstown rivals, but they'd better get things under control or that league record will slip very quickly.
LAST WEEK: L 64-55 at No. 5 Clovis West, L 68-42 at No. 1 Clovis East
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Madera, Friday vs. Clovis-Buchanan

8. Lemoore (24-4, 8-0 WYL, Division II, last week: 8) — Wanna know why the third Garces-Liberty game is so important? Whoever ends up with the No. 2 seed in D-II has to tangle with Lemoore, winners of 12 straight, in the semis.
LAST WEEK: W 69-59 at No. 14 Visalia-Redwood
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Visalia-Mt. Whitney, Friday at Visalia-El Diamante

9. Fresno-Sunnyside (19-5, 6-0 NYL, Division II, last week: 9) — That's not to say, of course, that Sunnyside (or Memorial, or Hanford, or East) will be a picnic for the other top seed. The D-II brackets, boys and girls both, are going to be a lot of fun as they unfold.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Fresno-Roosevelt, W 81-58 vs. Fresno
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Fresno-McLane, Friday at No. 12 Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial

10. Centennial (19-4, 8-0 SWYL, Division I, last week: 10) — Three of the Golden Hawks' last four (three on the road) are against North, Stockdale and Ridgeview, the other three quality teams in the league. But so far, CHS has been the class of the SWYL.
LAST WEEK: W 60-49 vs. West, W 66-53 at South
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at North, Friday vs. Stockdale

11. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (21-4, 8-0 CSL, Division V, last week: 12) — A few days after laying a 50-point beating on Coalinga, CVC had to erase an 8-point fourth-quarter deficit to stay unbeaten in league.
LAST WEEK: W 67-66 at Reedley-Immanuel
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Kingsburg, Friday at Dinuba

12. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (16-9, 5-1 NYL, Division II, last week: 13) — The Panthers' rematch with Sunnyside to basically decide the North Yosemite League is the Friday the 13th undercard to Clovis East-Clovis West.
LAST WEEK: W 85-45 vs. Madera South, W 70-46 vs. Fresno-Roosevelt
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Fresno, Friday vs. No. 9 Fresno-Sunnyside

13. East (12-9, 6-2 SEYL, Division II, last week: 15) — Right when you forget about the Blades is when they usually make another statement, but a huge cause for concern comes flying out of this weekend's rumor mill: Has big man D.J. Shelton quit the team? (and if so, was East stunned by Golden Valley in an unreported game?)
LAST WEEK: W 72-37 vs. Highland, ?? at Golden Valley
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Bakersfield, Thursday vs. No. 4 Garces

14. Hanford (17-7, 7-2 WYL, Division II, last week: NR) — The Bullpups peek back into the rankings after Bakersfield Christian knocks off Mission Prep. Five players average at least six points a game.
LAST WEEK: W 79-65 vs. Visalia-Golden West, W 67-47 at Visalia-El Diamante
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Hanford West

15. Visalia-Redwood (19-9, 5-4 WYL, Division II, last week: 14) — Up one at the end of three, the Rangers couldn't hang on at home against Lemoore and lost any shot they had at a league title. Three wins to end the year are necessary for a decent playoff seed.
LAST WEEK: W 66-41 at Hanford West, L 69-59 vs. No. 8 Lemoore
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Visalia-El Diamante, Friday at Visalia-Golden West

Dropped out: No. 11 SLO-Mission Prep
Waiting: Bakersfield Christian, Bakersfield, SLO-Mission Prep, Ridgeview, Fresno-Bullard, Clovis-Buchanan, Visalia-El Diamante, Stockdale

I swear I don't mean for this blog to become a ranking service, so I'm going to apologize in advance for four posts in a row — and six out of seven — being rankings.

That said, I don't want to cut out on basketball rankings in the middle of the season. I do promise to have some original content up by the end of the week, though. And this weekend, soccer seedings will be released for the section playoffs, which can bring about another slew of discussion.

For now, however, it's on to more rankings. As always, boys rankings will be in a post to follow. These rankings and records do not reflect Tuesday night's results.

