Wrestlers chosen to the team were grapplers that competed during the 2000s. It did not matter if they started their high school career in the ’90s; they just needed to have one year of competition in the 2000s. Northview is a small program situated in Covina, California. They are coached by David Ochoa and Bobby Bellamy. In 2001, the Vikings won the small school’s state tournament in California. Since then, Northview has won many CIF team titles and has advanced many wrestlers to the CIF state tournament.

106lbs: Eddie Flores, Class of 2018

Despite Flores ending his season at 119-pounds, I decided to put him at 106-pounds as he was a two-time state place winner in this weight class. Flores stamped his name on the Northview wrestling books by winning league and CIF as a freshman and competing at the southern section master meet tournament. As a sophomore, Flores once again won league, CIF, and added the southern section masters meet tournament to his already outstanding wrestling resume. At the state tournament, Flores advanced to the semifinal round before losing to the eventual state champion Matthew Olguin of Buchanan 5-2; Flores dropped his other two matches to place sixth. As a junior, Flores once again won league, CIF, masters and advanced to the state tournament as the favorite to win it all. He did not disappoint his peers as he advanced to the finals to only lose to Jonathan Prata of Downey, an opponent he had defeated a week prior. During his senior campaign, Flores moved up to the 119-weight class where he became a four-time league and CIF champion while winning his third masters meet title. At the state tournament, Flores advanced to the quarterfinal round where he was defeated by Henry Porter of Oakdale, 7-2. Flores was unsuccessful in becoming a three-time state place winner as he was defeated by Dakota Unpingco of Freedom, 4-3.

113lbs: Steven Salinas, Class of 2009

Salinas was a three-year starter for the Vikings. Despite not starting as a freshman, Salinas had a great sophomore season that saw him win league, CIF, and a coveted southern section masters title. At the state tournament, Salinas had a rude awakening as he was defeated in the first round 15-0. He won two consolation matches before being eliminated by Louie Taylor of nearby San Gabriel Valley school West Covina High. During his junior season, Salinas once again won league, CIF, and the masters meet tournament. As one of the favorites at the state tournament, Salinas advanced to the semifinal round before being defeated by the eventual state runner-up Mark Jay Acosta of San Leandro, 12-9. Salinas won an additional match in the consolation bracket before being defeated by Jesse Delgado of Gilroy in the third-place bout. Delgado would go on to become a two-time NCAA champion for the University of Illinois. During his senior season, Salinas made great strides at 119-pounds by winning league, CIF, masters and advancing to the state finals before being defeated by David Klingsheim of Liberty High to finish his scholastic career as a two-time state place winner. Klingsheim would go on to be a two-year starter for the University of Nebraska where he was a Big 12 champion and NCAA qualifier.

120lbs: Caleb Flores, Class of 2006

A four-year starter for the Vikings, Flores became the first wrestler from Northview High to place at the coveted CIF state tournament on four occasions. As a freshman, Flores won league and placed third at CIF behind state champion Brian Moreno of Foothill High. At the masters meet tournament, Flores placed fourth and punched his ticket to the state tournament and became the first freshman for Northview to have done so. At the state tournament, Flores advanced to the semifinal round before being defeated by Moreno via a fall; he went on to drop two more matches to finished in sixth place. Staying in the 106-weight class as a sophomore, Flores won league, CIF, and the master meet tournament. Flores won two matches at the state tournament before being defeated by the eventual state champion Joe Cisneros of Bakersfield High, 7-6. Flores won four additional matches in the consolation round to place third by earning the major decision over Filip Novachkov of Freemont High 13-5; Novachkov was a three-time Pac-10 place winner and two-time NCAA qualifier at Cal Poly. During his junior season, Flores won league, his second CIF title and won masters by defeating Juan Archuleta of Sultana 7-6. Archuleta was an NCAA qualifier for Purdue University and now he is a superstar in the MMA world for Bellator. Flores finished the 2005 state tournament with a 4-2 record and placed seventh to win his third state medal. During his senior campaign, Flores once again won league, CIF, and the southern section masters meet tournament to advance to the state tournament at 119-pounds. Flores had a great state tournament that saw him advance to the finals before falling via a 5-4 score to Novachkov, an opponent he had majored decision at the state tournament during their sophomore season.

