Redwood Wrestling Fall Update

Redwood Wrestling opened the fall with strong performances at two highly competitive tournaments.

D-Day at Liberty Station – San Diego 8/8-9/2026
The Rangers finished 14th as a team, led by 138lbs Johnny Benítez, who went 5–1, placed 2nd, and defeated a returning CIF State placer en route to the finals (Elias Castenada).

Other placers included:

• Brayden Hankins – 6th 15U 116

• Kobe Negrete – 5th 18U 126

• Maceson Vásquez – 5th 18U 165

• Jordan Moldano – 3rd 18U 157

• Isaac Wilder – 3rd 18U 190

• Ellie Hernandez – 2nd 15U 101

Gilroy Super 32 Early Entry 9/5-6/2026
Redwood followed with another impressive showing, finishing 5th overall as a program, with the girls placing 5th and boys 8th. 

🏆 Emily Carvalho – Champion, 170 lbs
🥈 Rio Rening – 2nd, 125 lbs
Kobe Negrete – 6th, 132 lbs*
Maceson Vásquez – 5th, 165 lbs
Johnny Benítez – Top 8, 138 lbs
Ellie Hernandez – Top 6, 105 lbs
Benedetta Waddell – Top 6, 135 lbs

Kobe reached the semifinals and battled eventual champion Elizar Valdez of Central Catholic in a back-and-forth match before an injury ended his tournament.

A strong start to the fall as the Rangers continue building toward the 2026–27 season. 

Next up... October World Challenge 8/10-11 at Clovis West and 8/17-18 Freakshow In Las Vegas.

The first national rankings of the 2026–2027 season are out!

⭐ Freshman Rio Rening — 18 @ 120

⭐ Senior Emily Carvalho — 30 @ 170

Rio breaks into the national rankings as a freshman, while Emily continues to establish herself as a mainstay in the national rankings.

Excited to watch both of these Rangers climb throughout the season! 📈🔥🆙

Summer update! 

Summer was highlighted by 2 Fargo qualifiers: Kobe Negrete and Rio Rening; and 1 All-American finish by incoming freshman Rio Rening. 

We had our annual All-American Camp second week of June featuring Stanfords Tyler Knox, Minnesota Andrew Sparks, and University of Wyoming Joey Novak.  

We also hosted the  Cal Poly clinic with Nelson Brands and Chris Chionuma and great social with Cal Poly donors local to Tulare county and Head Coach of Cal Poly Wrestling  Coach Sioredas.  

We finished the offseason camp of 6 week training cycle to lead us into preseason kicking off with D-Day in San Diego 

We now have an 8 week training cycle of preseason kicking off in August that will end October 25th with Freak Show in Vegas leading into our regular CIF season. Excited for another great season! 

🇺🇸Rio Rening - FARGO ALL-AMERICAN!

Congratulations to Rio Rening on earning 7th Place at the 2026 USMC Junior & 16U National Championships, with an 8-2 record she became a Fargo All-American at 120 lbs! 💪⭐

Fargo is the toughest wrestling tournament in the country, bringing together the best athletes from every state. Earning All-American honors is an achievement reserved for the nation’s elite, and Rio has proved she belongs among them.

Incoming Freshman Rio Rening went 5-1 at USA Women's Nationals in Spokane, Washington. Rio did not give up a single point until the finals. This was her second Freestyle tournament EVER!

Emily is one of the nation’s top recruits, ranked No. 15 in the country at 190 pounds in the 2025–2026 Sports Illustrated Girls High School National Rankings. She finished as the 2026 CIF State runner-up and is a two-time high school All-American, placing 6th at the 2024 Fargo Nationals and 7th at the 2025 U17 Women’s Nationals in Spokane. Emily recently received her first Division I offer from Mercyhurst University, her recruitment is just starting to heat up!

Emily Carvalho went a perfect 6-0

Gabriel Quintana went 6-3 

Ramon Leon 4-3

Kobe Negrete 3-2

Cloey Castro 4-5 

At the California USA Folkstyle State Championships, the program produced several podium finishers led by:

• Rio Rening— 1st Place

• Ellie Hernandez —3rd Place

• Annaliah Flores— 6th Place

• Benny Waddell — 3rd Place

• Eli Archuleta — 3rd Place

• Jordan Maldonado — 3rd Place

• Cloey Castro — 5th Place

• Kobe Negrete — 6th Place

• Max Mendoza — 7th Place

• Camilo Yepez — 8th Place

At California USA Freestyle State Championships the Rangers had 3 girl placers:

• Rio Rening — 1st Place

• Ellie Hernandez — 4th Place

• Emily Carvalho — 6th Place

At California USA Greco State Championships the Rangers had 1 placer:

Kobe Negrette — 4th Place