Pichedwatana, Salas place at CIF State Championship wrestling tournament

BAKERSFIELD >> Amid all the accomplishments that have come with one of the most successful seasons in the history of Mayfair High’s wrestling program, head coach Ibee Atalla said 160-pounder Justin Pichedwatana had one final goal entering the CIF State Championship touament: to become the area’s top competitor.

Mission accomplished.

The senior took home fourth place Saturday afteoon at Rabobank Arena and has become quite accustomed to life on the podium after last week’s third-place finish at the CIF Southe Section Masters Meet in Ontario.

“It’s been a really crazy rollercoaster,” he said. “I never thought I’d make it this far. I’m here at State and it’s amazing to place fourth. It was a bunch of offseason work. It was amazing. There was no break straight from March until now. That’s why I am where I am.”

Pichedwatana lost 11-2 against Buchanan’s Abner Romero in the semifinals to start the day, before wiing his bubble match to ea entry into the third-place bout, where he was defeated 9-0 by Jason Bergquist of Folsom.

Ibee said that while Pichedwatana’s high school career is close to an end, there are still many goals to accomplish, including an entry into April’s National touament in Virginia and a college search. First and foremost, the coach credited his athlete for his constant mental preparation.

“It’s the mental guy that’s going to win and he did that,” he said. “Hopefully that will carry on to the next team and the next years and the future for Mayfair wrestling. He’s an example. He’s got good grades, he’s got his head on his shoulders and he’s going to be successful wherever he goes.”

St. John Bosco’s Day Salas also reached the podium with a sixth-place finish at 195 pounds, just a week after claiming first and upper weight MVP honors at Masters.

The senior had to default to sixth after injuring his shoulder during a back-and-forth bubble match that he eventually lost 9-8 in the last minute against Newbury Park’s Jake Wood.

Salas was pied by Clovis’ AJ Nevills during the semis after picking up three wins Friday.

Salas’ teammates Christian Nunez (106 pounds), Jacob Bueno (160) and David Aranda (285) all qualified for the two-day touament, as did Jonathan Prada (Downey), Matt Saldana (Millikan) and Jose Alvarez (Mayfair) at 106, Nick Camacho (Paramount, 126,) and Andrew Ramos (Mayfair, 195) were eliminated Friday.

Three Monsoons qualifying to the State level marked the most in program history.

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