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Cisco Medina goes for the pin.
The State Qualifiers.
San Manuel Miner
Five San Manuel wrestlers placed in the top four at last weekend’s Sectional Wrestling Tournament and advanced to the State Tournament in Prescott Valley, which will take place Feb. 12-13.
Marco Salas (2nd – 106), Francisco Medina (2nd – 132), Franky Renteria (3rd – 145), Ezra Miller (4th – 120), and Max Fisher (4th – 170) will compete for a State Championship at Tim’s Toyota Center this weekend.
The Miners placed fifth as a team at the sectional tournament and were only a couple of different results away from a higher finish.
“It’s a tough section,” Miners’ head coach Daniel Najera said. “But at the end of the day, we let three matches go that we should’ve won.”
Competing in a section with as many as four teams considered state title contenders raises the bar for the wrestlers across the section, including the young Miners.
“I can’t feel about losing to quality wrestlers who may have been better than us, (this year),” Najera admitted.
Session I at the State Tournament is scheduled to being on Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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