California

Commentary: Wildfires are driving up California electric bills. Lawmakers need to act

Published

9 months ago

March 20, 2025

Commentary: Wildfires are driving up California electric bills. Lawmakers need to act

Uncomfortable truth time: The biggest reason California’s electric rates are rising so fast is that utility companies are spending billions of dollars each year to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Does that mean Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric should spend less money trimming trees, burying power lines and funding night-flying Chinook helitankers?

That question is central to a raging debate in Sacramento over how to tame out-of-control utility bills. From 2019 through 2023, Edison, PG&E and SDG&E were collectively authorized to add $27 billion in wildfire-related costs to customer rates, according to the California Public Utilities Commission — 18% of their overall system costs.

Those wildfire-related costs caused bills to rise between 7% and 12% for the average residential customer — $24 per month for homes served by PG&E, $18 for Edison customers and $13 for SDG&E customers.

“The cost of doing nothing is enormous,” Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), who chairs the Utilities and Energy Committee, said this month at an oversight hearing on utility wildfire spending.

Before the Eaton and Palisades fires devastated Los Angeles County, there was momentum among lawmakers to reduce bills by steering utilities away from burying electric lines — a surefire but expensive way to avoid ignitions during dry, windy conditions. Burying local distribution lines — which is much less expensive than burying larger-scale, higher-voltage transmission lines — can still cost $3 million to $5 million per mile.

After the recent infernos, though, the political pendulum may swing back toward undergrounding, no matter the costs — even though there are less-expensive, highly effective fire-avoidance tools, such as “fast-trip” technology that shuts off power lines almost instantaneously when its detects the potential for an ignition event.

“Not having any risk from ignition requires an insane amount of spending,” said Matthew Freedman, an attorney for the Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer watchdog group, in an interview.

Recovering from fire can require an insane amount of spending, too. Forecasting service AccuWeather estimated the total economic losses from the Eaton and Palisades fires alone at more than $250 billion.

Some losses can’t be measured in dollars and cents. Twenty-nine people died in the L.A. County fires.

Altadena’s Loma Alta Park, seen on March 12, burned in the Eaton fire.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Does that mean Edison, PG&E and SDG&E should be allowed to spend as much as possible to reduce fire risks — passing along those costs to ratepayers, often with an additional 10% profit margin for their investors?

No, definitely not.

But it does mean lawmakers and regulators face a terribly difficult balancing act as they scramble for solutions to the state’s affordability crisis, even as they look to protect Californians from worsening wildfires.

“This is a fiendishly difficult topic to try to come up with solutions,” Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), who chairs a subcommittee on climate change, said at this month’s oversight hearing.

The fiendishness stems partly from the fact that global warming — fueled by coal, oil and gas combustion — has raised the likelihood of destructive blazes, and partly from the fact that people built so many sprawling cities and towns in parts of California that were prone to wildfire even before climate change.

The situation has reached crisis levels since 2017, with California suffering its nine largest fires and also its four most destructive fires on record. Several of those conflagrations — including the 2018 Camp fire, which killed 85 people and largely destroyed the town of Paradise — were sparked by electrical infrastructure.

Budget-conscious lawmakers have responded by letting Edison, PG&E and SDG&E do most of the heavy lifting of reducing wildfire risk — in effect sticking those utilities’ ratepayers, rather than all taxpayers, with the bill.

Since 2019, the companies have spent roughly $3 billion per year on wildfire prevention. The money goes toward tasks such as inspecting equipment, trimming trees near electrical towers and installing “covered conductors” on power lines that make them less likely to spark if they hit a tree branch during a wind storm.

Edison, PG&E and SDG&E customers benefit from that work. But in many instances, so do millions of Californians who aren’t paying for it, including Los Angeles residents served by the L.A. Department of Water and Power.

One astonishing example: Since 2021, Edison customers have paid more than $100 million to help fund a fleet of state-of-the-art firefighting helicopters for the L.A., Orange and Ventura County fire departments. The helitankers are capable of working through the night and dumping massive amounts of water and retardant.

They’re available for use no matter how a fire started — even outside of Edison’s service territory.

“Even when fires escape initial attack and continue to burn out of control, the [Edison-funded fleet] has had its victories, including during the L.A. fires,” Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy told lawmakers at the recent oversight hearing. The aircraft, he said, “helped save Brentwood live on television.”