GIRLS
1. Hanford (19-4, 9-0 WYL, Division II, last week: 1) — If you're paying attention, you'll have noticed that the Bullpups finally lost their fourth game of the year. But losing to Brea Olinda isn't cause for a drop in the rankings — especially when you consider how much Hanford improved upon a 28-point loss to the same team earlier this year (this week's game was tied with four minutes to go).
LAST WEEK: W 88-15 at Visalia-Golden West, W 89-37 vs. Visalia-El Diamante, L 78-67 vs. Brea Olinda
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Hanford West

2. Clovis West (17-5, 6-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 2) — It helps Hanford's case for No. 1 that No. 2 also dropped an out-of-section game this week. Oh yeah, and the Bullpups won the head-to-head meeting back in early December.
LAST WEEK: W 78-42 at No. 11 Clovis, W 67-33 at Fresno-Central, L 84-48 at Stockton-St. Mary's (this Monday)
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Clovis-Buchanan, Friday at Clovis East

3. Stockdale (19-4, 8-0 SWYL, Division I, last week: 3) — The Mustangs' schedule hasn't measured up to either of the top two teams, but it has to give Stockdale a glimmer of playoff hope that CW seems to be slipping — the Golden Eagles gave St. Mary's a much better game the first time around.
LAST WEEK: W 85-51 at Frontier
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Ridgeview, Friday vs. Centennial

4. Fresno-Edison (21-3, 6-0 CMAC, Division I, last week: 4) — A couple of more wins makes it 16 in a row for the Tigers, now the section's second-longest winning streak (behind Garces' 19). Of course, like so many others, the season will be made or broken in the playoffs.
LAST WEEK: W 77-26 vs. Reedley, W 64-18 vs. Clovis North
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Fresno-Bullard, Thursday vs. No. 7 Sanger

5. Fresno-Roosevelt (20-2, 6-0 NYL, Division III, last week: 5) — Edging Sunnyside last week did two things: It cemented the Rough Riders into first place in the North Yosemite League, and ensured a dramatic rematch at Sunnyside in the final game of the year.
LAST WEEK: W 45-42 vs. Fresno-Sunnyside, W 74-33 vs. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Madera South, Thursday at Fresno-McLane

6. Garces (23-1, 8-0 SEYL, Division II, last week: 7) — A win's a win for Garces against league rival Bakersfield, even if it comes by a football score. It's almost certain now that the Rams will own the first league title in school history — maybe even this time next week.
LAST WEEK: W 35-28 vs. No. 13 Bakersfield, W 55-28 at West
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Foothill, Thursday vs. East

7. Sanger (19-4, 5-1 CMAC, Division II, last week: 8) — It will be interesting to see what the Central Section seeding committee does in Division II. Hanford is an obvious No. 1, but Garces, Sanger and Yosemite all have claims to stay on the opposite side of the bracket and/or host a semifinal game with that No. 2 seed. Sanger might have the best combination of schedule strength and good record, but the Apaches won't be a league champ without beating Edison this week.
LAST WEEK: W 53-24 vs. Fresno-Bullard, W 60-34 vs. Fresno-Hoover
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Clovis North, Thursday at No. 4 Fresno-Edison

8. Oakhurst-Yosemite (14-8, 6-0 NSL, Division II, last week: 9) — Here's the team out of that trio with the toughest non-league schedule. Then again, the Badgers also faltered against it at times, and they play in the weakest league. Will that be enough to keep them higher than the No. 4 seed — and a dreaded semifinal pairing with Hanford?
LAST WEEK: W 59-19 at Kerman, W 54-18 vs. Tollhouse-Sierra
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Madera Ranchos-Liberty, Friday at Fresno-Washington Union

9. Porterville (22-1, 7-1 EYL, Division III, last week: 6) — The Panthers became the last team to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten with a loss to Tulare Western, 45-34, that actually was two weeks ago but wasn't put on MaxPreps until last week. The consequences aren't all that dire yet — Porterville can still win the EYL by beating Monache in the season finale.
LAST WEEK: L 45-34 at Tulare Western (previous Friday), W 59-47 at Delano
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Tulare Union, Friday at Chavez

10. Porterville-Monache (20-5, 8-1 EYL, Division II, last week: 10) — Suddenly, the Marauders find themselves in first place. That crosstown trip to PHS to end the year looms large — with a win, Monache likely wins the league and throws itself into that D-II seeding discussion, too.
LAST WEEK: W 53-38 vs. Delano, W 54-47 at Tulare Western
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Chavez

