NEW Prep 40 Rankings

The Prep Top 40 have been updated and with their POWERade performance, the Cougars have climbed the list to #15!

Amateur Wrestling News Prep 40 - December 31, 2008
1. Blair Academy N.J.
2. St. Paris Graham Ohio
3. Central Dauphin Pa. - POWERade Champions
4. Northampton Pa.
5. Apple Valley Minn.
6. Central Mountain Pa.
7. Huxley Ballard Iowa
8. Wyoming Seminary Pa.
9. Don Bosco Iowa
10. St. Mark Del.
11. St. Edward Ohio
12. Massillon Perry Ohio
13. Park Hill Mo.
14. Blue Mountain Pa. - POWERade 3rd Place
15. Clovis Calif. - POWERade 4th Place
16. Reynolds Pa.
17. Cumberland Valley Pa.
18. Christiansburg Va.
19. Omaha Skutt Catholic Neb.
20. Brandon Fla.
21. Simley Minn.
22. Wausau West Wisc.
23. Roseburg Ore.
24. Montini Catholic Ill.
25. Iowa City West Iowa
26. Waverly-Shell Rock Iowa
27. Collins Hill Ga.
28 Blue Springs Mo.
29. Buchanan Calif.
30. Havre Mont.
31. Grand Island Neb.
32. Billings Skyview Mont.
33. Sturgis S. Dakota
34. Catoosa Okla.
35. Phillipsburg N.J.
36. High Point N.J.
37. Ponca City Okla.
38. Goddard Kans.
39. Poway Calif.
40. Lake Stevens Wash.

POWERade Results

After two days at the 4th toughest tournament in the nation, the Clovis Cougars walked away with 5 medals, a 4th place team finish, and a POWERade Champion.

Scott Sakaguchi (145) won the first POWERade individual title by a Cougar since Gabe Flores, Troy Tirapelle, and Jason Williams in 2002. And he won in dominating fashion. Scott pinned four opponents in route to the finals before defeating New York State Champion Brian Sewalt of Waverly 13-6 in the finals, scoring 6 takedowns and not allowing an offensive point in all 5 matches.

Clinton McAlester capped an impressive run to the finals with a 2nd place finish at 125lbs, losing his finals match to nationally ranked Nathan Pennesi of Latrobe (PA) 7-2. Madison Gambrell came back for a strong 4th place finish after losing in Round 2 to match his seed for the tournament.

Both surprising and impressive performances came at 160 and 171 for the Cougars. Sophomore Blake Thompson wrestled his way to an 8th place finish at 160lbs. Ironically, it was Blake's first time placing at a 1st team varsity tournament and it comes at one of the best tournaments in the country! Freshman phenom Zach Nevills continued his ascent of the wrestling world, coming from an unseeded pigtail start to finish 7th at 171lbs, defeating 7 opponents along the way including the #6 and #2 seeds in the tournament!

Final Team Scores:
1. Central Dauphin - 206.5
2. Shady Side Academy - 172
3. Blue Mountain - 165
4. Clovis (CA) - 157.5
T5. Hempfield - 136
T5. Westmont Hilltop - 136
7. Bellefonte - 132.5
T8. Latrobe - 128.5
T8. Penn Trafford - 128.5
10. Benton - 125

Team photos and podium pictures on http://www.poweradewrestling.com/.

Clovis Wrestling - Streaming Video

**Important Notice**
Unless you want to be sorely disappointed, get the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player NOW (Version 10.0.12.36) so you can watch Clovis Wrestling feeds throughout the year! Just click that link, uncheck the 'Free Google Toolbar' button, and hit 'Agree and install now'. Follow the instructions and you're there!

POWERade After Day 1

The Clovis boys held their own against some of the nation's best, finishing the first day of competition with 7 wrestlers competing for a medal in one of the Top 5 tournaments in the country. Clinton McAlester (125) and Scott Sakaguchi (145) will wrestle today in the semi-finals while Madison Gambrell (112), Alec Dieter (140), Blake Thompson (160), Zach Nevills (171), and Tommy Burriel (189) will wrestle for a place on the medal stand.

