The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out last year’s CIF Southern Section individual wrestling championships.
That competition is back on the schedule for the 2021-22 season that officially began Monday, Nov. 15. The boys individual championships are Feb. 11-12 in six regions.
The girls individual championships are Feb. 11-12 in four regions.
The CIF-SS Masters Meet for boys and girls wrestling is Feb. 18-19. The state meet is Feb. 24-26 in Bakersfield.
The CIF-SS preseason boys dual meet rankings have Calvary Chapel at No. 2 in the combined Division 1 and 2 group, behind Temecula Valley. San Clemente is No. 1 in Division 3. Western is No. 1 in Division 6.
In the preseason girls dual meet wrestling rankings in Division 1, the only division in girls wrestling, San Clemente is No. 7, Foothill is No. 9 and Cypress is No. 10.
El Dorado sophomore Isaiah Quinter is ranked No. 1 in the state in the 106-pound class by TheCaliforniaWrestler.com. Calvary Chapel senior Luke Gayer is No. 2 at 160 pounds. Gayer was last season’s Orange County wrestler of the year.
TheCaliforniaWrestler.com’s team rankings have Calvary Chapel at No. 11 in the state, Fountain Valley is No. 12, and St. John Bosco is No. 7.
Two of the state’s largest wrestling tournaments are the Doc Buchanan in Clovis, Jan. 7-8, and Five Counties at Fountain Valley High, Jan. 14-15.
CIF-SS Dual Meet championships were held last season in boys and girls wrestling. Calvary Chapel won the Division 2 boys championship, San Clemente won Division 3 and Western won Division 6. El Modena was runner-up in Division 5. Corona del Mar lost to Western in the Division 6 final.
In last season’s girls CIF-SS Dual Meet championships, San Clemente advanced to the Division 1 quarterfinals.
