Lemoore Tiger wrestler Will Kloster places 8th for second year in row at state championships

Kloster won his first two matches before losing to St. John Bosco’s Cael Valencia in the championship round quarterfinals. It was Kloster’s second top 8 finish in the state championships. He will take his wrestling skills to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo next year.

As a team, Lemoore finished 50th in the state. Buchanan High School won its fifth straight state championship, easily outdistancing second-place St. John Bosco.

Four boys and one Lemoore girl wrestler earned spots in the annual state tournament. Marisa Perico, the only female Tiger to attend the state championships, won her opener against Athena Barajas before losing to Lilly Avalos and moved to the consolation bracket where she ended her bid with a loss to Carissa Qureshi. She finished 2-2 in the tourney.

Wayne Joint, who took a statewide fifth just a year ago, was forced into the consolation round, where he fell in a 5-1 decision to Clovis North’s Ryan Watts. Joint was knocked out of the championship brackets when he lost 10-5 to Del Oro’s Damion Elliott in a 3-2 nail-biter. Elliott ended up losing to the eventual champion, Maximo Renteria, from Buchanan.

Dylan McDonald, at 108 pounds, lost his opening round to Oakdale’s Michael Torres. Jesse Gaytan lost his first-round match to Granada’s Carter Bailey at 120 pounds. They both were 0-2 in the tourney.