As someone who has long been a proponent for more duals in the sport, a day-long tournament featuring some of the state's very best is a welcome addition to the season schedule.

Clovis North High is playing host to the first annual California State Duals tournament, an event in its first season that features 32 teams split into four divisions of eight teams apiece. The divisions were created on the basis of competitive equity rather than school size or other criteria. That means the matches themselves should be balanced throughout.

Each division will compete in a bracket where the teams are seeded one through eight. 

Ultimately, four division winners will be crowned. There is also a consolation bracket where the championship semifinal losers will battle for third and the losers of the first round get to compete for fifth through eighth.

Watch the 2020 California State Duals LIVE on Flo

From a national perspective, Division 1 is the bee's knees. A Central Section smorgasbord. You know that rat from Charlotte's Web that gets fat off the leftover food at the county fair? Yeah, that will be us with helping after helping of top-notch wrestling in the Clovis North main gym.

With a couple of schools dropping out, the organizers made the top division six teams with two byes in the first round. As for those six teams, here are a few things to make note of:

The Field:

• 1 seed: Buchanan (1)
• 2 seed: Poway (2)
• 3 seed: Clovis (4)
• 4 seed: Gilroy (5)
• 5 seed: Clovis North (7)
• 7 seed: Bakersfield (8)

BUCHANAN

The top dog in the state is also the top public school in the country. Buchanan has set a standard over recent years that has forced others to try to keep up with, but few (none) have been able to meet. They are primed for their fifth straight CA team title this season and have proven their worth over a season full of the toughest tournaments and duals.

At the Garlic City Rumble, they went 1-1 against Montini Catholic and Lake Highland Prep. Those two just battled for the Beat the Streets Chicago championship. At Doc B, they dominated a field that included Montini, LHP, St Edward's, and Bergen. Being that there is no non-Buchanan school to the level of Montini in the state, there is no team here that should beat the Bears this weekend. Emphasis on “should,” because we all know, there's a reason they wrestle and not just read my paragraphs and call it over.

The Bears are led by two-time CA state champion Max Renteria (unfortunately he suffered an injury at Doc B and is likely out for this one). After him, they have state runner-ups in Jack Gioffre (113), Carlos Negrete (120), Rocco Contino (170), and Jadon Martin (195). They've welcomed Kyler Lake (138) into the starting lineup and he has earned himself a spot just outside the top five in the state with a chance to move up.

Owing to their depth, they have the remaining Leake brother, Hunter, and a couple more Gioffres, Logan and Michael, who have proven their ability within the top 10 in the state — anywhere within the 126 to 145 range. There's no telling when and how they'll be used this weekend, but wherever it is, they'll be among the favorites against any of the other five schools.

They round out the roster with top 10 (CA) wrestlers at every weight from 152 to 285. Oh, and did we forget new top two at 106, Raymond Lopez? No, we didn't. A true fan favorite in every sense of the term, all this kid has done is win Doc B, and everything else this season. In fact, he moved all the way up to #1 in the state until Poway's Andre Gonzales dropped down to 106. More on that later.

The problem teams face with Buchanan is that there is little to no opportunity for any bonus points. Where a team is strongest, Buchanan is strong. And because they have strength everywhere, they will assuredly earn some bonus points where other teams are weak. It makes for a daunting task indeed.

DYNAMIC DUAL-O: #2 POWAY VS #3 CLOVIS

While Buchanan is the heavy favorite to win the Division 1 title, the battle in the semifinals between two seed Poway and three seed Clovis should be one for the ages, or at least the season. 

The number #2- and #4-ranked teams in the state are very similarly constructed. They each have 13 of 14 wrestlers ranked in the state’s top 25. Their biggest question mark is at heavyweight. Unless Poway welcomes back top-five wrestler Andrew Johnson, then they have a big advantage there. They both have one wrestler ranked atop the state with another sitting at #2 in their weight. 

The difference between them is that Poway has nine wrestlers in the state’s top 10, while Clovis has five such kids. And the advantage continues to point in the Titans’ direction here as four of the five Cougars in the top 10 will see a top-10 opponent from Poway. Where Clovis might typically expect wins, they’ll be in dogfights. On the flip side, only four of the nine for Poway have similar quality matches, making Poway fairly big favorites in four of the remaining five. 145 pounds is a battle of #10 and #12, so a true toss-up.

In a dual that figures to have tough bouts littered throughout, any opportunity to get those bonus points is a huge edge, which means that the status quo favors Poway, somewhat comfortably, with a match count of nine to five. If Johnson does make it back for the Titans this weekend, that could be the separation they need for some breathing room.

But as we mentioned before, wrestling isn’t done on paper. Clovis is a big-time program with wrestlers that always seem up for whatever the challenge is. They went into last season with a very real chance of not having a state champion, then came away with one champ and another finalist. They step up when the lights shine brightest. They wrestled Delbarton and Oregon’s finest, Crescent Valley, at the GCR in Gilroy. They were at Doc B — naturally, since they host the thing. Poway, on the other hand, wasn’t at any of those. It will be interesting to see if the Cougars’ schedule to date helps them flip a weight or two and surprise some folks this weekend.

