California as a whole comes in with 36 ranked wrestlers. That number makes it the 2nd most in the country of any state. Pennsylvania with 48 total has the most. However, Pennsylvania’s number is famously split into 2 divisions. California therefore has the most ranked wrestlers in any single division.

It’s widely held that after PA, the next toughest states in the country are NJ, CA, IL, and OH. Those 4 round out the top 5, usually flipping spots on any given year. This year that spot is held by CA. 

CA has 2 wrestlers ranked atop their weight classes. Daniel Zepeda at 138 and Brock Mantanona at 150. An argument could be made for Cody Merrill at 285 as well. I’m sure some others will even have him there. Zepeda and Merrill both won Who’s #1 in September, but for Merrill that was at 215 not 285.

As for the rest of this group, a few new names enter the ranks to end the season. Jeff Lopez, Elias Navida, and Moses Mirabal lead that charge. Navida and Mirabal won their brackets as underdogs to do so. Lopez finished as the runner up to Nikade Zinkin.

150 was the toughest weight in the state all season and ended that same way. The 4-way battle between Mantanona, Root, Parco, and Estrada definitely lived up to the hype.

The weights with the most wrestlers from CA are 120, 132, and 150. They all have 4. The weight with the fewest from CA is 175. There is at least one CA wrestler ranked at every weight.

The schools with the most wrestlers ranked are Poway with 7 and Gilroy with 6. If Cody’s younger brother doesn’t transfer to JW North, they’d both have 7.

It’s no surprise that with a line up that strong, Poway was able to 1) set the CA state record for team points and 2) dethrone the Buchanan dynasty (for at least one year).

The grade breakdown is as follows: Senior (17) Junior (10), Sophomore (7), Freshman (2)