11. Visalia-Redwood (21-6, 6-2 WYL, Division II, last week: 12) — Seriously, Division II is ridiculously deep? Have I mentioned this before? Redwood beat Monache and could actually be higher than this.
LAST WEEK: W 53-49 vs. Hanford West, ?? at Lemoore
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at Visalia-El Diamante, Friday vs. Visalia-Golden West

12. Clovis (18-11, 4-2 TRAC, Division I, last week: 11) — A 36-point loss to Clovis West is understandable, if a little disappointing. But the Cougars avoided a disaster of a week by coming back to edge Clovis East and pull into a second-place tie in the TRAC.
LAST WEEK: L 78-42 vs. No. 2 Clovis West, W 50-48 vs. Clovis East
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Madera, Friday vs. Clovis-Buchanan

13. Corcoran (20-7, 5-0 ESeL, Division IV, last week: 14) — Non-league poundings of Tulare Western and Clovis East look a lot better now that those two teams have put together nice seasons in Yosemite leagues.
LAST WEEK: W 58-21 at Woodlake, W 67-27 at Strathmore
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Lindsay

14. Bakersfield (17-7, 6-2 SEYL, Division I, last week: 13) — I've seen the Drillers play twice, in losses to Stockdale and Garces, and I'm still impressed. They have the ability to play fast or slow and so will be a sleeper in the playoffs.
LAST WEEK: L 35-28 at No. 7 Garces, W 51-23 vs. Foothill

15. San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep (15-8, freelance, Division IV, last week: 15) — This final position is in flux, but I'm not dropping the Royals for losing to one of the Central Coast's best teams. You can check out the waiting list below to see who else is on the doorstep of being here.
LAST WEEK: L 54-41 at Los Altos Hills-Pinewood, W 57-35 vs. Fowler
THIS WEEK: Friday at Morro Bay

Dropped out: none
Waiting: Fresno-Sunnyside, Fresno Christian, Clovis East, Kingsburg, North, Tulare Western, Fresno-Bullard, Visalia-El Diamante, Golden Valley

Girls rankings below or at this link.

1. Fresno-Bullard (16-3-2, 6-0-1 CMAC, Division I) — After a head-scratcher of an opening loss to Visalia-Redwood, the Knights haven't lost to Central Section competition. Are they vulnerable? A bunch of close games says yes.

2. Fresno-Central (17-3-5, 7-1-1 TRAC, Division I) — If the Grizzlies can knock off Buchanan on Wednesday, they'll have a four-game winning streak headed into the playoffs; they've only lost once this calendar year.

3. Clovis-Buchanan (12-5-1, 4-1-0 TRAC, Division I) — I'm guessing the Bears have played more than five league matches, but that's just me harping on the whole MaxPreps thing again.

4. Golden Valley (21-1-3, 9-1-1 SEYL, Division III) — The grind of league play made the Bulldogs slip just a little, with a tie against Highland and a loss at Bakersfield, but if this team gets rolling, it might not be scored on in the playoffs.

5. Tulare Western (13-4-4, 9-0-0 EYL, Division II) — Your Division II favorites have won 10 of 11 since a 4-3-4 start. They've also knocked off Porterville twice.

6. Porterville (23-3-1, 8-2-0 EYL, Division III) — Other than that, the Panthers have lost just once — and before I get too high on Golden Valley in the playoffs, keep in mind this team has outscored opponents 88-15.

7. Dinuba (19-2-0, 10-0-0 CSL, Division III) — Here's another team that could make that D-III bracket uber-competitive. The Emperors have won 11 in a row and haven't played a one-goal game since Dec. 12.

8. Fresno-Roosevelt (17-5-2, 5-2-1 NYL, Division IV) — Now that they're down in Division IV, the Roughriders are odds-on favorites. Last year, they had to come down to Bakersfield and withstand a late flurry from Golden Valley to shock the Bulldogs in the D-III title game.

9. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (14-8-1, 5-2-0 NYL, Division II) — The Panthers have looked good for the most part, but a couple of hiccups are cause for concern: A few weeks ago against 3-8-4 Fresno-Sunnyside, and last week against Roosevelt with a chance to salt away the league title.

10. West (16-3-1, 10-0-0 SWYL, Division II) — The boys soccer in the Valley this year is totally wide-open, but the hardest part of all about these rankings might be where to put the better Kern County teams. West hasn't proven itself against the North, but the record is gaudy, and the Vikings will be in the D-II conversation for sure.

