5 Area Wrestlers Qualify for State Championships

Five area wrestlers advanced to this week’s State finals in Stockton by placing among the top eight finishers in the Southern Section Masters competition Saturday at Fountain Valley High.

James Castaneda of Alemany and Tim Bonebright of Thousand Oaks placed second in their weight divisions, Agoura’s Chad Payne and Rio Mesa’s Tom Nelford finished third and heavyweight Sean Burdick of Ventura was sixth.

Castaneda, wrestling at 112 pounds, advanced to the championship match, but lost to Rosemead’s Tim Kawamura, 11-7.

Bonebright (140 pounds) scored a late takedown in the semifinals to advance to the championship round, but also lost. “I wrestled terribly all day and I still got second, so I guess that’s OK,” Bonebright said.

At 125, Payne lost his first match before winning three in a row to take third.

Nelford (152) won two matches, then dropped a semifinal match, 8-5, to Long Beach Poly’s James Rudolph. Nelford then rebounded to win his last two.