PROJECTED (CLOVIS VS POWAY) LINEUPS (top 10 rank)

#4 GILROY VS #5 CLOVIS NORTH

Quiet as it’s kept, the Broncos of Clovis North have the horses to pull this one out. In what could be the best dual, from a score perspective, in this division, it’s likely to come down to the wire.

Gilroy is led by a top-three wrestler in the state at any weight class, Chase Saldate. An argument could be made that Clovis North’s Joey Cruz is right behind him at fourth or fifth. When it comes to those sorts of considerations, results against top competition outside the state comes into play. Cruz has plenty of such wins to his credit.

The next best wrestler for Gilroy is heavyweight Nick Villarreal, and he’s sure to pick up the full six points here. For Clovis North, that’s Ryan Franco. He’s a two-time state finalist and would be a large favorite over Nate Aguilar or Donte Lopez. However, Gilroy has a certain three points at 138 with Henry Porter. Maybe Clovis North moves Franco up. If they think Franco can earn a net plus over whatever Porter does, keep him there. If they’re unsure, give us what we want to see.

After that it’s a bunch of solid guys in both lineups. Clovis North holds the slight advantage with 13 ranked wrestlers to Gilroy’s 11. Gilroy does hold a four to two edge in top five guys, which speaks to their ability to potentially rack up bonus points in more spots. 

On paper, these two teams are looking at a 7-7 match split. The true toss-up, and likely best match of the dual, will be at 126 pounds where third-ranked Jayden Gomez looks to battle sixth-ranked Ryan Watts. However, those rankings could be flipped — or at the very least adjusted — as just last week Watts pinned Gomez in the Midcals finals.

In the end, Gilroy is fighting an uphill battle, giving up 12 points in forfeits. I expect them to make a real contest of it, and the wrestled matches should all be good. Clovis North by a half dozen.

PROJECTED (CLOVIS NORTH VS GILROY) LINEUPS

BAKERSFIELD

Well, we looked at leader Buchanan and the possible great duals involving the next four schools in the group. That leaves the Drillers, and we ought to show them some love as well.

One of the rare breeds of high school teams that is stronger in a dual setting than tournaments, they could outperform the expectation coming into the weekend — an expectation that they lose the opening round to Poway and then the consolation match to the Gilroy/Clovis North loser. 

They’re one of only a handful of teams (all in this division) with at least 13 ranked wrestlers. They also have two of their strongest, Justin Darter and Josiah Hill at 220 and 285, respectively. It’s not common — especially in CA, it seems — to have state contenders at the highest weights. In fact, only Buchanan, Bakersfield, and Clovis West can lay claim to two top-10 wrestlers at those weights. In a dual, if that means they can pick up 12 points at the backend of the lineup, that’s huge — pun intended.

Aside from those two heavies, they have a top-five(ish) wrestler at 170 and another top-10 kid at 138. So, it is true to say they are a deeper — or more solid all-around — team than teeming with elite, top-end talent. They also do have their share of guys who can go toe to toe with the state’s best. 

It’s unfortunate for their outlook that they’re in this group. A very respectable team from the Southern part of the Central Section, the Drillers will surely not embarrass themselves. However, the wins on the scoreboard may be challenging to come by.

MATCHES I WANT TO SEE

With a field that is loaded with state-ranked and nationally ranked wrestlers, there are a few potential matchups that I would love to see. Of course, the pairings in the bracket make some of these long shots, if not impossible, to happen. We can dream. One in particular, at 106, is very likely to happen and might just be the state finals preview.

106

Raymond Lopez vs Andre Gonzales

Note: Buchanan fan favorite, now CA #2 vs the nation’s #3.

113

Joey Cruz vs Andre Gonzales

Note: Nation’s #2 at 113 vs nation’s #3 at 106 who just came down from 113. Unfortunately, they’re on opposite sides of the bracket.

138

Henry Porter vs Ryan Franco

Note: A battle of state finalist and third-place medalist vs two-time state finalist.

152

Chase Saldate

Note: Not a match up per se, just one of my favorite wrestlers to watch and he appears to have leveled up this season — fun for the whole family, this guy.

Aaron Gandara vs Evan Almaguer

Note: A fixture atop CA rankings vs a relative newcomer sliding in under the radar.

170

Giano Petrucelli vs Alex Hernandez

Note: Just one more chance for the beefed-up Petrucelli to defend his #1 spot.

195

Tyler Gianakopulos vs Jadon Martin

Note: Battle of Clovis city rivals. Could be a Bakersfield semifinal, or even final.

285

Josiah Hill vs Nick Villarreal

Note: If Clovis North can knock off Gilroy, there’s a real chance we get to see this for like the 4th time already this season. CA #1 vs #2.

NATIONALLY RANKED WRESTLERS

PREDICTIONS

Quarterfinals

• Poway over Bakersfield
• Clovis North over Gilroy

Semifinals

• Poway over Clovis
• Buchanan over Clovis North

Fifth-Place Match

• Gilroy over Bakersfield

Third-Place Match

• Clovis over Clovis North

First-Place Match

• Buchanan over Poway

Jesse Smith covers all things wrestling in California with Takedown Media. You can find him on Facebook and Patreon.