Cuesta College hosted the 2023 CCCAA State Wrestling Championships this weekend at Stork Gym. The Cougars automatically qualified Freshman Christian Davidson and Sophomore Andres Cervantes at the CCCAA Regional two weeks ago, but also had alternates Reily Lowry, Carson Brander and Silas Brailey added to the 16-man bracket in their weight classes. The Cougars' Quintet finished 19th among the 22 teams represented, while scoring in their 22nd CCCAA State Meet under Coach Joe Dansby and making their 35th straight appearance at the State Meet dating back to 1988.
Freshman Christian Davidson led the charge for the Cougars. The 2023 All-SouthEast Conference Second Teamer won his first two matches in impressive form, pinning his first opponent in just over a minute and earning a 23-10 Major Decision in his second bout, but was edged by Santa Rosa's Rayhan Jaleel, 9-7, in this afternoon's Championship Semi-Final. Davidson dropped into the Third Place bracket and beat Bakersfield's Uriel Vasquez, in the consolation semi-final with another 9-7 bout, to set up a re-match with his previous quarterfinal opponent Callan Ivy from Chabot. This time Ivy got the best of Davidson and claimed the Bronze, while Davidson landed in 4th place and was accorded all-American Honors (Top 4). Davidson finished the season with a team-high 25 victories, which included a 24-9 mark at 197.
Sophomore Carson Brander joined Davidson as the only Cougars to earn a victory at the meet. Brander, as an alternate, received a low seed that pitted him against eventual State Champion Adrian Chavez-Morales of Santa Ana in his opening bout. Brander, who's participation was confirmed the night before the meet, lasted just 28 second against Chavez-Morales, as the top seed strung together three straight "wins by fall" to reach the championship semi-final in only 1:59 of mat time. Brander bounced back to pin his next opponent Feroze Azimy of Chabot but was later eliminated by Bakersfield's Isaac Villalobos, who was the eventual 5th place finisher.
Sophomore Andres Cervantes was the only other Cuesta wrestler to earn his seed coming out of the Regional Meet. He was eliminated after his first two bouts but ended the season with 15 wins on the year, which ranked second on the team.
Sophomore Reily Lowry is a two-time State Qualifier, however he reached this year's meet as an alternate. Lowry faced a pair of eventual place winners, Sac City's Andrew Hamant (5th) and Sierra's Michael Negrete (8th) in his first two bouts and was knocked out of contention.
Freshman Silas Brailey was the Cougars' third alternate to make the "Big Dance". Brailey's weekend opened against eventual CCCAA State Champion Alex Ramirez of Mt San Antonio and he was eliminated in his next match against Santa Ana's Zeke Hueter.