126lbs: Gabriel Cortez, Class of 2019

Cortez comes from a wrestling family as both his father and uncle were members of the Viking wrestling family at one point during their scholastic careers. Cortez ended his wrestling career for the Vikings at 145-pounds. Nevertheless, he started his career at 126 and thus the reason I decided to put him at this weight. As a freshman, Cortez won league and placed second at CIF. At the masters meet tournament, Cortez advanced to the quarterfinal round by defeating the # 2 grappler in the southern section Adrian Salgado of ML King, 1-0. After being defeated in the quarterfinals and the consolation round of masters, Cortez was placed in the 4-man bracket to decide the 9th place match. In the 9th place match, Cortez redeemed himself by defeating Aaron Wood of Oak Hills 7-5 to advance to the state tournament and becoming the third freshman in Northview’s rich history to have done so; Wood had defeated Cortez a week early in the finals of CIF. Cortez ended his freshman season by going 2-2 at the state tournament. As a sophomore, Cortez moved up a weight class and won league, CIF, and placed sixth at masters. At the state tournament, Cortez once again finished with a 2-2 record. Once again moving up a weight class for his junior year, Cortez made great strides as he won league, CIF finished second at masters and stamped his name on the Northview wrestling books by placing seventh at state. After competing at 126, 132, and 138, Cortez once again moved up a weight class to 145-pounds. He won his four-league championship, third CIF title and placed fifth at masters to advance to the CIF state tournament for the last time in his scholastic career. At the state tournament, Cortez started with a bang as he pinned his first opponent in the first round. Cortez went on to lose to Jacob Hansen of Royal 4-0, a familiar foe he had competed against a few times during the regular season. Cortez’s wrestling career came to end when he was defeated 7-5 by Abheybir Sekhon of Central 5-4 in the consolation rounds. Cortez ended his high school career as the third wrestler for Northview to compete all four years in high school at the state tournament.

132lbs: Larry Medina, Class of 2006

Prior to being an assistant coach for the Vikings, Medina was an excellent wrestler of his own! Medina began his scholastic career at 125-pounds where he won league, CIF, and took second at the masters meet tournament. At the state tournament, Medina went on to drop his first match to an Exeter opponent 13-8 and was sent to the consolation bracket. After winning a match in the consolation bracket, Medina was defeated by another southern section opponent and dispatched from the competition. He made great strides as a junior when he moved up to the 130-pound weight class and won league, his second CIF title, and his first master meet tournament. At the state tournament, Medina pinned his first opponents, including two in less than a minute to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinal round, Medina lost a close 6-5 match to the eventual state runner-up Elijah Nacita of Bakersfield High. Nacita would go on to claim a Pac-10 title and advanced on two occasions to the NCAA tournament for Cal State Bakersfield. Medina would go on to default in his last two matches at the tournament to place sixth. Attempting to win an individual state title, Medina moved up a weight class. During the postseason, Medina won his third league and CIF title and placed third at the masters meet tournament after losing a tough 6-4 in the semifinal round to Chris Drouin of Chaparral High. Drouin went on to be a two-time NCAA All-American and four-time national qualifier for Arizona State. At the state tournament, Medina advanced to the quarterfinal round before being defeated by Nacita 9-4. In the consolation bracket, Medina won three additional matches to place fifth and become a two-time state place winner for the Vikings.

138lbs: Frank Martinez, Class of 2010

Martinez was a three-year starter for the Vikings. As a sophomore, he won a league title, won CIF, and placed fourth at the masters meet tournament at 130-pounds. At the state tournament, Martinez finished with a 3-2 record to finish top 12 and shy of becoming a state place winner. All that changed during his junior when he won his second league title, CIF, placed second at the masters meet tournament and would go on to take sixth at the state tournament. He had a great senior season that saw him win league, CIF, and the always tough southern section masters meet to enter the state tournament with a 48-0 record. At the state tournament, Martinez finished with a 5-0 record, including defeating Nathan Zarate of Northview 3-1 to become the third Northview wrestler to win an individual CIF state tournament. Overall, Martinez compiled an overall record of 184-18, including three straight years with more than 45 wins.

145lbs: Shad Manigault, Class of 2006

Now, Manigault was the second state champion for the Vikings at 140. However, since he was only a one-time state place winner, I decided to give Frank Martinez the 138-pound weight class and Manigault bumped him up to 145. As a starter for the Vikings, Manigault won league, was third at CIF, and battle his way through the consolation bracket at masters to place seventh at 112-pounds. His state tournament performance was not the best as he finished the event with a 1-2 record. Moving up to 125-weight class, Manigault won league, CIF, and finished second at the masters meet tournament. At the state tournament, Manigault finished shy of placing at the state tournament after losing 14-2 to John Triggas of Campolindo High. During his final season at Northview, Manigault won league, CIF, and the masters meet tournament to advance to the state tournament as one of the favorites. He did not disappoint his peers as he finished the event with a 5-0 record, including pinning his finals opponent to become the second state champion for the Vikings.

152lbs: Sam McGeorge, Class of 2004

A two-year starter for the Vikings. McGeorge was triumphant in winning league, placing third at CIF, and participating in the Southern Section masters meet tournament. He made great strides as a senior as he won his second league title, won CIF by outscoring the competition 32-1, and won the masters meet tournament by defeating the top-rated wrestler in California Mike O’Hara of Redlands East Valley High, 2-0. At the state tournament, McGeorge advanced to the quarterfinal round before losing to Jerry Doud of Natomas High, 8-3. McGeorge won four consecutive matches in the consolation bracket, including defeating O’Hara once again to place third at the CIF state tournament.

