Yuma Union High School District schools combined to send 32 wrestlers to the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state championship tournament. 

The opening matches of the tournament begin Thursday, Feb. 17 for boys and Friday, Feb. 18 for girls. Both events are held at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. 

“Each of our local high schools competes in a tough section, so getting this many boys and girls through is a real statement about the talent here in YUHSD,” said Kofa High School Athletic Director David King, who was a wrestling coach in the district prior to becoming an administrator. “I feel like our young coaches are hitting their stride and working together again and it has led to better, more competitive, programs throughout the district. This weekend, at state, will be a lot of fun.”

Wrestlers qualify for the state championship by placing first or second in their respective weight classes at the sectional tournament. The girls sectional took place Feb. 4-5 with the boys wrapping up their state qualifying two days ago. 

Kofa had a district-high nine boys wrestlers qualify, including defending state champion Damian Moreno who enters the tournament undefeated for the second straight year. Gila Ridge High School had a district-high five girls qualify. 

Here are the YUHSD state qualifiers for boys wrestling: 
Division 1
Cibola
Diego Camarillo (106 lbs)
Rey Estrada (138 lbs)
Tevon Mellor (157 lbs)
Scott Britt (175 lbs)

Kofa
Damian Moreno (106 lbs)
Jose Moreno (113 lbs)
Jose Menjivar (126 lbs)
Erick Campoy (138 lbs)
Oskar Mojardin (150 lbs)
Arturo Anaya (157 lbs)
Alejandro Gaitan (165 lbs)
Casey Kinell (190 lbs)
Loren Phillips (215 lbs)

Division 2
Gila Ridge 
Richie Gerber (106 lbs)
Clemente Delgado (113 lbs)
Brady Jones (126 lbs)
Ayden Navarro (165 lbs)
Kael Hopkins (175 lbs)
Erick Barbon (215 lbs)

Division 3 
Yuma 
Sabian Russel (126 lbs)
Raymond Nunez (150 lbs)
Zach Fowler (175 lbs)
Joseph Bowen (Heavyweight)

Here are the YUHSD state qualifiers for girls wrestling: 
Cibola 
Marianna Reyes (235 lbs)

Gila Ridge
Kennedy Farrar (100 lbs)
Clarice Pavon (132 lbs)
Jaymi Baker (138 lbs)
Payton Kessler (165 lbs)
Yohena Silva (185 lbs)

Kofa 
Issis Stevens (145 lbs)
Ravine Nerva (152 lbs)

Yuma 
Divina Diaz (100 lbs)

Last year, Damien Moreno (Kofa), Juan Sierra (Cibola), and Liam Hoffmeyer (Cibola) took home state titles for the boys. Kofa’s two-time defending state champion Carolina Moreno was a runner-up in girls wrestling. For daily updates on all state playoffs and play-in results, please visit the AIA’s official media site: www.AZPreps365.com.