11. Farmersville (23-4-0, 4-0-0 ESiL, Division VI) — I've done these rankings for five sports now, and this is definitely the first time I've even thought about putting a Division VI team in the rankings — so congrats, Aztecs. Thing is, with Mendota and Tranquillity, D-VI is no cakewalk.

12. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (16-6-1, 8-2 CSL, Division IV) — The Cavaliers got a huge win against Farmersville on Thursday, but I'm not ready to put them any higher than this: A recent loss to 3-10-1 Exeter and an earlier 4-0 loss to Farmersville are still too fresh in the memory.

13. Parlier (17-1-1, 3-0-0 WSL, Division V) — There is a surplus of the "Panther" nickname in the central and northern parts of the section. This version hasn't played a tough slate, but their only loss came midseason to a tough Lindsay team that will be waiting again in the playoffs.

14. Wasco (16-7-1, 6-2-0 SSL, Division IV) — There is a three-way tie in the South Sequoia League between the Tigers, Arvin and Taft, but I think Wasco still has the best team overall. They'll get a chance to prove it in the season's last week (they play the other two).

15. Highland (14-7-4, 7-2-2 SEYL, Division III) — I do the rankings based on overall profile, but I'm handing the Scots the final spot because they might be the hottest team in Kern County. They've lost once in their past nine games, with two wins against Bakersfield and a tie against Golden Valley included.

Waiting: Fresno-Washington Union, Bakersfield, Visalia-Golden West, Avenal, Liberty, Tranquillity, Mendota, Stockdale, Centennial

A big drumroll for you fans of the beautiful game ... here is the School House Zach debut of Central Section soccer rankings!

A quick disclaimer before we begin: Soccer coaches seem to be the worst of any at updating MaxPreps, so some of these records will be off, and some don't even have all of their results in, which could skew the rankings. Kudos to those of you coaches getting stats in, and a plea for some help to those who aren't.

Also, if you're interested, The California Wrestler has new state and section wrestling rankings as of early this week.

Now, on to the land where the field is a pitch, the teams are sides, the standings are tables and the schedule is a fixture. Boys rankings are in a post to follow, but probably not until tomorrow.

GIRLS
1. Clovis (20-0-2, 8-0-0 TRAC, Division I) — It's hard to find beef with a team with just two ties as blemishes — the Cougars avenged one against Bullard with a 4-0 victory, and they're 2-0 against Buchanan since the draw. One question mark — Clovis hasn't played any of the Kern County powers.

2. Fresno-Bullard (16-2-4, 7-0-0 CMAC, Division I) — The County-Metro Athletic Conference is typically one of the section's stronger leagues, so for Bullard to outscore opponents 23-2 says a lot. Also, an early win against Liberty.

3. Liberty (15-2-3, 10-0-0 SEYL, Division I) — Despite a couple of ties against Stockdale, including a shootout loss in a tournament, the Patriots have shown themselves to be the class of Kern this year. How far that takes them in the playoffs remains to be seen.

4. Clovis-Buchanan (17-3-1, 4-2-0 TRAC, Division I) — Don't underestimate the Bears when the playoffs roll around; these are girls who have been there before and can get the job done. An early split with Liberty and a couple of losses to Clovis are their only blemishes.

5. Stockdale (15-3-5, 9-0-0 SWYL, Division I) — Fresh off clinching their 11th consecutive league title today, the Mustangs might get a rematch with Buchanan, who beat them for the 2008 section championship, in this year's playoffs. This time, though, it might just be a quarterfinal.

6. Bakersfield (13-4-4, 9-1-0 SEYL, Division I) — The Drillers have hung tough or beaten most of their tough opponents, but a loss to Centennial and a couple of lopsided defeats against Buchanan make you wonder.

7. Madera South (18-6-1, 6-1-1 NYL, Division III) — The schedule makes this look like a streaky team that is playing well at the right time. How else do you explain a 4-0 beatdown of Redwood and a league loss to Fresno-McLane?

8. Visalia-Redwood (16-6-4, 11-0-0 WYL, Division II) — That sparkly league record should tell you the Rangers are the D-II favorites, but they're not quite on the same level as the top-echeon D-I teams.

9. Garces (13-5-0, 6-4-0 SEYL, Division II) — It's worth noting that the SEYL might be the toughest league in the Valley this year. Garces has been oh-so-close to both Liberty and Bakersfield all four times they've played.

