Bishop Bronco Wrestling                                February 14, 2026                               By Dr. Mark Hodges

This past Friday and Saturday, seven Bishop Broncos competed in the Central Section Division 5 Tournament in Bakersfield - the first step on the road to the state championships. Representing Bishop were senior Kano Graves; juniors Jaidyn McKellips, Daxen Svacina, and Gabe Montoya; sophomore Messi Trejo; and freshmen Jay Mena and Mikey Valle. To advance to next weekend’s Central Section Finals, wrestlers needed to place in the top three. Those with one loss moved into the consolation bracket, where they battled for a shot at third place.

At 120 pounds, freshman Jay Mena faced two tough opponents and finished 0–2.

At 132 pounds, Gabe Montoya was pinned in his opening match but stormed back with three dominant wins: 24–12, 21–3, and a pin to reach the third‑place match. He came up just short and finished fourth.

Wrestling at 144 pounds, Jaidyn McKellips went 2–2 and finished just outside the medals.

At 113 pounds, Mikey Valle dropped his first match to a seeded wrestler but responded with two pins to reach the third‑place match—where he faced the same opponent who beat him earlier. This time, Mikey flipped the script, pinning him in the first period to punch his ticket to the Masters tournament.

At 175 pounds, Messi Trejo lost his opener but rebounded with a lightning‑fast 29‑second pin. His next match was a barn‑burner with 29 total points scored, and Messi came out on top. After a loss that put him into the fifth‑place match, he closed out the tournament with another high‑scoring win, 18–10.

At 165 pounds, Kano Graves opened with a pin and followed it with a 15–0 technical fall. His third match came against the No. 15‑ranked wrestler in the state, and in his closest bout of the season, Kano fell 0–3. He responded with two more pins to secure third place.

Both Kano Graves and Mikey Valle advance to the Central Section Masters Tournament in Fresno on February 20–21.

This year’s Division 5 Championships featured 28 schools, and Bishop finished 10th overall. Despite High Desert League rival Kern Valley bringing a larger roster, the Broncos outscored them by 18 points.

Head Coach Brady Howell said, “I am very proud of the performance by these guys with 3 out of 6 placing and having 2 go to Masters. One of the qualifiers is a freshman which is a first. This is a huge accomplishment for Bishop.” https://sierrawave.net/bishop-bronco-wrestling-4/