A Coulson CH-47 Chinook helitanker funded by Southern California Edison drops fire retardant over a field in Irwindale.

Edison isn’t funding the helitankers solely out of the goodness of its heart: The more the utility can do to limit the damage from fires sparked by its equipment, the less damage to its bottom line. Edison executives have been reminded of that reality as the utility confronts dozens of lawsuits over the Eaton fire, which many victims believe was ignited by one of its transmission lines. State and local officials are still investigating the cause.

Regardless, Edison shouldn’t have to keep paying for the helitankers indefinitely — not when the utility’s millions of customers are bearing the costs, and when all Southern Californians are reaping the benefits.

And consider this: Even as Edison, PG&E and SDG&E spend $3 billion per year on fire prevention, state taxpayers as a whole typically spend just a few hundred million dollars per year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The burden of preventing fires is falling disproportionately on Edison, PG&E and SDG&E ratepayers.

That’s just not fair. Even if you don’t live in an area that’s at high risk of fire, you’re still probably breathing wind-borne smoke that’s terrible for your lungs and heart. You’re still dealing with the consequences of heat-trapping carbon pollution unleashed by burning forests, such as deadlier heat waves and more intense droughts.

And even if state officials want some Californians to pay more for fire prevention, electric rates are a terrible way to divvy up the costs. High utility bills disproportionately burden low-income and middle-class families, eating up a bigger chunk of their monthly budgets. Rising rates have hurt those households most of all.

The results are clear in the data: Nearly one in five Edison, PG&E and SDG&E customers are behind on their bills, according to the Public Utilities Commission. That’s more than 2.2 million customers, owing $769 on average.

The most straightforward solution would be for lawmakers to stop letting utilities do so much wildfire prevention and start paying for more of those projects out of the state budget. That way, the burden would fall on all Golden State taxpayers, not just Edison, PG&E and SDG&E customers — a much more equitable strategy, especially given California’s progressive income tax system, which requires higher earners to pay more.

Mohit Chhabra, a senior analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, supports that approach. In a recent report, he encouraged state officials to find funding sources other than electric rates for important programs — not only wildfire prevention, but also energy efficiency incentives and low-income utility bill discounts.

“Of course, it’s easier said than done,” Chhabra acknowledged in an interview.

Indeed, despite an initial $322-billion budget proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom for next year, the governor and lawmakers face a giant juggling act of competing priorities. And unfortunately, climate rarely seems to rank high on the list, despite its importance to voters — and the existential threat posed by rising temperatures.

That dynamic was on display at the recent oversight hearing, as several lawmakers seemed hesitant to commit to spending more on wildfire prevention. At one point, Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) asked a PG&E executive, “Is there a way we can give some relief for ratepayers without turning to the taxpayers?”

Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) speaks during a February news conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento.

Bennett, too, said he was “not convinced that we’ve made a good case to change things away from the ratepayer doing it.” He expressed encouragement that PG&E has said its rates should stabilize this year, and suggested that perhaps the skyrocketing electric rates of the last few years won’t continue.

“I hope we don’t have a knee-jerk — which is oftentimes what happens in the democratic process — a knee-jerk reaction to one problem, and then create another problem because we’re trying to fight that last thing,” he said.

If you ask me, that’s wishful thinking.

Maybe the last few years were as bad as it’s going to get, with residential rates increasing between 48% and 67% for PG&E, SDG&E and Edison customers from 2019 through 2023. But it’s hard to imagine this problem resolving itself. Not with global warming speeding up. Not with more than 150,000 miles of overhead wires crisscrossing a state home to tens of millions of fire-prone acres — and countless communities spread across those acres.

No, lawmakers and Newsom will have to own this one. Hard decisions lie ahead.

The problem, as Stanford University energy and climate scholar Michael Wara sees it, is that California “wants to spend as little money on wildfires as possible” — when in truth taxpayers are on the hook no matter what.

When I talked with Wara, he had just finished touring the Eaton fire burn zone in Altadena — a gut-wrenching experience. He listed a few of the ways Californians will be paying for the devastation for many years, including rebuilding costs, higher insurance premiums, healthcare for smoke inhalation, taxes that fund Cal Fire and more.