After Day 1, team scores are as follows:
1. Central Dauphin - 141 (#3 in the Nation)
2. Blue Mountain - 114 (#15 in the Nation)
3. Clovis (CA) - 107.5 (#29 in the Nation)
4. Bellefonte - 104.5
5. Hempfield - 100
6. Shady Side Academy - 92
7. Penn Trafford - 91.5
8. Latrobe - 91
T9. Bethel Park - 87
T9. Derry - 87

Latest Amateur Wrestling News Top 40 Prep Rankings:
1. Blair Academy N.J.
2. St. Paris Graham Ohio
3. Central Dauphin Pa.
4. St. Mark Del.
5. Northampton Pa.
6. Apple Valley Minn.
7. Central Mountain Pa.
8. Huxley Ballard Iowa
9. St. Edward Ohio
10. Wyoming Seminary Pa.
11. Massillon Perry Ohio
12. Cumberland Valley Pa.
13. Don Bosco Iowa
14. Park Hill Mo.
15. Blue Mountain Pa.
16. Christiansburg Va.
17. Iowa City West Iowa
18. Eastern Regional NJ
19. Brandon Fla.
20. Omaha Skutt Catholic Neb.
21. Simley Minn.
22. Wausau West Wisc.
23. Roseburg Oreg.
24. Montini Catholic Ill.
25. Waverly-Shell Rock Iowa
26. Collins Hill Ga.
27 Blue Springs Mo.
28. Buchanan Calif.
29. Clovis Calif.
30. Havre Mont.
31. Reynolds Pa.
32. Catoosa Okla.
33. Phillipsburg N.J.
34. High Point N.J.
35. Billings Skyview Mont.
36. Sturgis S. Dakota
37. Hastings Minn.
38. Ponca City Okla.
39. Goddard Kans.
40. Oak Park River Forest Ill.

They're off!!!

Coming home:
Flight # 587 - Pittsburgh to Phoenix
Flight #2716 - Phoenix to Fresno

POWERade Seeds

103
1. Greg Flournoy - Fauquier - VA (10)
2. Tyler White - Ripley - WV (11)
3. Stevan Knoblauch - Clovis West - CA (10)
4. Rob Heuler - Bethel Park (10)
5. Chace Small - Latrobe (10)
6. Jimmy Gulibon - Derry (9)
7. Corey Keener - Blue Mountain (9)
8. Shyheim Brown - Central Dauphin (9)

112
1. Nico Megaludis - Franklin Regional (10)
2. Zach Zimmer - Clovis West - CA (11)
3. Geoff Alexander - Shady Side Academy (10)
4. Madison Gambrell - Clovis - CA (12)
5. Ryan Hunsberger - Fauquier - VA (11)
6. Tanner Hough - Westmont Hilltop (10)
7. Ryan Bohince - Penn Trafford (11)
8. Alex Dunaway - McGuffey (11)

119
1. Shane Young - Penn Trafford (12)
2. Simon Rice - Central Dauphin (12)
3. Frank Goodwin - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (11)
4. Mitchell Port - Bellefonte (11)
5. Mike Rhone - Benton (11)
6. Kyle Bratke - Parkersburg - WV (11)
7. Chris Martinez - Clovis West - CA (11)
8. Peter Mosher - Harrison - GA (12)

125
1. Nathan Pennesi - Latrobe (12)
2. Jake Swink - Connellsville (12)
3. Clinton McAlester - Clovis - CA (11)
4. Jordan Toledo - Pleasant Valley (11)
5. Dave Makara - Burrell (10)
6. KJ Bell - Harrison - GA (12)
7. Josh Craig - Chapel Hill - NC (12)
8. Graceson Pastirik - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (12)

130
1. Cort Choate - Blue Mountain (12)
2. Nick Catalano - Canon McMillan (10)
3. Luke Parsons - Ripley - WV (11)
4. Frank Martellotti - Shady Side Academy (11)
5. Trevor Kushner - Westmont Hilltop (11)
6. Tyler Buckman - Central Dauphin (11)
7. Jordon Nolan - Parkersburg - WV (11)
8. Erik Galloway - State College (11)

135
1. Josh Kindig - Blue Mountain (11)
2. Corey Mock - Chapel Hill - NC (12)
3. Travis Shaffer - Derry (10)
4. Conner Miller - Fauquier - VA (11)
5. Zach Sheridan - Mt. Pleasant (12)
6. Brett Sewalt - Waverly - NY (12)
7. Benny Schaufele - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (11)
8. Chad Morrison - Parkersburg - WV (11)

