As the winter sports season wraps up, two Granite Hills wrestlers are still fighting for their State Championship dreams.
Jonathan Duran and Sergio Guadarrama will compete in the Central Section Masters Wrestling Tournament Feb. 20-21 at Selland Arena in Fresno.
The Masters tournament is the step that comes before the CIF State Wrestling Championships. Masters is a group of individuals who have made it through their league tournaments and through their Divisional tournaments to get to the penultimate step. The ultimate step would be to qualify for the CIF State Championship tournament.
According to wrestling coach Martin Kouyoumtjian, there have been about 20 Granite Hills wrestlers who have made it this far.
Coach K said, to be a good wrestler your top three priorities should be consistency, training well, and putting 100 percent effort into what you are doing. Coach K added that this is the key for anyone who wants to be successful in anything they are doing.
“John and Sergio are such good wrestlers because of their consistency and training,” he said. “They come to practice every day. Every time they come to practice they give it their all.”
As a coach, it is important to see your athletes succeed. Coaches are there for the ups and downs. When an athlete succeeds this is also a grand moment for the coach seeing that they serve as their mentor.
“It is a great accomplishment,” Coach K said. “There are so many schools that are competing who also want to make it to the next level. It’s just nice to see that they have beat all the injuries, academic issues, and any kind of distractions.”
Duran, a senior, has a few words that he would like to share and what he expects out of this experience. His purpose for making Masters is in hopes to then be able to qualify for state so that he can compete for the state championship in his weight class.
“It is the road to state,” Duran said. “If you qualify it gives you a chance to make it to state. I want to be state champion.”
Being a good wrestler does not specifically mean you have had to be doing this for years before high school.
“I have been wrestling for three years now and I wrestle at the 146-pound mark,” Duran said. “Make the top 10, go to state, be the state champion, that is my big goal.”
Guadarrama, a sophomore, has high hopes for proving those who doubted him wrong.
“The significance of this tournament is it shows me what I could be and what I could prove to everyone,” he said.
Guadarrama has only wrestled for two years. He is competing at 108 pounds.
“What it means to me is another way of proving everyone wrong because, everyone doubted me saying I was not gonna qualify, that I was going to be defeated in the first two rounds of Divisionals,” Guadarrama said. “My expectations for Masters is hopefully qualifying for state and proving everyone wrong. My main accomplishment is just to make state.”
Jackie Farmer • Feb 21, 2025 at 7:03 am
I am a proud grandmother, who unfortunately did not support sports. As a archaic nurse from the ’80’s I saw a lot of head injuries and crippling injuries due to sports, boxing, hockey, and football especially. My father was a great football player, oh how he loved the game fiercely. I think we watched football every day of my life, growing up I’m sure I didn’t but it seem like that. But he did not have the talent , drive, ambition or the support his great grandsons have. Yes grandsons, I am speaking of Jonathan’s older brother AJ Duran he graduated last year with so many honors! I know he was the inspiration for Jonathan as they grew up, they both have the love the talent the drive and they supported each other. Even when they had to come to me and tell me they wanted to play, I said no, they would be hurt way too bad and making a career, a future impossible. But they stuck together and they brought coach Stutter to help. It was a hard decision but when I don’t regret because I look at it now and realize what I could have kept them from achieving. AJ’s greatness has helped him get college and into the police academy which has always been his dream. And Jonathan has surpassed his brother more than once now, he headed to the Masters! And though I haven’t been able to be at all his games, the ones I have, for both boys, were exhilarating, fascinating, extraordinarily amazing to watch! All those boys work like an intricate timepiece and their coach the biggest ticker of all. Jon’s dreams be the best fireman ever and I know he will achieve his dream because like what he will do the Masters, as he always done, is put it all out there, give it everything he’s got, leave it on the mat and walk away with his head held high, knowing he gave it 110%. No matter the outcome. I would like to take this moment to say thank you very much to Granite High School. Teachers, my boys have kept up very strict level of academics, THANK YOU!! They’re not just jocks. Coaches what you’ve given my boys and every child in your program is life skills, not just sports they are able to handle more situations than most, they’re honest, hard-working, good-hearted American boys and girls. With integrity, self discipline and the hunger to get everything they can out of the life before them, in all the right ways. I know this because AJ, his first year of college and he is on the Deans list!
We know that is not easy. COACHES, stand and be recognized, THANK YOU!!
Last but not by any means least. I owe so much that I will go to my grave in debt. These two people, I know Granite Hills High School knows them well. They are the two most extraordinary sports advocates I’ve ever met, even more than my cherished father! This husband and wife team are a godsend. They are awesome parents!! I think they’d be super
foster parents. They are generous, genuine, loving , caring, yet no nonsense, giving tough love when needed, using communication. Showing how important family life is and will always be, they don’t give up and they fight and they appreciate and they teach how to live by example. They would be great life coaches. Because they understand hard times and give help when needed. And it is because of this team, that the last two years for my boys, their education in every aspect has rose so many more levels than would’ve ever been possible. . . had it been just me.
SO FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU!!! IT JUST DOESN’T SEEM LIKE ENOUGH. BUT APPRECIATION, IS IMPORTANT PART OF SHOWING SOMEONE YOU KNOW, YOU SEE, YOU RECOGNIZE WHAT THEY’RE DOING. YOU MAKE ME AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER PERSON. YOU MAKE US SMILE.
DANIEL AND RENEE BARRONES
THANK YOU for being the BLESSINGS that you are. With all my heart … respect.