10. Clovis West (14-9-1, 4-4 TRAC, Division I) — Then again, the Tri-River Athletic Conference has a pretty strong argument for best league no matter what sport you're talking about. The Golden Eagles, though, are looking at only a No. 7 seed in the playoffs.

11. Tulare Union (17-1-4, 10-0-0 EYL, Division II) — It seems like there's an East Yosemite League team in every sport with a gaudy record that hasn't played much of a schedule. Usually they end up being pretty legit.

12. Tulare Western (17-4-0, 7-2-0 EYL, Division II) — The Mustangs are winners of seven of their past eight games; the only loss was against Tulare Union, and Western led 2-1 at halftime.

13. SLO-Mission Prep (14-4-2, freelance, Division V) — It's always hard to place the small-school teams in overall rankings, but the Royals have a nice record against a tough (mostly Southern Section) schedule, plus early wins against Bakersfield Christian and Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial.

14. Bakersfield Christian (19-2-2, 6-0-1 SSL, Division IV) — The Eagles will play more than two games before season's end, but the results of that pair are going to make or break their season: Tuesday on the mountain against Tehachapi with a league title at stake, and, after an expected run to the section final, a game against whomever awaits them (CVC?).

15. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (14-5-1, 10-0-0 CSL, Division IV) — For whatever reason, we have a pretty clear-cut top 14 right now. The final spot in the rankings, on the other hand, could have gone to any of about six teams. For now, CVC gets the nod.

Waiting: Porterville, Centennial, Frontier, Madera Ranchos-Liberty, Oakhurst-Yosemite, Tehachapi, Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial, Ridgeview, Golden Valley, Clovis North

If you ever want to tire yourself out, just try to make as many National Signing Day ceremonies as you can in one day around Kern County.

I left home this morning around 11:30, went to Highland to watch Patrick Su'a sign his national letter of intent with Fresno State, then raced over to Bakersfield High for a ceremony for a couple of soccer players that started at the same time as Su'a's. I caught the tail end of it, then headed to Liberty, where I barely made the start of their 12:40 party.

The Patriots had five athletes signing, so after all the interviews and such, it was time to head directly to West, where David Born and Jeremy Bethell were holding their big-linemen signing party at 1:30.

Quick lunch, back to the office to work on another story for an hour or so and then up to Shafter for the grand-daddy of this year's signing parties. Anna Jelmini, a state champion in the shot put and state and national junior champion in the discus, is off to Arizona State.

All in all, I logged an even 66 miles on the day and probably spent close to two hours just in the car. You know what, though? It's worth it, to see all the athletes reach their dreams and ink their name on a college scholarship.

Here's a quick rundown of those who signed with Division I schools today, with or without a ceremony:

Alana Alexander, Centennial track and field, Washington
Alexander is in the process of finalizing paperwork and will have her party to celebrate a Pac-10 signing next Thursday

David Born, West football, Sacramento State
Born said he had offers from both Nebraska and Colorado as an underclassman, but by the time he was ready to make a decision, those spots had been filled. He seemed ruffled by the recruiting process but happy to have a good home in Sac State.

Derek Carr, Bakersfield Christian football, Fresno State
The Californian's All-Area Player of the Year didn't actually sign a letter of intent on Wednesday because his intent already is apparent: He enrolled early at FSU and will participate in spring practices before returning to BCHS to participate in spring graduation. I think it's safe to say he'll be getting a scholarship.

Deidre Crabtree, Liberty golf, Cal State Fullerton
Crabtree actually signed in November's early signing period, but she celebrated it today. The Central Section champion will join Garces' Mica Guzman as part of the first new class on Fullerton's re-established golf team.

Elizabeth Crowe, Bakersfield soccer, Columbia
Don't think you'll find a better academic school on this list. In fact, I'm sure of it. Good for Liz, who will spend the next four years in Manhattan and the Ivy League.

Clare Flood, Bakersfield Christian volleyball, Boston University
Another athlete who didn't have a ceremony, but another who's going to a very good academic school.

Anna Jelmini, Shafter track and field, Arizona State
The double state champion (odds are she'll do it again this year) joins an ASU program that won both the indoor and outdoor national championship two years ago and finished second in the outdoor last spring. Her high school coach, Matt Godbehere, also knows the throwing coach there well — it's his brother-in-law, David Dumble. Seems like a good fit.

