The Buena High School boys wrestling team achieved outstanding results at the 2026 League Championships. The tournament took place at Santa Barbara High School and united the best athletes in the Channel League with a total of eight schools. In addition to winning the title, the competition was mainly focused on the qualification for the CIF playoffs. Those who reached at least fourth place secured the ticket for the next round.
Buena provided a total of five league champions: junior Celeste Hindley, junior Mia Bavero, senior Ryan Homan, senior Jesse Yost and junior Frankie Segovia.
The girls were particularly successful. Of the 11 athletes who started, 10 qualified for CIF. Hindley defended her title as two-time league champion. “I put in a lot of extra work this season, so winning again means everything to me. It shows that staying focused and trusting the process really pays off,” Hindley said.
Bavero won in the class up to 190 pounds and was also honored as Upper Weight MVP. “Moving up a weight class was a challenge, but I trusted my training and stayed confident. Winning MVP made it all worth it,” Bavero said.
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Second place was taken by Akasha Thornton (107 lbs), Kieran Pierce (112 lbs), Shayla Ricks (147 lbs) and Kendra Sullivan (172 lbs). Third were Sophia Flores (117 lbs) and CiCi Ricks (157 lbs). Fourth places went to Adrena Zavala (102 lbs) and Sofia Colin (137 lbs).
Twelve athletes went to the start, seven qualified directly for CIF and two more athletes are traveling as substitute starters. Homan also became two-time league champion in the 140-pound class. Yost (192 lbs) and Segovia (287 lbs) also secured gold. Michael Leslie reached third place (152 lbs). Fourth places went to Elias Simpson (122 lbs), Thomas Laski (134 lbs) and Jaden Byars (159 lbs). Felipe Bishop (128 lbs) and Miguel Bishop (167 lbs) ride as alternates.
The junior varsity team also showed strong performances with seven final participations. Four titles went to Jason Williams, Isaac Kaikaina, Richard Gomez and Matthew Lidren.
The girls traveled to CIF after Corona at Roosevelt High School, the boys compete in Moreno Valley at Canyon Springs High School. The championships took place on Feb. 13 and 14.
