KINGSBURG – It’s been nearly 30 years since Kingsburg boys wrestling last produced a state champion. But in the last few years, the Vikings have slowly and confidently built their program back up to respectability.
This season, a marvelous renaissance has taken place that has the Vikings primed to make some noise against some of the state’s other talented teams. Vikings head coach Coleman Hammond knew that building a successful program would take time, patience and a lot of maturity.
The first thing he sought to do to build the program back up was change the mentality of the wrestling program. “The Kingsburg mentality of wrestling has changed over the last 10 years,” Hammond said. “I tell them that, if you’re going to come wrestle here, this is very much what life is like: if you don’t show up for work, you’re going to get fired. We do a similar thing here.”
Hammond’s team is built on a mixture of physicality and technique. And that mixture of offense and defense has allowed the Vikings to score more points, which helps them to excel in the most highly-skilled matches.
“We’ve got some individuals who have been very thoughtful in the technical side of wrestling, and they’ve been able to really put the pieces together, as far as how to wrestle a high school match,” said Hammond about his team’s strengths. “We’ve always preached offensive wrestling, and the guys in here are scoring points, and that’s leading to a lot of wins for them.”
This season, Kingsburg has at least four wrestlers who are ranked in the top 15 in the state in their respective weight classes by Cal Grappler.com. Leo Macias (132 lbs.), Elias Reyes (150 lbs.), Carlos Melgoza (113 lbs.) and Emilio Ayala (215 lbs.) have been the best among an army of hungry Vikings. And overall, Kingsburg is currently ranked #13 in the state.
Macias, who ranks 5th in the state in his weight class, has, like his teammates, benefited from Hammond’s direction and teaching.
“He just gives us that drive to just go out there and have some fun and never stop wrestling, even if the guy is better, technically,” said Macias of Hammond’s tutelage. “And I think that’s just a great attitude out there.
Restoring the tradition
Back in 1973, Kingsburg’s Robert Contreras was the first California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Champion in the 95 pound weight class. After Contreras’s title, the Vikings didn’t produce another state champ until Dan Jackson emerged victorious at the 1997 CIF State Championships.
And after Jackson’s title, the Vikings had to wait for more than a decade until their next fighter, Jonathan Barrios, stepped out of the shadows to win a state title in 2019.
“Kingsburg High actually had the first state champion, which I think was 1973,” Hammond said about Kingsburg’s first championship success. “And then, late ‘90s, Kingsburg had another state champion, Dan Jackson; he’s obviously our most recent state champion. Other than that, Kingsburg took a little bit of time where they weren’t really producing anything for about 10 years.”
Hammond and his brother, Bryce, came on board in 2019. And under their leadership, Kingsburg has confidently morphed back into a proud, perennial contender. When he was brought on board, Hammond infused the lessons he learned as a title contender at Bakersfield High to turn the Vikings back into true warriors.
“I competed for Bakersfield High School, I was a Driller. In the late 2010’s, Bakersfield High was the perennial powerhouse in the state,” said Hammond about his successful wrestling background.
Establishing A New Tradition
Hammond and the Vikings have now laid the foundation of a team that is ready to return to prominence, both in the Central Section and the state. This current version of the Vikings have already created something special for the next generation of wrestlers that arrive on campus – all that’s left now for Kingsburg is to rise to the top to finish it all off at the state championships, said Macias.
“I don’t think we’ve ever won a state championship as a team. It’ll definitely put some inspiration into the younger groups that wanted to get into wrestling, and for next year’s seniors and whoever wants to join the wrestling team,” Macias said of his team’s title chances. “I think it’ll be one for the books.”
Buchanan, Poway, St. John Bosco (Bellflower), Clovis and Bakersfield have long been the cream of the wrestling crop, and they’re the standard of excellence that Kingsburg is striving to attain, Hammond said. But first, the Vikings have to climb every mountain before they can reach the highest peak.
“Here, it’s the traditional powerhouses: Bakersfield High, you’ve got Gilroy, a new one that’s kind of come on board and been tough, St. John Bosco, Clovis and Buchanan,” said Hammond about his team’s competition. “The demographics of wrestling has changed…there’s clubs that are really engaging these kids on how technically sound they are.”
Kingsburg’s road to the state championships started on Feb. 7, when they ventured to Reedley High for the Tri-County Conference (TCC) Championships. The Vikings team finished in first place with a tournament best 221.5 points.
