Three Folsom wrestlers earn medals at state

Folsom High's wrestling team came back from the CIF State Wrestling Championships with three placewinners. Junior Orion Hill placed sixth in the 138-pound weight class, improving on his seventh-place finish from a year ago. His sister, Pia, a sophomore, took seventh in the girls' 100-pound weight class, while senior Kingston Cruzat did the same in the boys' 106-pound weight class. Orion Hill (138) won five of his eight matches, winning his first three easily with two technical falls and a pin before being pinned in the second period by defending state champion and the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 138 pounds, Moses Mendoza of Gilroy, who went on to win his second straight state championship. Hill needed one more win to reach the medal round and was able to do it with a second-period pin of Gabriel Estrada of Frontier. Hill pinned his next opponent before dropping his last two matches by fall, losing to the fourth-and-fifth place finishers. "The 138-pound weight class was one of the deepest in the tournament, as it had seven returning state medalists," Collier said. "Despite placing seventh last year, Hill entered the tournament as the ninth seed. "Orion is now a two-time state place winner and will have a chance to make history next season as Folsom's first ever three-time boys' state placer. Folsom has had a three-time state placer before, but it came on the girls' side as current girls' head coach Desinee Lopez took sixth and second place before winning a state championship in 2000. Despite placing seventh last year, Hill said wrestling at state was still an eye-opening experience. "I wrestled well and I'm happy with how I did, but I know there is lots of room for improvement," Hill said. "Every match I lost I'd like to have back, but at the same time, it's an important part of my wrestling journey, since it exposes my weaknesses so I can improve my game. "I'm very grateful for earning a medal and I give all glory to Jesus." Pia Hill (100) made waves in her second trip to state, as she qualified last year as a freshman but did not place. Despite placing high in nearly every top tournament during the season, Hill came in unseeded but did not let that get in her way. After an opening round pin, Hill suffered her first loss to the No. 3 seed from Gilroy, Jaelle Cortez. Hill responded with two straight pins in less than a minute each before reaching the do-or-die "blood" round, where she faced top-seeded Mia Hernandez of Colony, who she blanked 8-0 to reach the medal round. After a loss to the eventual third-place finisher, Hill closed out the tournament in style, pinning Aliah Bertalotto from Turlock to finish in seventh place. "I'm proud of how I competed and incredibly grateful to have been able to compete in one of the hardest state wrestling tournaments in the country," Hill said. "I'm happy with my performance, but there is always room for progress. There are definitely a few matches I know I could have wrestled better, but I can only learn from my mistakes and make improvements. I'm very happy with how the tournament turned out and earning a medal made me glad my hard work paid off." Cruzat, after wrestling behind fellow state qualifiers Kai Yi-Berg and Mas Hatano, finally had his chance to shine his senior year and he took advantage of it. Cruzat won his first two matches before coming up against Aiden Talavera from Reedley. Cruzat had beaten Talavera twice at the prestigious Doc Buchanan tournament, but his last match with him was extremely close, as was this one. With the score tied 4-4 late in the third period, Talavera came out of a scramble on top and got the 7-4 win. In the blood round, Cruzat rose to the occasion and posted a 4-2 win over Wyatt Carnrite of Poway to reach the medal round. "It was an exciting moment, as Kingston had worked so hard and had to battle through so much to reach that point," Collier said. "He came through in the most important match of his career and it was a moment we will never forget." In his next bout, Cruzat lost to the eventual third-place finisher, but responded in the last match of his high school career with a 12-1 major decision to finish with a win and capture seventh place. "I felt I wrestled well; I wrestled with a lot of determination and confidence on the mat," Cruzat said. "I'm really happy with how I did and with where I placed." After Cruzat won his match that guaranteed him a medal, a narrow 4-2 win, he was thrilled. "I was speechless," Cruzat said. "I felt an overwhelming amount of happiness and relief fly over me. "My goal heading into the tournament was to place, so I was very pleased to earn a medal. Not a lot of individuals get to say they achieved something like this. Me achieving this goal was years in the making, and countless hours of commitment." Besides these three wrestlers, Folsom had seven others qualify. Annika Scott (120) won her first match before losing the next two, while Peyton Ollinger (130) won two of her four matches to place in the top-16 at state. All three girls will be back next season for the Bulldogs. Five other boys also competed in the tournament and four picked up wins. Kai Yi-Berg went 3-2 in his second trip to the state tournament. Nox Cruzat (113) and Anthony Cruz (132) both went 2-2 at the tournament. Kayden Hoang (165) picked up one win before losing twice, while Logan Hara (120) lost both of his matches.