Ventura County will be well represented on the mat at the state wrestling tournament.
A day after nine boys qualified, six area girls wrestlers secured their spots at the state meet during the CIF-Southern Section Girls Masters at Palm Springs High on Saturday.
The top-four finishers in the Blue and Gold divisions qualified for the state meet, which will be held this Thursday-Saturday at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
Westlake High senior Mackenzie English, who was the only area girls wrestler to win a CIF-SS individual title last week, finished second in the Blue Division’s 130-pound class to qualify for state for the first time.
Newbury Park sophomore Madison Black earned her first trip to state by finishing fourth in the Gold Division’s 130-pound class. Black defeated English to win the Marmonte League title and then finished second to English at the CIF-SS finals. Black, a team captain, is now 40-5 on the season, which includes a 3-1 record against boys wrestlers.
Ventura senior Bela Smith placed third in the 140-pound Blue Division to reach the state tournament for the second straight season. Smith finished third at the CIF-SS finals this season after winning a CIF-SS title last year. She won a Channel League title to qualify for CIF.