Shots At Greatness: Boys Wrestlers Reflect On State Tournament Performance

Four wrestlers and coach Michael Wright reflect on what they did best at the state tournament, what they could have done better, and much more.

By Fabian Anguiano and Jake Villarreal

The 2026 CIF State Wrestling Tournament took place February 26-28th in Bakersfield, California. Redwood was well represented with Enrique Segura, ’26, Maceson Vasquez, ’27, Osiel Perez, ’27, and John Benitez, ’27

Maceson Vasquez, ’27, says that his first performance and his improvement overall in the state tournament is being able to advance to state this year. “I’d say I’ve improved a lot. I don’t wanna say I let the big lights of the tournament get to me, but it was the feeling of, Whoa, this is the real thing.”

Vasquez also comments on his confidence building and what he could’ve done better, saying, “I just had this look in my face, and they told me, you just have to believe you are supposed to be here. You worked to get here, and you are not here by accident.I gave up points when it mattered, trying to force things and being aware of the time on the clock.” 

Coach Wright believes Vasquez did, “Really well, he was very competitive. I think he had a really high scoring match in his second round match, he just didn’t do enough on defense to kind of prevent it from going the other way.”

What Maceson did best was being a high scorer. Wright believes that if he keeps that going, improvement will come.

John Benitez, ‘27, prepared for the tournament by focusing on his technique and trying to get better every day.

A specific technique Benitez has been working on is his knee pulls.

On how he feels he performed at state, Benitez says, “I feel like I was on my offense a lot. I just could have done better. I just feel like I underperformed a lot.”

John believes he could have been more disciplined riding on top and getting more mat returns.

What Benitez did best was getting in on his attacks and getting in on his offense.

In order to get back to the state tournament in the offseason, Benitez says, “Practicing hard every day, putting in the work and practices, and just focusing on technique.”

Benitez’s goal for next season is to get on the podium for state.

How Coach Wright believes John did overall at state is, “well. He just had a tough draw. I think he kind of shocked himself with how good he is and how competitive he is in the state. “

What Wright believes Benitez did best was getting off to a lead; he still needs to work on it, but he knows how to get to it.

On what he believes Benites needs to work on, Wright says, “He’s got to work on his confidence. I think he’s got to realize that he is at that level and believe in himself. When he does that, I think we’ll see a much different result.”

“I wrestled alright, I definitely feel I could’ve done better. I kept myself relaxed and kept that low cortisol,” says Osiel Perez, ‘27, about his performance and mindset on the mat.

On how Perez performed overall at state, Wright says, “ He’s really competitive. He battled a lot during the week, different little circumstances that are out of his control, but he did really well.”

What Coach Wright believes Osiel did best at state was, “I thought he was really competitive in all of his matches. He lost to a guy who ended up making the semis, but he was competitive the whole time. I think we’re really proud of the progress that he made throughout the year.”

What Wright believes Osiel needs to work on is, “He needs to get to his offense a little bit more. When he’s finishing his attacks, he’s still learning how to finish on really high-level guys. That’s something that comes over time too, so I’m excited.”

Enrique Segura, ‘26, would compete in the state tournament for one final time. Segura prepared himself mentally by saying, “I was just kind of locked in getting ready, making sure that my head was straight.”

 Enrique tried to keep himself calm by imagining that it was just another tournament.

Segura says he is not satisfied with how he performed at state, as he did not get the result he wanted; he feels he could have made the podium, but overall, he feels it was a good weekend.

What Enrique believes he did best in his round of 16 match to upset the 6th seed, “I just think that my hand fight was really nice. I was really moving. Just wrestling the wrestler I’ve always been, that I haven’t really seen all season. So I thought that was pretty good.”

Segura believes he could have improved on is “Finishing. I punch in the quarters; that’s one match away from placing on the front side. So I just need to figure out how to keep my momentum going from day one into day two and day three.”

Being a senior, what Enrique is going to miss most about wrestling for Redwood is all the memories he has made, the hotel stays, and the occasional bus rides.

Segura has plans for wrestling after high school, as he is in contact with colleges such as Menlo in Atherton, CA, and Grandview Iowa, along with others that have not called him, as they are texting back and forth.

Coach Wright believes Enrique’s performance at state was “a great tournament. He upset the sixth seed in the second round. He was a power kid and a really good program, really well coached, and he handled that really well.”

The smallest mistakes are usually the ones that cost the most, as Coach Wright says, “a mistake here, and a mistake there, that goes the wrong way for us. You have to kind of sit on that. Round of 12 matches to place, he just made a small mistake at the end, going for something not really needed at that moment. Those good learning mistakes.”

Coach Wright’s last thoughts on the four wrestlers are, “I’m really proud of the way they all competed, that they represented our school, and the right manner they had.”

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