Tournament time for Empire wrestling squads

High school wrestling in the North Bay kicks into high gear this month with several tournaments heading into league meets as they work toward league finals in mid-February.

Many schools competed in their first meets short some wrestlers who were late coming out due to football season.

In the North Bay League, Ukiah looks to be the team to beat, said Windsor coach Rich Carnation.

“It’s Ukiah’s year to be the big dogs,” he said. “They have seven or eight seniors in their lineup that are all good guys. From heavyweight to 145 pounds, they’re all good.

“There is not a weak spot amongst the eight.”

Windsor, Maria Carrillo and Casa Grande all should be fighting for second place in league.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see those three teams battle it out for that next spot,” Carnation said.

In the Sonoma County League, Petaluma and Healdsburg should fight for supremacy. Analy could be right there in the mix, Carnation said.

Windsor hosts a 40-team meet next weekend, the largest tournament in the area, and one that draws teams from out of state and far-flung towns in California.

Before that, the Jaguars, Cardinal Newman and Ukiah head to the Tim Brown Memorial meet in Sacramento, scheduled for this weekend.

The King of the Mat tournament at Windsor runs all day Jan. 21 with seven mats filling the Windsor gym. Folsom, the defending champ, returns this year.

Three schools from Nevada and at least two from Oregon are also competing, Carnation said, in addition to other schools from Northern California.

“It’s a pretty good cross-section of teams,” he said.

Sonoma Valley is set to host the Deets Winslow tournament this weekend, although it was already postponed from last week. As many as 10 teams will wrestle in that meet.

Maria Carrillo is scheduled to host the Puma Classic tournament on Jan. 28.

Most schools will compete twice a week in dual meets until early next month, when league and North Coast Section championships begin.

For girls teams, the NCS championships are Feb. 10-11 and state CIF championships Feb. 24-25.

For boys wrestling, the NBL championships are Feb. 18 at Maria Carrillo.

The NCS individual finals are Feb. 24-25 at James Logan High School. The state CIF championships will be March 3-4.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.