Estefania Limpias, Liberty tennis, Cal State Bakersfield
Another early signee celebrating today, Limpias ought to do well at CSUB, where the competition she craves will be waiting.

Samantha Pena, Bakersfield soccer, Cal State Bakersfield
Sam had tears in her eyes as she talked to me today. She seems genuinely happy to be staying home and playing for free in front of friends and family.

Colton Schmidt, Liberty football, UC Davis
Schmidt was the best kicker around, and Pats coach Tony Mills made a good point at the signing: D-I programs typically only bother with signing a kicker once every four years. It's not easy to get a scholly.

Darci Smith, Liberty soccer, South Carolina State
Every now and then, you get one of those, 'How in the heck did a Bakersfield kid end up there?' signings. This gets that award for today. Smith, who hopes to play tennis at SCSU as well, was discovered by the school at a club tournament in Texas.

Patrick Su'a, Highland football, Fresno State
Would you believe that with Su'a and Carr — plus Anthony Johnson, last year's Highland grad who grayshirted last year and will be eligible for the Bulldogs this time around — make eight Bakersfield players on Fresno State's roster. Get used to seeing some familiar names.

In addition to those listed above, a couple more local high schoolers made D-I commitments by way of Bakersfield College. They are: Will Mahan, from Bakersfield High football to Washington and Devin Pruett, from Liberty football to Hofstra.

Congratulations to all athletes, parents and coaches involved. Y'all have earned it.

Girls rankings below or at this link. Again, I promise some soccer rankings by the end of the week.

BOYS
1. Clovis East (19-4, 4-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Who would have thought the Timberwolves would be tested more by Buchanan than Clovis West? Goes to show you the depth of the TRAC — and that maybe, just maybe, Clovis East's armor has a small chink. Still going to be tough to knock from this perch.
LAST WEEK: W 63-52 vs. No. 6 Clovis West, W 62-59 at Clovis-Buchanan
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Madera, Friday vs. No. 6 Clovis

2. Liberty (19-3, 6-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 2) — Going into East's gym and avenging its only league loss was as big a statement by Liberty as previous week's gem against Garces. They've still got the Rams at least once more, and then possibly again in the playoffs, at Selland Arena.
LAST WEEK: W 81-53 at Foothill, W 68-50 at No. 12 East
THIS WEEK: Thursday vs. Highland

3. Garces (14-6, 6-1 SEYL, Division II, last week: 3) — Garces had flirted with century mark all season and finally got it against Golden Valley. Most of the heavy lifting is still to come — Garces has to show it can win close games. Tonight brings the first chance in a tougher-than-you-think battle at the Driller Gym.
LAST WEEK: W 94-58 at Highland, W 100-59 vs. Golden Valley
THIS WEEK: Monday at Bakersfield, Friday vs. West

4. Fresno-Central (16-5, 3-1 TRAC, Division I, last week: 5) — No team's stock has risen as far in league play as the Grizzlies, which got another feather in the cap by knocking off Clovis this week. Too bad Central flopped in its only meeting with Clovis East this year. No looking forward to the rematch, though: Another tough week awaits.
LAST WEEK: W 69-48 vs. Madera, W 67-59 at No. 4 Clovis
THIS WEEK: Wednsday vs. Buchanan, Friday at No. 5 Clovis West

5. Clovis West (11-6, 1-2 TRAC, Division I, last week: 6) — Yeah, the Golden Eagles move up a spot when their only known result is a loss (reminder to coaches: Get those scores up on MaxPreps). But sixth was too low for this team anyway. I have a feeling they'll prove it in a rematch with Central.
LAST WEEK: L 63-52 at No. 1 Clovis East, ?? at Madera
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. No. 6 Clovis, Friday vs. No. 4 Fresno-Central

6. Clovis (16-9, 2-2 TRAC, Division I, last week: 4) — It's hard to avoid these 1-and-1 weeks in the TRAC, where everyone save Madera is an absolute final exam. Clovis likely will drop at least one more this week; a sweep will whoosh the Cougars into at least the top three of the rankings.
LAST WEEK: W 58-51 at Clovis-Buchanan, L 67-59 vs. No. 5 Fresno-Central
THIS WEEK: Wednesday at No. 5 Clovis West, Friday at No. 1 Clovis East

7. Fresno-Edison (16-6, 4-0 CMAC, Division I, last week: 7) — It's hard to imagine Edison dropping below this spot, which is why it's hard to imagine the Tigers could be the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and on the road in the quarterfinals. But, hey, that's life in D-I.
LAST WEEK: W 67-29 vs. Sanger, W 79-57 at Fresno-Hoover
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Reedley, Friday at Clovis North

8. Lemoore (23-4, 7-0 WYL, Division II, last week: 8) — West Yosemite League showdown victory against Hanford lost some luster when the Bullpups turned around and lost to Redwood. Now the Tigers have to complete a sweep of the Rangers.
LAST WEEK: W 81-68 vs. Hanford, W 83-55 vs. Hanford West
THIS WEEK: Thursday at No. 14 Visalia-Redwood

9. Fresno-Sunnyside (16-5, 3-0 NYL, Division II, last week: 9) — A win against Memorial is good enough to keep the Wildcats in the Division II conversation and in the top 10; I'm wondering how they did against tough Madera South on Friday; I'll do some digging and amend the rankings if necessary.
LAST WEEK: W 57-55 vs. No. 13 Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial, ?? at Madera South
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Fresno-Roosevelt, Friday vs. Fresno

10. Centennial (17-4, 6-0 SWYL, Division I, last week: 10) — After a huge league win against Ridgeview, Hawks coach Alex Lee did some mild lobbying for his team to move up one spot. Not greedy; he just wanted one spot. I came close, but right now, Sunnyside gets the nod with a few more quality wins.
LAST WEEK: W 67-57 vs. Ridgeview
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. West, Friday at South

11. San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep (16-9, freelance, Division V, last week: 14) — Lofty ranking for a school not many have had a chance to see; it comes tomorrow night when the Royals invade Bakersfield Christian.
LAST WEEK: W 56-46 at Pebble Beach-Stevenson, W 56-23 vs. Cambria-Coast Union, W 42-41 vs. Salinas-Palma
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Bakersfield Christian, Saturday vs. Fowler

12. Visalia-Central Valley Christian (20-4, 7-0 CSL, Division V, last week: 15) — I'm always a little nervous about putting a couple of small-school teams up in the rankings, but I need to remind myself: This is a team that beat East early in the year and lost to Clovis West by a single point.
LAST WEEK: W 56-36 at Exeter, W 74-24 at Coalinga
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Reedley-Immanuel

13. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (14-9, 3-1 NYL, Division II, last week: 13) — Wouldn't it be cool if this year's Holy Bowl, cancelled during the regular season, happened in the Division II semifinals? It could definitely happen, though it was Memorial's turn to host.
LAST WEEK: L 57-55 at No. 9 Fresno-Sunnyside, W 72-53 vs. Fresno-McLane
THIS WEEK: Wednesday vs. Madera South, Friday vs. Fresno-Roosevelt

14. Visalia-Redwood (18-8, 4-3 WYL, Division II, last week: NR) — Revolving door that is the West Yosemite League this week shines on the Rangers, who opened league play 0-3 but are back in business. Now, if they could just turn around those other two losses.
LAST WEEK: W 55-50 vs. Visalia-Mt. Whitney, W 64-61 vs. No. 11 Hanford
THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Hanford West, Thursday vs. No. 8 Lemoore

15. East (11-9, 5-2 SEYL, Division II, last week: 12) — This is a fun and yet frustrating team to watch. So much talent, but so much of it goes for naught when the going gets tough. The Blades proved at Liberty they have it in them; they've got a couple more chances to do it again.
LAST WEEK: W 60-56 at North, L 68-50 vs. No. 2 Liberty
THIS WEEK: Tuesday vs. Highland, Thursday at Golden Valley

Dropped out: No. 11 Hanford
Waiting: Hanford, Clovis-Buchanan, Bakersfield, Bakersfield Christian, Visalia-El Diamante, Ridgeview, Hanford West, Fresno-Bullard, Tulare Western

 So I was partly right on my Super Bowl pick: Arizona couldn't run the ball, and that did make their offense one-dimensional. But Kurt Warner didn't throw for two or three interceptions. He threw one, though it was enormous turning point in the game just before the half. Warner and his receivers were fantastic, connecting for almost 400 yards, but the Steelers offense was able to answer late. Good thing I didn't say I was making my pick against the spread, right?