More than 500 eighth grade girls gathered at the University of Redlands for the 32nd annual AAUW STEM Conference, exploring careers where women remain underrepresented but opportunities continue to grow.
REDLANDS, Calif. – Several Citrus Belt League wrestlers are headed to the CIF State Wrestling Championships this week, with Redlands East Valley freshman Marco Costa leading a strong local contingent competing in Bakersfield.
Redlands East Valley High freshman Marco Costa has earned a berth in the CIF State Wrestling Championships, which begin Thursday, Feb. 26, at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.
Costa, ranked No. 8 in the state at 132 pounds, will compete in the 132-pound bracket after finishing second in the Blue Division at the CIF Masters tournament on Feb. 20. He was also runner-up in the CIF Southern Section Northern Regional earlier this month.
Costa could face Slater Hicks of Valencia High again. Hicks defeated Costa in both the Northern Regional and Masters finals.
Joining Costa in Bakersfield will be Citrus Valley’s Genesis Chavez and Hailey Barrios. Chavez placed third in the 120-pound Gold Division, while Barrios finished second in the Gold Division’s 235-pound class after entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed out of the Northern Regional.
Also representing the Citrus Belt League at the state tournament are Levi Means (215 pounds) and Luc Sorenson (165 pounds) of Yucaipa High, along with Matthew Casas (215 pounds) of Beaumont.
Micah Freimuth of Redlands High earned the No. 4 seed at the Masters tournament but finished sixth and did not advance. He was ranked No. 25 in the state at 157 pounds.
Also competing at the Masters meet were Suheily Chavez of Citrus Valley (100 pounds), Kaitlyn Crain of REV (130 pounds) and Christian Barrios of Citrus Valley. None advanced to the state tournament.
Former Citrus Valley girls wrestler Gia Coons returns to the state meet this year competing for Orange Vista High. She won the 235-pound division at the Masters meet. Coons placed sixth at last year’s state meet at 155 pounds.
Girls competition begins at 9 a.m. Thursday, followed by the boys at noon. Girls quarterfinal matches start at 1 p.m. Championship finals are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
