Meet your projected No. 1 seeds After a Covid season, the 2021 Doc Buchanan tournament was canceled. Nevertheless, it is back in full action scheduled to take place this weekend at Clovis High. Since its inauguration in 1978, the Doc Buchanan tournament has been the tournament to attend for elite athletes.
According to the “Clovis Roundup” no out-of-state teams have pulled out of the meet yet. Out-of-state schools include teams from Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and becoming the premier event on the West Coast.
The following is a list of competitors who I believe could be the number one seeds based on Michal Cho’s rankings and MatScouts national rankings.
103lbs: Isaiah Cortez (Gilroy) – Cortez is ranked No. 8 by MatScouts and No. 5 by Michael Cho’s rankings. He is currently undefeated this season and has won titles at the Clovis West Shootout, Webber Lawson, and the Reno TOC. He was a double All-American at the UWW tournament by placing second in Greco-Roman and third in Freestyle. Ronnie Ramirez (Walnut) could also be the No. 1 seed as he is ahead of Cortez in Cho’s ranking (No. 3) and behind at the MatScouts rankings No. 12.
113lbs: Isaiah Quintero (El Dorado) – Not sure if he will be making the drop to 106 this weekend. He is No. 1 in the state and No. 7 in the country. Still undefeated, Quintero was triumphant during the Covid season by winning the unofficial state tournament. On the national stage, Quintero was third at the 16U nationals and second at the 2021 NHCSA freshman nationals.
120lbs: Ethan Perryman (Temecula Valley) – Both Joey Cruz (Bullard) and Aden Valencia (Sobrato) have yet to step on a wrestling mat this season. Due to that, Perryman could be the likely No. 1 seed in the tournament. Ranked No. 3 in California and No. 20 in the country, Perryman is a seasoned veteran and was a state place winner in 2020 at 106-pounds. This season he was third at Reno TOC and went undefeated in the state duals.
126lbs: Gabe Whisenhunt (Crescent Valley (OR) – The Oregon State recruit comes from great stock as his dad was a former Beaver grappler. A student of the game, Whisenhunt is a three-time Oregon state champion and guided Crescent Valley to a team state title in 2021. He is a two-time Doc Buchanan place winner (4th and 3rd) and currently placed fifth at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament.
132lbs: The 132-weight class is a wild one trying to determine the No. 1 seed. Nevertheless, in the latest MatScout rankings, Brock Bobzien (Poway) is No. 9, Jack Gioffre (Buchanan) No. 11. Dario Lemus (Clovis) No. 12, D’Mitri Alarcon (Ft. Lupton (CO) No. 18, and returning state runner-up Damion Elliott (Del Oro) No. 25. The two-time section champion had a great 2021 by being a finalist at the 2021 UWW tournament and winning individual titles at the Pan Am games at 60 kg.
138lbs: Kimo Leia (Selma) – The Lehigh recruit will be looking to add his name to the long list of wrestlers from Selma that have won this event. The unofficial state champion last season, Leal has been looking solid this season by winning titles at the Chukchansi and DeLiddo
145lbs: Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert) – Once again I am uncertain if Beau will make the cut to 138s. If he doesn’t, he will be the favorite at this weight class. Mantanona is ranked No. 3 in the country after his great performance at the Super 32 tournament. Only a junior, don’t be surprised to see him in the future competing at the University of Oklahoma where his older brother (Anthony) currently competes.