STOCKTON – Two Orestimba High girls wrestlers saw their season come to an end recently.

On the weekend of Feb. 20-21, the Warriors competed at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament at Adventist Health Arena. There were a mixture of losses and bounce back matches before they ended their season in the double-elimination tournament.

Samantha De La Cruz, a junior, competed in the 112-pound class for Orestimba. She lost her first match, but her second match went into a tie breaker, losing by a point.

“She lost in an ultimate tie breaker, in which if the wrestler gets out from the bottom she wins and if (a) wrestler is able to hold the other wrestler down, she wins,” said Orestimba head coach Sergio Mar. “Unfortunately, (De La Cruz) lost on a penalty point, she locked her hands around her opponent and that was the bitter end to her season.”

Another Warrior grappler in Alma Negrete (170) had three matches. Negrete lost her first match by fall but rallied in her second match by posting a 4-0 decision. The opponent Negrete defeated the Orestimba wrestler at the section’s South Regional tournament in the 7th place match.

Negrete, a senior, saw her prep career in wrestling come to an end by losing her third match.

“Just proud of the girls for being their first year wrestling they came a long way,” Mar said.

Mar is happy to have De La Cruz, who is standout in the school’s cross-country and track and field programs, and other Warrior girls who competed this season back on the mat for the 2026-27 season.

“Fortunately, we have one more season with De La Cruz,” Mar said. “A lot will come down to what we can get out of De La Cruz and the other wrestlers in the off season. That’s where the real work happens.”

Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushmedia.