For the second straight year, the Pitman Pride boys wrestling team claimed first place at the Ceres Showdown Invitational with 13 placers, seven finalists and six champions.
Highlighting Saturday’s group of champions at Ceres High was 177-pound sophomore Mason Ontiveros, who beat out fellow 2023 CIF State Tournament qualifier Nicholas Perez of Hughson in the championship match by a 9-2 decision. His efforts earned him Outstanding Upper-Weight honors.
After a first-round bye, Ontiveros pinned Central Valley’s Kenneth Orrin in 1:27 of the first-round. He followed it up in the quarterfinals with another first-round pin, this time at the 1:01 mark against Franklin Shawn of Monache. He clinched a spot against Perez in the final after earning a technical fall in the second period against Palma’s Isaiah Rangel.
As for Perez, he followed up his own first-round bye with a pin of Sanger’s Owen Seaney just 55 seconds into the second-round match. He followed it up with a fall at the 1:29 mark against Escalon’s Logan Dooley. Perez later won by a 16-0 technical fall over Golden Valley’s Austin Mello.
Winning the 192-pound class was Pitman’s Carter Vannest. After his bye, he pinned Escalon’s Anthony Jones at the 1:22 mark. He bested his performance in the quarterfinals when he pinned Lee Hardy of Chavez at 1:04. He then earned a 12-0 majority draw over Franklin-Elk Grove’s Jonathan Houston in the semifinal before winning by a 17-1 technical fall against Noel Ceballos of Monache.
Up at 217 and 287 pound classes, the Pride’s Jeremiah Mora and Troy Ceja also claimed first-place finishes.
Mora followed up his bye with a first-period fall over Sanger’s Cresencio Mandujano at the 1:53 mark. He earned another in the second period of the quarterfinals against Hughson’s Ryan Lankford. He muscled his way to an 8-2 decision in the semifinals and a tight, 2-1 decision over Franklin EG’s Alexis Islas in the finals.
Ceja, meanwhile, pinned Patterson’s Josef Skoien at the 1:20 mark in his second-round match after having an opening round bye. In the quarterfinal, he pinned Johansen’s Richard Savali Nuki exactly two minutes into the match. He then earned a hard-fought 7-2 decision over Escalon’s Frank Rodriguez in the semifinal before clinching first-place with a first-round fall over Durham's Geovani Rico at the 1:47 mark.
The 159-pound bracket was claimed by Pitman’s Xadian Padilla, who pinned three of his four opponents on the day. He got his day started in the second round, where he pinned Denair’s Christian Vrioni at 1:12. He then pinned Beyer’s Andrew Peterson in the second period of the quarterfinal match. He then earned a 12-6 decision in the semifinals against Tracy’s Noah Porter. He finished his day with a second-period pin of Foothill’s Mutahb Slayman.
Teammate Brodie Johnson, meanwhile, claimed the 167-pound division, also beating three of his opponents by fall. His first came over Pacheco’s Javier Jimenez at the 2:19 mark of the first period. He followed it up with a 58-second finish on Monache’s Alexander Corona’s Jr. His lone win by decision came in the semifinals when he bested Golden Valley’s Jayden Richards 5-0. In the final, he pinned Big Valley Christian’s Kade Terzo just 25 seconds into the match.
Joining Perez as second-place finishers was Pitman’s R.J. Wilharm (128), while the Pride’s Brayden Silva claimed third at 146 pounds.