Pair of Stallions, Avila win Area 1 titles

Three Madera South wrestlers and Madera’s Madison Avila earned Central Section Area 1 championships before getting set to compete in Friday’s Central Section Championships at Lemoore High School.

Elizabeth Rojas-Ramos (191 pounds) and Kalisa James (172) each won Central Section Area titles for Madera South. Jalitza Lopez-Valle (237) and Viridiana Cedillo (128) lost in the championship match and Evangelina Mejia (118) placed sixth.

The top eight advances to this week’s Master’s Championships.

Avila, who is ranked No. 1 in the state at 103 pounds, won her first round match with a pin 32 seconds into the match. She recorded a third period pin in the quarterfinals before getting a second period pin in the semifinals. She picked up a 5-0 decision in the championship match.

Cedillo, the No. 1 seed at 128 pounds, earned a first round bye before picking up a second period pin in the quarterfinals. She followed that with another second period pin in the semifinals. However, she fell victim to a first period pin in the championship match.

James, the No. 1 seed, earned a bye through the first two rounds and picked up a pin 47 seconds into her semifinal match for a berth to the championship. She won the championship with a pin 55 seconds into the match. On her road to the championship, James had just one minute, 42 seconds of mat time.

Rojas-Ramos was the No. 2 seed at 191 pounds. She earned a first period pin in the quarterfinals and picked up another first period pin in the semifinals. She had a tougher time in the finals, but got a pin 1:10 into the second period for the area title.

Lopez-Valle also earned the No. 2 seed at 237 pounds. She won by a pin with two seconds left in the second period in the quarterfinals. She advanced to the finals with a 3-1 decision in the semifinals. However, she lost by a first period pin in the title match.

Mejia won her first match at 118 pounds, but lost in the second round. She battled her way through the consolation round with a pair of pins before losing by pin in the consolation semifinals. She lost by pin in the fifth place match to place sixth overall.