BHS Wrestling: Silva places at CIF

BAKERSFIELD • Sultana’s Cody Bollinger got to stand on the podium Saturday night at Rabobank Arena, it was just two steps lower than what he wanted.

The 145-pound senior lost his semifinal match to Washington Union’s Alex Rodriguez 8-7, but came back to win his final two matches to place third at the CIF State Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a good accomplishment in some people’s eyes, but I wanted to make sure whether I placed eighth or wherever, just that I wrestled my hardest,” Bollinger said. “I just wanted to leave it all out there. No regrets this year.”

While the state title and becoming Sultana’s first finalist eluded Bollinger, he did accomplish a couple of things with his third-place finish. He became the highest placing Sultan in the school’s history, surpassing Zac Sweeney, Juan Archuleta and Anthony Archuleta, who all finished fourth. It was also the third straight year Sultana had a state placer. Since 2001, the Sultans have had a state placer seven times in nine years — only in 2002 and 2006 did they not have someone finish in the top eight.

“(Cody) wrestled great,” Sultana coach Rocky Humphrey said. “He lost a tough match in the semifinals, and it takes a lot of character and heart to come back to take third place; especially as a senior, you don’t have another year. I was very proud of him.”
Bollinger’s semifinal loss means that another year goes by without the High Desert having a state finalist or a state champion. Not since 2001 when Barstow heavyweight Lionel Apineru won it all has the area had a state champion.

Speaking of the Aztecs, junior 112-pounder Sean Silva brought home his first state medal. Silva won his opening consolation match — pinning La Habra’s Aaron Lafarge — then won his next match 1-0 over Laguna Hills’ Juan Jaime. He appeared on his way to third place but Silva fell to Clovis West’s Zach Zimmer 3-2.

“Third was right there and honestly, I should have won the match (against Zimmer),” Silva said. “I did everything I could do and I got dinged with a penalty point for pushing off the mat. It was a controversial call. I was just trying to get a takedown and he was stalling the whole third period. He was trying to hang on, there wasn’t much I could do.”

Silva regrouped after the loss and came back to take fifth. He pinned Selma’s Diego Quintana in the second period to end his second state tournament on a high note.

“I’m glad I got the pin,” Silva said. “I lost to the guy that’s ranked No. 1 and No. 2. I don’t know, I’m just glad I got the pin to finish off the day and to finish off my season.”

As for next year, Silva said he’s thinking about moving up to 125 pounds in hopes of possibly getting a college scholarship. That weight is the lowest in the college ranks so Silva is looking at bulking up over the summer and seeing if that weight will be best for him.
But no matter what weight he ends up next year, the goal will be the same — to finish as a state champion.

“I think this is my last year at 112, my goal is to get to 125s,” Silva said. “We’ll see from there. I don’t know if I’ll cut down or what. In the offseason, I’m going to try to get big, get in the weight room and get to 125. That’s what I hope to get up to this summer.

“I just have to battle and get ready for next year. Hopefully win the state title.”

As for the other High Desert wrestler who was alive in the tournament, the ending couldn’t have been more gut-wrenching for Sultana’s Ryan Fillingame. The senior 125-pounder didn’t weigh-in for his consolation match because of a migraine and ended up defaulting out of the tournament.

“I feel bad for him,” Humphrey said. “We just pulled him.”

One positive for Fillingame is that his season isn’t over. Because Fillingame took seventh in his junior year, that made him eligible for the high school senior national tournament which comes up in a few weeks.

“I’m sure he’ll be on fire for that because of this weekend,” Humphrey said.

Fillingame didn’t go away from Bakersfield totally empty-handed as Humphrey said that he received the CIF’s award for “Pursuing victory with honor” which is a sportsmanship award.

Bollinger, with his third-place finish, also qualifies for senior nationals. He almost did it as a state champion. The senior was so close.
His semifinal match with Rodriguez was tied 4-4 entering the third period. Bollinger gave Rodriguez an escape point and he trailed 5-4. For the next minute and a half, Bollinger looked for an opening to get a takedown and get the win. In the end, Rodrguez scored the two-point takedown right at the edge of the mat. A frustrated Bollinger threw his hands down in disgust and the referee penalized him a point, putting him behind 8-4 with just 19 seconds remaining in the match.

Down four points, it looked like it was all over for Bollinger, but with four seconds left, Rodriguez was dinged two technical violation points.

He finally decided to let Bollinger escape then circled to the edge of the mat to let time run out and for an 8-7 win.
“It was a tough match. It really didn’t go my way. I didn’t stick to the game plan,” Bollinger said. “I got caught up emotionally. I really didn’t wrestle the way I needed to.

“I never give up. There was nine seconds left, I was still hoping to get a five-point reversal or something to pull it out. I never give up.”
It looked like Bollinger might let the defeat get to him as he trailed in his next match 6-2 in the first period, but he rallied for an 18-11 win over Pleasant Valley’s Desmond Rios. Bollinger then defeated California’s Matt Melendrez 4-3 for third place.

“I just went by myself, just prayed and talked to God to help me come back and finish strong,” Bollinger said. “I said before the tournament, win or lose, I’m going hard every match — showing people who I really am.

“I worked hard and I gave it my all so I can’t be upset.”