140
1. Dane Johnson - Shady Side Academy (12)
2. Jack Bachman - Hempfield (12)
3. Kenny Stank - Central Dauphin (12)
4. Chris Smith - Chancellor - VA (12)
5. David Heis - Ripley - WV (11)
6. Ethan Saylor - Connellsville (11)
7. Eric Kemp - Derry (12)
8. Joey Walters - Latrobe (12)

145
1. Scott Sakaguchi - Clovis - CA (12)
2. Eric Hess - Benton (11)
3. Brian Sewalt - Waverly - NY (12)
4. Mike Ganley - Bethel Park (12)
5. Greg Lanctot - Council Rock North (11)
6. Aaron McKinney - West Allegheny (10)
7. Danny Orem - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (12)
8. Peter Ormsby - Chancellor - VA (11)

152
1. Marshall Peppelman - Central Dauphin (11)
2. Shane Alterio - Bellefonte (12)
3. Chris Moon - Fauquier - VA (11)
4. Craig Chelednik - Hempfield (12)
5. Logan Walker - Waverly - NY (12)
6. Devan Jones - Penn Trafford (12)
7. Andrew Farbarik - Franklin Regional (11)
8. TJ Keklak - Westmont Hilltop (12)

160
1. Daniel McGillivray - Fauquier - VA (12)
2. Matthew Cunningham - Shady Side Academy (11)
3. Corey Lear - Benton (12)
4. Nick Bonaccorsi - Bethel Park (10)
5. Kenny Courts - Central Dauphin (10)
6. Zach McCutcheon - Waverly - NY (12)
7. Bobby Bowman - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (11)
8. Tyler Leitza - Derry (11)

171
1. Jake Kemerer - Hempfield (12)
2. Ronnie Mullins - Ripley - WV (11)
3. Troy Reaghard - West Allegheny (11)
4. Matt Mullett - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (11)
5. Greg Stodgel - Chancellor - VA (12)
6. Nick Sofranko - Derry (11)
7. Christian Oberle - Bellefonte (12)
8. Clint Morrison - Cedar Cliff (11)

189
1. Roman Sandoval - Shady Side Academy (12)
2. Tony Dallago - Central Dauphin (12)
3. Tommy Burriel - Clovis - CA (11)
4. Zach Benzio - Connellsville (12)
5. Dallas Brown - Delone Catholic (12)
6. Chris Nocchi - Waverly - NY (12)
7. Jake Leninsky - West Allegheny (12)
8. Jamie Callender - Council Rock North (11)

215
1. Zac Bennett - Westmont Hilltop (12)
2. Colby McCutcheon - Ripley - WV (12)
3. Jeremiah Karpency - Albert Gallatin (12)
4. Brian Beattie - Burrell (10)
5. Tim Giel - Shady Side Academy (12)
6. Ryan Watson - Burgettstown (12)
7. Adam Lazenga - Bethel Park (11)
8. Nate Gaffney - Connellsville (11)

285
1. Sam Brownlee - Canon McMillan (12)
2. Karl Green - Mt. St. Joseph - MD (11)
3. Keith Graeff - Blue Mountain (12)
4. Zach Baker - Penn Trafford (11)
5. Ben Horwatt - Derry (11)
6. Marty Kisla - Chartiers-Houston (12)
7. Nick Ciesielski - Shady Side Academy (11)
8. Ryan Collins - Cedar Cliff (12)

POWERade Updates

A couple updates as the Clovis wrestlers prepare for the POWERade.

Seeding Information
-released at 6:00pm (EST) on the official POWERade Tournament website

Live Audio Broadcast
-the WJPA Webcast will start Monday night for Session II (during the Quarter Finals)
-make sure you have Windows Media Player to listen to the broadcast

• Monday night - 6:00pm EST - Quarterfinals
• Tuesday morning - 10:00am EST - Semifinals
• Tuesday evening - 5:00pm EST - Consolation Finals
• Tuesday evening - 7:30pm EST - Championship Finals

Live Video Streaming
- watch right here all day Monday & Tuesday as we attempt to stream Clovis matches LIVE to the blog

Clovis POWERade Lineup
103 – Daniel Gaytan
112 – Madison Gambrell
119 – Bryan Lopez
125 – Clinton McAlester
130 – Jonathan Gay
135 – Sonny Cervantes
140 – Alec Dieter
145 – Scott Sakaguchi
152 – Ben Kelley
160 – Blake Thompson
171 – Zach Nevills
189 – Tommy Burriel
215 – Jesus Castaneda

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! May the new year bring new challenges, new joys, and new memories.

