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WRESTLING: East Union's Luna, Sierra's Zavala place 2nd at SJS Division III tourney
3 area girls claim South Regional championships
Bulletin wrestling 2019-20
East Union's Tyler Diaz rides Patterson's Noah Cruz in a 15-5 win for fifth place at 140 pounds. - photo by DAVE CAMPBELL/The Bulletin

OAKDALE — Three Manteca-area wrestlers brought home two silver medals and one bronze Saturday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Wrestling Championships at Oakdale High.
East Union’s Joe Luna (147 pounds) earned himself a finals berth with a pair of pins and a major decision, but he was forced to forfeit his finals match after possibly re-aggravating a knee injury from early January.
“I was just focusing on trying to qualify for Masters,” Luna said. “My knee has been feeling better, but I kind of tweaked it in my semifinal match.
“That’s what led me to sit out my finals match.”
Sierra sophomore Manny Zavala (285) destroyed the field on his way to the finals with a pair of first-round pins and a second-round pin before getting pinned in the finals match.
“This has been a great season,” Zavala said. “I am going to work my butt off next week to keep going, moving forward.”
Manteca’s Dominik Neuharth (195) lost his first match on Friday and then ran the table, racking up a pair of pins and two decisions on his way to a third-place finish.
“When I lost my first match, I was severely disappointed with myself,” Neuharth said. “I know I could have beaten him.
“I knew I wasn’t going to let that stop me so I came back hard and I came back strong.”
The top eight from Saturday will compete in the two-day Masters SJS championships on Friday at the Stockton Arena. Joining Luna, Zavala and Neuharth will be East Union’s Tyler Diaz (fifth, 140) and Manteca’s Diego Rodriguez (seventh, 115), Armon Bayford (seventh, 184) and Fabian Mendoza (108, eighth).

GIRLS
CERES – Ripon placed sixth Saturday in the SJS South Regional Championships, and Sierra was eighth in the qualifier for Masters.
Ripon’s Alyssa Oliver (118) and Katelyn Cardoza (145) finished first. Teammates Marissa Hernandez finished fourth, Riley Rangel (139) seventh with Melissa Perez (133) and Kaylee Medeiros (150) finishing eighth.
Sierra’s Alexa Garcia (189) made school history as the only three-time regional champion. Cami Jarmon (113) finished third and Ezra Moral (103) was fourth.
For Lathrop, Janida Garcia (123) finished first and Alexis Murray (133) was sixth. East Union’s Mackenzie Romero (172) finished fifth.
The top eight finishers will compete in the SJS Masters Championships beginning Friday at the Stockton Arena.