Beaudette wants to place

Now that Brian Beaudette has qualified for the CIF State wrestling championships he wants to finish in the top eight to earn a medal.

He’ll start his quest today when the two-day event begins at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Beaudette, a senior in the heavyweight division, will face Ira Winn from Foothill High of Palo Cedra. Winn is the champion of the North Section Masters Meet.

For Beaudette (32-11) it will be business as usual, though he said he will wake up at 5 a.m. today to make sure he arrives for the weigh-in on time at 7.

“I’ve been preparing for this all year, so I’m not going to do anything different,” said Beaudette, who finished eighth at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet Saturday at Carter High in Rialto. Beaudette became Newport Harbor’s first heavyweight to qualify for the state meet since Jason Deere did it in 1996. Deere ended up placing seventh at the state tournament. The Sailors also had a state qualifier in 1998, when Rigo Piñon finished sixth in the 119-pound division.

“Everyone was stoked that I made it to state because no one had done it for a long time,” Beaudette said.