California State Rankings Released

On the eve of Christmas, the first official state rankings were released for the 2008-2009 wrestling season. Like the end of last year, the Cougars find themselves again in the top spot, carrying a #1 state ranking into the POWERade Tournament. 8 Clovis wrestlers are listed amongst the state's best, also the most from any one school.

State Ranked Clovis Wrestlers:
103 - Daniel Gaytan - Honorable Mention
112 - Madison Gambrell - #4
125 - Clinton McAlester - #4
130 - Jonathan Gay - Honorable Mention
135 - Alec Dieter - Honorable Mention
145 - Cameren Kelley - #3
152 - Scott Sakaguchi - #1
189 - Tommy Burriel - #4

Top 5 Teams
1. Clovis
2. Selma
3. Calvary Chapel-Santa Ana
4. Poway
5. Gilroy

For a complete list of California State Rankings, click here.

Clovis Just Short at Zinkin

11 medals. 8 finalists. 5 champions. 3 falls in the finals. 2nd place?

After taking home 5 tournament titles and placing over half the team in the finals, the Cougars came up 10 points short (258 pts) of overtaking champion Buchanan (268 pts) at the 7th Annual Zinkin Classic. It was an impressive two days of wrestling, highlighted by championships from Daniel Gaytan (103), Clinton McAlester (125), Cameren Kelley (145), Scott Sakaguchi (152), and Tommy Burriel (189). Also reaching the finals were Madison Gambrell (119), Ben Kelley (140), and Zach Nevills (171). The three other Cougar A Team place winners were Bryan Lopez (7th at 112), Sonny Cervantes (7th at 130) and Taylor Ferguson (8th at 215).

In addition, the Cougars had a B Team wrestle in the Zinkin Classic for the first time. Ryan Davies (8th at 160) and Jesus Castaneda (4th at 215) took home medals with many wrestlers falling only one match short: Juan Salas (125), Brady Bersano (130), Chase Bohny (140), Dakota Gordon (145), and Colby Thompson (152). The B Team finished a remarkable 12th amongst the 34 teams, proving Clovis wrestlers at any level can compete against other’s best.

John Caton Photography

Check out the following link to some great action photos by John Caton at the Zinkin Classic. http://johncaton.smugmug.com/Clovis%20High%20Wrestling%202008-9

Watch Clovis at the POWERade Live!

The distance from Clovis High School to Canon-McMillan High School is 2,541 miles.


View Larger Map

So for all Clovis Wrestling fans, the POWERade Christmas Classic in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania is a bit overwhelming cost-wise in today’s economy. But thanks to a little technology know-how and the graciousness of Frank Vulcano Jr. (POWERade Tournament Director), this Pennsylvania classic may be only a few mouse clicks away!

Clovis Wrestling is going to try and pull off the improbable feat of streaming ALL Clovis matches live over the Internet to our own personal site for the two-day tournament!

Tune in to either of two locations:
· Right here! – the feed will appear on the day of the tournament
· UStream (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/clovis-wrestling)

Every match. Every second. Every part of wrestling action from your Clovis wrestlers brought to you as it happens!

So get your comfortable chair, your portable refrigerator, and set your clocks for 8:30am Eastern Standard Time on Monday, December 29th and prepare to cheer on our boys against some of the nation’s best!

Clovis Dominates El Diamante JV Duals

The Cougar JV squad was way too much for the other participating teams at the 2nd Annual El Diamante JV Duals. The Cougars dominated the competition, allowing only 24 points over 5 duals, scoring a whopping 366 in return! Congrats on another 1st place finish for a Clovis team!

Team members included:
Matt Gay
Lloyd Thomas
Zach Gilman
Vicente Hernandez
Devin Everk
Brady Bersano
Jake Cap
Christian Velarde
Steven Corner
Colby Thompson
Ryan Davies
Christian Jackson
Matt Rocha
Kyle Cruz
Orem Camarena
Max Howard

Scores round by round:
Clovis 83 - Hanford 0
Clovis 81 -Tulare Western 0
Clovis 62 - Golden West 9
Clovis 69 - Mt Whitney 9
Clovis 71 - El Diamante 6

Clovis West Shootout Photos

Here are some Clovis West Shootout photos, courtesy of our assistant coach and photographer extraordinaire, Nara Sihavong!
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0dbdf845fc2dbee4&sid=8AZNWbFs3bNWTb

POWERade Money Due Wednesday, Dec 17th!

