The CIF Southern Section Masters Meet for boys and girls wrestling was held last week at Sonora High School, and several local athletes finished first in their division and qualified for this week’s CIF State meet.

The CIF State Championships will be held Thursday through Saturday at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. The finals are Saturday night.

The Masters Meet for boys and girls was held on back-to-back days. There were the two divisions — Blue Division and Gold Division. In each division for the boys, the top five finishers in each weight class qualified for the state meet.

Walnut’s Ronnie Ramirez is the most heralded of all San Gabriel Valley wrestlers, and he easily won the 126-pound Blue Division final with a pin over Sultana’s Rocky Humphrey in two minutes.

That set the stage for Ramirez, an Oklahoma State commit, to chase a third straight state championship this week. Ramirez has a chance to reach the state finals for a fourth straight season. Last year, Ramirez went undefeated as he won the 120-pound state title.

Walnut coach Cecil Sebastian watched Anaya Falcon win a third straight state championship for the Mustangs girls team last year. And now he gets to see Ramirez chase the same trifecta.

“Been enjoying watching Ronnie all season, his approach, his maturity, he’s ready for this,” Sebastian said. “For him to have an opportunity for a third state championship, that’s a huge deal for him and our program. He’s super motivated and he carries himself the right way. I love his chances.”

Walnut’s Christian Garcia nearly gave the Mustangs a second Masters title. He lost to Hesperia’s Paulo Valdez by a 9-3 decision in the 120-pound Gold Division final.

Northview’s Elias Flores finished third at 120 pounds, beating Liam Qureshi of Fountain Valley by a 6-5 decision to reach state.

Bonita’s Tristan Fernandez won the final in the 150-pound Gold Division. Fernandez pinned Etiwanda’s Jacob Bell in 6:37 to claim the championship.

In the final of the 106-pound Blue Division, Bishop Amat’s Benicio Thome lost to Esperanza’s Samuel Sanchez, losing by technical fall.

In the 106-pound Gold Division championship, Northview’s Elijah Butler lost a 15-13 decision to Jorge Rios of St. John Bosco.

In the fifth-place match of the 106-pound Gold Division, Bonita’s Elias Echeveste won by a 5-1 decision over Madrid Ladines of Lakeside.

Bonita’s Dylan Garcia advanced to the state meet by defeating Mayfair’s Edgar Mora in the 138-pound Blue Division fifth-place match, winning by a 6-2 decision.

Northview’s Michael Vasselle earned third place in the 190-pound Gold Division, beating Jonathan Corona of Santa Barbara by a 7-1 decision.

Northview’s Ezekiel Lucero was chasing the 285-pound Gold Division title, but suffered a devastating knee injury and was forced to default. He finished sixth and missed qualifying for the state meet.

NORTHVIEW GIRLS SECOND AT MASTERS

The Northview girls wrestling team nearly followed last week’s CIF-SS Central Division title with a Masters title, but came up short. The Vikings finished second to Corona, which won with 171 points to Northview’s 159.

The Vikings had two Masters champions and qualified several wrestlers for state.

There two divisions — Blue Division and Gold Division. In each division for the girls, the top four finishers in each weight class qualified for the state meet.

Sumaya Lazaro won a Masters title for Northview in the 140-pound Blue Division. Lazaro defeated Santa Ana’s Yanni Sanchez by pin in 3:40 in the final.

Northview’s Delari Juarez won the 145-pound Blue Division, beating Lauren Pena of Hillcrest by an 11-0 majority decision in the final.

Northview’s Mia Hooper lost in the 125-pound Blue Division final. She lost a 7-0 decision to Anaheim’s Lilyana Balderas.

The Vikings’ Samatha Rivera lost a 7-3 decision to Chino’s Tilly Kakuk in the 120-pound Gold final.

The Vikings’ Juliet Salazar finished third in the 135-pound Blue Division. She defeated Anabelle Reed of Chaparral 8-6 in the third-place match.

Northview’s Marie Saldana (110 pounds), Ysabella Hinojosa (115 pounds) and Marci Cueva (130 pounds) all finished fourth and qualified for state.

Four other SGV girls wrestlers won Masters titles: Los Altos’ Epenesa Elison finished first in the 115-pound Blue Division; Glendora’s Samantha Sachs won the 130-pound Blue Division final; West Covina’s Julie Cimarusti won the 140-pound Gold Division; and Gabrielino’s Julianna Marquez won the 190-pound Blue Division final.