The James Logan Courier

Logan wrestler Jacob Gire's nemesis Scott Prentice of Alhambra had to beat Gire for a chance to become the 125-lb. champion in the CIF State Wrestling Championships which ended in Bakersfield March 4. Unfortunately for Gire, he lost again to Prentice, this time in the quarterfinals.

Prentice wound up second to Todd Schavrien, a senior from Poway, who dominated Prentice in the 10-0 decision. Schavrien finished third at last year's state championships.

Prentice beat Gire at last year's championships, too.

Gire went on to lose his the consolation round match Saturday after losing to Prentice Friday, putting him out of the competition and out of the top eight, along with two other Logan wrestlers.

John Cardenas of Brawley won the decision, 6-3, in his match against Gire, Logan's best hope for a medal in the competion. Gire had beaten Cardenas, 12-3, in their last meeting at the Five Counties Invitational.

Gire lost 8-4 to Prentice in their 125-lb. quarterfinal match to set up the consolation match against Cardenas. Prentice took the early lead with a two-point takedown, but Gire cut the lead in half with an escape just before the end of the first period. Gire tied the score with an escape as the second period opened. Prentice then opened a lead with a takedown and a near fall. A takedown in the third were all the subsequent points Gire won. As in his earlier matches, the match with Prentice was interrupted because Gire began bleeding from a minor wound suffered recently.

Gire finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, the same record as last year. Gire went 0-2 at state as a sophomore.

Gire pinned Caleb Valloton of Foothill in 4:47 to advance to the quarterfinals of the championships, held in Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena, Friday afternoon. Gire won his first match in the 125 lb. class , defeating Jason Carillo of Torrence, 14-4.

Colts Colin Malcolm, and Ricky Williams, who also went to Bakersfield to contend for state titles this weekend, also had a difficult time.

Malcolm is out of the championships after losing his first consolation round match, against Hawk Ruis of Poway 6-0. Ruis lost his first match against Patrick Martinez of Temecula Valley, then beat Stephen West of Buchanan to earn the right to face Malcolm. Ruis meets Larry Medina of Northview in his next match.

Malcolm won his first two matches in the 135 lb class Friday, before Troy Larson of Clovis East pinned him at the 3:03 mark to send Malcolm into the consolation round. Larsen defeated Ryan Harold of Del Oro in San Jose, 2-1, in his first match.

He opened the competion with an out-of-bracket match against Michael Salcido of John Glenn, defeating him by a 4-3 margin. In his next match, he pinned Keith Green of O'Connell in San Francisco 3:30 minutes into the match.

Williams was out of the tournament after losing two straight matches. Williams lost his out-of-bracket opener at 135 lbs. against Brian Alves of Willows. The score was 15-0.

Williams lost again to Michael Lopez of Bell in Los Angeles, who lost his opening match against Michael Kent of Vacaville, 15-0. This time the score was 8-4, for Lopez

Gire, the North Coast Section champion in the 125-lb. class made his third trip to the two-day state wrestling championships,held this year at Rabobank Arena. As a sophomore, he was eliminated the first day after losing two straight matches. Last year, he qualified to wrestle the second day and wound up 2-2, but finished out of the top eight and didn't win a medal.

Malcolm, who wrestles in the 135-lb class, narrowly missed winning the class at the NCS Championships at Newark Memorial last week, where the junior finished second after a 2-1 loss to top-seeded Nate Spangler of De La Salle. This is Malcolm's first trip to the state championships as a competitor.

Williams earned his trip to the championships when he finished third at NCS, even though he was pinned by Brandon Chairez of Fortuna in the quarterfinals. Williams will face Brian Alves of Willows in an out-of-bracket match.

Teams from 270 different schools competed in the event. The top 53 teams were ranked. Buchanan won the team championship, with 134 points. Logan's team was not ranked.

In other news, the California Interscholastic Federation announced that the Rabobank Arena complex would be the site of the state wrestling championships through 2009.

For complete results,click here