The Clovis Wrestling Team is only 13 days away from departure to Pennsylvania.

POWERade trip money is due Wedensday, December 17th. Please have your trip money turned in to Cindy McAlester by that date! Contact Cindy at (559) 289-4351.

Tournament Unbeaten Streak Ends (technically)

After over a year of consecutive tournament victories, including an unbeaten streak in 2008, the Clovis High School wrestling team came up only a technicality short of continuing the trend. After two days at the toughest dual tournament in the state, the Clovis West Shootout, the Cougars and Buchanan Bears undefeated records (both 7-0) had to be settled by a 'points against' tie-breaker, leaving the Bears winners by only 4 points.

It's one time where a loss doesn't feel like a loss, as the Clovis team dominated 7 opponents over two days, including a decisive victory over one of the top teams in the state, the Selma Bears, in the tournament's final match.

Round by Round Results:
Clovis 65 - Turlock 5
Clovis 71 - Stockdale 10
Clovis 58 - Crater (Oregon) 12
Clovis 69 - Los Banos 4
Clovis 45 - Vacaville 22
Clovis 62 - Royal 6
Clovis 43 - Selma 28

The Cougars had some outstanding performances, including All-Tournament selections Alec Dieter (140), Cameren Kelley (152), and Tommy Burriel (189), along with several one-loss performances. Due to his own selflessness, Scott Sakaguchi sacrificed individual recognition in order to help the team, defeating several top-ranked opponents at 152lbs and 160lbs. His only loss came to nationally ranked Brock Gutches wrestling up at 160lbs, or he would have earned All-Tournament status as well. In addition, several underclassmen turned in marked performances at their first Shootout experience including Daniel Gaytan, Tyler White, Chase Bohny, Dakota Gordon, Zach Nevills, and Taylor Ferguson.

In all, an incredible weekend of wrestling showed that the Cougars are both once again a state power in 2009 AND a team that won't be going away anytime soon with young talent unmatched at the event.

Up next for the team is a big weekend of wrestling. The first and second Varsity teams travel over to 'Bear Country' to the Zinkin Classic Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School. Another team will travel to the Central Varsity Tournament on Saturday and a fourth team will compete at the Bullard JV Tournament on Friday.

Clark goes Three for Three

Congratulations Clark Chieftans for defending the Exeter Middle School Invitational Championship!! Three tournaments... three wins!!! Great job Coach Martinez & Coach Flores!!!

Two years in a row the Clark team has won this tournament. The top 3 now qualify for the NOR-CAL TOC Tournament in March.

BUILDING CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE!!!!

Live Coverage of Shoot Out

FYI.... For those who can't be there,,,, from thecaliforniawrestler.com

Clovis West has come together with matdaddy.com on Friday and Saturday of the shootout, providing live coverage of matches during the day.

Clark Goes Two for Two

The Clark Chieftans picked up right where they left off from last year's undefeated dual and tournament season, winning their second straight tournament in dominating fashion last Saturday. The Kastner Duals featured some of the Central Section's best middle school teams, yet they were no match for the Clark squad. The Chieftans defeated Porterville, Bakersfield, Rio Vista, Alta Sierra, and Kastner to win both the 'Home' and the 'Overall' team championship.

Three-Peat!

Congrats to the Clovis High School 'younger' varsity group for winning the McLane Duals for the 3rd year in a row, making the Cougars the only champions in the tournament's three-year history. In five duals, the Cougars outscored the competition 292-78.

• Clovis 51 - Golden West 25


• Clovis 66 - Terra Nova 9


• Clovis 81 - Roosevelt 0


• Clovis 45 - Madera South 26


• Clovis 49 - Buchanan 18

Up next is the toughest dual tournament in the state, the Clovis West Shootout!

POWERade Tournament

Final payment is due December 17th!! I am sending out flyers tomorrow with the amount due for each wrestler. Please make check payable to Cougar Foundation.

Team Gear

We are just about there!!!! Shoot Out next weekend... Lets show our team spirit!!! Got 8 T Shirts & Sweatshirts available! $25.00 Sweatshirts - $10.00 T Shirts... Still have some of the Gold Clovis wrestling sweatshirts/tshirts.. Large & Xtra Large only!