Congratulations to Donavan Barela-5th in State

What an accomplishment! It takes certain amount of discipline and practice to be in the top 5 in the state of California. We are extremely proud of Donavan's accomplishments and I will recommend that that the City of Barstow present him a proclamation for his outstanding achievement. Quote from the SB Sun Barstow senior Donavan Barela (130) was the surprise on Friday after going 3-0, including a pin and technical fall, to reach the semifinals. He slumped on Saturday, losing 5-1 to Poway's Joey Boone and 9-2 to Dana Hills' Bobby Scofield in his first two matches. But Barela bounced back to beat Atwater Buhach Colony senior Daniel Osmer 4-1, clinching fifth place in state. "I lost twice, so I was thinking I need at least one (win)," Barela said. "I'm not going out 0-3 when the other day I went 3-0." Barela dominates day one at CIF finals C.J. Daft March 3, 2007 - 10:32AM Photo by Chieko Hara / Special to the Desert Dispatch Barstow High's Donavan Barela tries to pin Frankie Castillo of Arvin Friday at the CIF State Championship 130-pound second round at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfied. BAKERSFIELD – T here aren’t too many father-son CIF State wrestling champion combinations. Barstow senior 130-pound Donavan Barela and his father Pete, who was the heavyweight champion in 1983 might just form this bond. On Friday, Barela used an underhook move to get past Clovis’ Cameron Kelly in the overtime of their quarterfinal match and into today’s semifinals where he will face California’s No. 2 wrestler Joe Boone of Poway. "I could feel him breathing," said Barela of his quarterfinal opponent. "He was huffing and puffing and I took advantage." Barela is now two wins away from joining Pete, but his father is just proud. "One to six," said Pete Barela. "I don't care, he gets to medal." Barela is now guaranteed a placement medal as well as a trip to the Senior National wrestling tournament. The Barstow senior got here by placing runner up to nationally ranked Bobby Scofield in both the CIF Individual championships and the CIF-Southern Section Masters. Not bad for a wrestler who’s been unranked all season. "It just shows you his heart," Barstow coach Adam Hopkins said. Barela has a chance to become the first Barstow or High Desert champ since Lionel Apineru in 2001. As expected Hesperia senior Ryan Hoover will join Barela in the semifinals. The Hesperia senior advanced after his quarterfinal opponent, Buchanan’s Austin Garza, defaulted due to injury occuring on a Hoover takedown in the first period. Hoover, who became the first Scorpion to make it this far, will face Vacaville’s Clayton Jack this morning in a Five Counties semifinal rematch from earlier this year that Hoover won. "This is definitely huge for the program," Hesperia coach Dave Stidham said. "It’s just another step." Jack is definitely looking forward to the match, which some experts would say should be the state championship match. "For me this is the most important match of the tournament," Jack said following In what looked to be a promising day overall for the High Desert with seven wrestlers at least in the fourth round of the consolation or in the quarterfinals, only Sultana’s Cody Bollinger (140) and Zac Sweeney (215) were the others to advance past Friday’s final round. Both Sultans made it to the quarterfinals where Bollinger lost by a point and Sweeney was pinned by the state’s No. 1 ranked 215 pounder. Each will begin in the consolation bracket on Saturday where they will need to win their first match and be guaranteed a top eight placement and a medal. The Sultans have never had two medalists at one state championship. That fourth round of consolation didn’t show any kindness to the two other Sultans remaining at the time, Jarrod Brooksher (145) and Eli McWatters (160) who both had strong chances to place prior to the tournament. Brooksher was eliminated 6-3 by Santa Ana’s Jose Navarro, a foe he defeated last week. McWatters fell to Canyon Springs’ Joshua Rodriguez two matches after being pinned by two-time state champion Jason Welch of Las Lomas. Hesperia’s Daniel Gudino (130) also fell one match short of competing today, falling 9-7 to the State’s No. 3 wrestler, Healdsburg’s Porfirio Madrigal. Hesperia juniors Andrew Collins (140) and Danny Reyes (215) each won a match before dropping two in the consolation bracket. "They’re underclassmen and they picked up wins," Stidham said of his three underclassmen. "They gave all they could. I’m proud of them for not being intimidated." Seniors Hesperia’s Justin Correa (189) and Sultana’s Erik Baker (135) both qualified to the state championships for the first time, but both were unable to win a match. Correa came in nursing a season-long shoulder injury and Baker overcame a case of the 24-hour flu, according to Humphrey. Baker was eliminated by the No. 1 stateranked wrestler Alex Rodriguez of Clovis East in the first consolation round.