On Feb. 21, Pacheco High School (PHS) wrestlers competed in the masters meet, with a chance to move on to the state championship match. Senior Melaya Soto moved on to represent PHS at the state championship meet.
Junior Dominick Hurst, senior Paola Martinez, senior Dakota Butler and Soto automatically qualified to participate in the Masters meet. Christian Bravo, a sophomore, was also added.
Since 2013, PHS has sent at least one wrestler to the Masters meet. This year, the team saw two of its younger wrestlers compete against the best in the section. Three senior girls left everything they had on the mat.
When Paola wrestled, she was in overtime and entered the tie-break round after receiving a cut under her eye. However, she continued and won.
Additionally, Soto placed third in the tournament, making her a state qualifier. She competed through the bracket, only losing to the eventual Masters champion.
Soto won the 2025 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship, which continued a program streak in which PHS has been part of the state tournament 12 times since 2013.
Chuck Castaneda, the wrestling team’s head coach, gave a heartfelt and personal statement about the team. “With the season coming to an end, I feel very grateful for the team we have. The team success wasn’t there, but seeing how each individual performed was reassuring.
“We got to see two league champions crowned. We added a Girls Regionals champion and got to see a Boys Divisionals champion win inside his home gym.
“Our boys team is young and has a lot of potential, while the girls team has the tough task of replacing four seniors who have led them into battle all season long,” he said.
Panther senior Melaya Soto sets up to pin her opponent.
