REEDLEY – The Reedley High Pirates wrestling teams have plenty of reasons to pound their chests with pride. After another season of spectacular competition, the Pirates exceeded expectations both on the mat and in the classroom as well.
At the recent CIF State Wrestling Championships, held Feb. 26-28, at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield, traditional powerhouse programs like Buchanan and Clovis may have taken care of business. But Reedley’s program definitely turned some heads with their fighting prowess. And that gives the Pirates plenty of reasons to be excited about the present and the future.
According to information provided by Reedley wrestling coach Wes Barone, the Pirates as a team, finished state ranked 30th out of 178 qualifying teams. In addition, Aiden Talaverra (106 pounds) finished in 4th place in his weight class, becoming the first Reedley wrestler to place at State in the last 24 years.
“We improved a bunch across the board,” said Barone. “This year, we had two boys qualify, and Aiden made the podium, placed in the top four, and then, Jonah Rusca went 1-2 at the (Central Section) Masters Tournament. This year, he was in the top 20 in the State.”
With Rusca and Kenzie Herrera coming in with top-20 finishes in their respective weight classes, the overall improvements from last season, in one of the most competitive tournaments, has Reedley’s program feeling pretty savvy about their success.
Getting Reedley to the top of the elite programs in the entire Central Section, and state, has been both rewarding and fulfilling. For the Pirates, fighting against a tough schedule challenges their young warriors to constantly be at their peak best.
“We wrestle a pretty heavy schedule, as far as the types of tournaments that we attend,” said Barone. “And then, the schools in the Tri-County Conference (TCC) are extremely tough … we wrestle an extremely competitive schedule because we know we’re gonna have to compete against the best.”
And in the classroom, the rigors of maintaining the necessary grades to stay on the team are also paramount to excellent performance. On this team, if they don’t make the grade, then they don’t make the team.
“So, we emphasize not only being good athletes, but we also talk about being good in the classroom as well,” said Barone. “As a whole, the boys team we had, I think 38 or 40 kids on the team, and the team average GPA was 3.2, which is really great. We kind of emphasize that – and, you know, we have different skill sets, not only on the mat, but also in the classroom.”
With two CIF state qualifiers, and a team runner up in the Central Section D IV Tournament among several of their achievements this season, these Pirates raised their own bar of success. And with the core group of fighters returning next season, Barone expects even better results.
“Basically, our whole team is coming back next year – they’ve done an outstanding job, and you know, we ask a lot of them, as coaches and things like that,” said Barone. “But, you know, it’s a demanding sport, and they persevered and you know, I’m super happy for them because they sacrificed a lot.”