160lbs: Bryan Salinas, Class of 2013

Salinas was a four-year starter for the Vikings. As a freshman competing at 135-pounds, Salinas was third at CIF, seventh at masters and top 12 at state; a 1-0 lost to Dalton Metivier (Lincoln) prevented Salinas from becoming the second-ever freshman to place at state for the Vikings. Moving up to the 145-pound weight class, Salinas won his second league championship, first CIF title and was a masters meet runner-up. At the state tournament, Salinas advanced to the semifinal round before losing a 4-2 match to the eventual state champion Willie Fox of Gilroy. Salinas won another match before losing in the third-place match to Samuel Duchene of Simi Valley, an opponent he has lost to a week early in the finals of the masters meet tournament. Up three weight classes, Salinas completed the trifecta by winning league, CIF, and the Southern Section master meet tournament. He once again placed at the state tournament as he took eighth after injury defaulting once he won his placement bout. For his senior season, Salinas opted to dropped to the 160-weight class where he won league, CIF, and was second in the Southern Section masters meet tournament to Freddie Garcia of Santiago/Corona. At the state tournament, Salinas advanced to the quarterfinal round before being defeated 4-3 by Kaleio Romero of Oakmont High, the Sac-Joaquin Section champion. Salinas won his placement match 14-5 before dropping two more matches and settled for eighth-placed to become a three-time state place winner.

170lbs: Steven Comstock, Class of 2017

Steven competed for the Vikings at the varsity level as a freshman, sophomore, and Junior years. He left during his senior season to concentrate on Football. A move that paid off for him as he was awarded a football scholarship to compete for Fresno State. As a freshman, Comstock won league and placed 3rd in CIF at 152-pounds to compete at masters. As a sophomore, Comstock moved up to the 170-pound weight class where he won his second league championship and his first CIF title. He took fourth at masters and at state to become Northview’s third sophomore to placed at the state tournament. Staying in the 170-weight class, Comstock won his third league title and second CIF championship. Once again, he placed fourth at masters and advanced to his second consecutive state tournament. At the state tournament, Comstock advanced to the semifinal round before losing to the eventual state champion Anthony Mantanona of Palm Desert. Comstock would go on to win two additional matches to place third.

182lbs: Anthony Martinez Class of 2014

Martinez was a two-year starter for the Vikings competing both years in the 182-weight class. After winning league as a junior, Martinez advanced to CIF where he placed fourth and competed in the southern section masters meet. After participating at masters as a junior, Martinez’s goal as a senior was to punch his ticket to the big dance. He did so his senior year by winning league, placing fourth at CIF and securing the eighth-place spot at masters to compete at the state tournament.

195lbs: Chris Lopez, Class of 2001

Lopez began his varsity competition at 152-pounds where he placed fourth at CIF and qualified to the masters meet tournament. Moving up to the 160-pound weight class, Lopez won his first CIF title of his career by defeating Joshua Jarrett of El Toro High in the finals of Division II during his sophomore season. Unfortunately, Lopez missed the cut to advance to the state tournament. Nevertheless, his opponent Jarrett would go on to place seventh at state. During his junior campaign, Lopez made history for Northview by winning league, CIF, the southern section masters meet and the CIF state tournament at 170-pounds to become Northview’s first-ever state champion. Hoping to claim a second state title, Lopez entered the 2000-01 season as the # 1 ranked wrestler in California at 189-pounds. During the postseason, Lopez once again won league but finished second in CIF to Wyatt Howard of Santa Ana, and second at masters to Conan Williams of Calvary Chapel. Williams would also go on to defeat Lopez in overtime in the state finals to denied Lopez the opportunity to become a two-time California state champion.

220lbs: Rigo Estrada, Class of 2020

Estrada got the notch to star for the Vikings all four years of high school. He made great strides as a freshman by winning a CIF title for Northview. As a sophomore, an injury during the regular season prevented him from defending his CIF title. Stronger and wiser as a junior, Estrada won his second CIF title, placed seventh at masters at 195 and finished 1-2 at state. After moving up a weight class as a senior, Estrada won his third CIF title, placed sixth at masters and wound up with a 2-2 record in the final competition of his scholastic career.

285lbs: Adam Patino, Class of 2002

A one-year varsity starter for the Vikings. Patino made the best of his opportunity by claiming a league title and placing fourth both at CIF and the masters meet tournament. He had a great state tournament that saw him advance to the quarterfinals before losing a tight (2-1) match to the eventual state runner-up Jon Chrettien of Edison High. Patino lost two additional matches to place sixth in the tournament.