Some lawmakers may not want to burden taxpayers with more spending. But taxpayers are already burdened by the high cost of wildfires. Edison, PG&E and SDG&E ratepayers bear the additional cost of wildfire prevention.

“It’s the same people spending the money,” Wara said. “Taxpayers, ratepayers, insurance premium payers.”

The unavoidable reality is that wildfires are expensive, especially in an era of climate crisis. California will need to keep spending huge sums to lower the risk of ignitions, and to prepare for the fires that inevitably do ignite.

The politically difficult questions are who pays, how much they pay and what exactly they’re paying for. Is burying more power lines the answer? Or are there lower-cost solutions? What if those solutions involve blackouts?

It’s time for lawmakers to grapple with those questions. I’ll have a few suggestions in next Thursday’s column.

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our Boiling Point podcast here.

For more climate and environment news, follow @Sammy_Roth on X and @sammyroth.bsky.social on Bluesky.

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California

De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News

Published

21 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News

MISSION VIEJO, California, Dec. 13 — The No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles ended a 14-year state championship drought Saturday night in a 47-13 romp past the No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans in California’s CIF Open Division state championship bowl.

While the win ended Santa Margarita’s drought, it prolonged De La Salle’s own dry spell in championship bowl games, extending the Spartan’s losing streak to eight games in these contests.

Santa Margarita is ranked as high as No. 4 in the country by three selectors (High School Football America, MaxPreps, and USA Today’s Super 25). In the High School Football America rankings, they’re ranked ahead of both the No. 1/SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves and the No. 3/SN No. 5 Carrollton [GA] Trojans – two teams that will play for Georgia’s GHSA Class 6A championship on Tuesday night.

Whether the win over De La Salle can get the Eagles – who will finish the season with three losses at 11-3 – a share of the national title remains to be seen.

De La Salle, meanwhile, ends its season at 12-1.

WATCH ON THE NFHS NETWORK: No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles vs. No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans

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Refresh for updates

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End of the fourth quarter: Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13

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SANTA MARGARITA 47, DE LA SALLE 13

Santa Margarita gets a pick six to put capper on this one.

Siua Holani with finished touches on this one. 43-yard pick 6. Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13. 1:36 4Q. pic.twitter.com/VVVEN5bvr6
— Mitch Stephens (@MitchBookLive) December 14, 2025

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SANTA MARGARITA 41, DE LA SALLE 13

Johnson finds Gazzaniga for his second touchdown of the game. The tight end entered the game with two touchdown receptions all year, and he’s got two in the state title game.

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End of the third quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 13

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 13

De La Salle forces another turnover and converts it to points to give them a glimmer of hope that they can climb out of this deep hole.

Two forced De La Salle turnovers and two Jaden Jefferson touchdowns.
Jefferson is the state record holder in the 100-meter dash 💨
De La Salle cuts the Santa Margarita lead to 35-13 with 4:09 left in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/05dJ7Q9Mmy
— West Coast Preps (@westcoastpreps_) December 14, 2025
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The third quarter is under way, and to make matters worse for De La Salle, Santa Margarita is on offense first.

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End of the second quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 7

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

Santa Margarita has been a different team offense since Mosley’s return around midseason. And they’re one half away from a state championship in Carson Palmer’s first year at the helm.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 7

Just over a minute to play in the first half, Mosley scores again on another short play, and then he adds the 2-point conversion. This feels like it’s over.

Trent Mosley finishes off the half with another touchdown. Also adds run for two-point conversion. 1:07 left. Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 7. Complete domination. pic.twitter.com/hMsSsI0svB
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025
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SANTA MARGARITA 27, DE LA SALLE 7

It’s Duce plus a deuce. Santa Margarita marches right back down the field after the Spartans’ touchdown, and Duce Smith carries it in for another touchdown. And even with the score by De La Salle, Santa Margarita still has its biggest lead of the night after converting the 2-point conversion. It’s Johnson to Ryan Clark on the extra two.

Jaion Smith TD. Two-point conversion good. Santa Margarita 27, De La Salle 7 pic.twitter.com/1zpn1ETZyW
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025
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Santa Margarita into the red zone again.

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 7

Helped along by the turnover and a couple of penalties, De La Salle’s offensive line shows some muscle in the trenches and they power their way down near the goal line where Jaden Jefferson carries it across. That felt like a must-score situation, and they get the touchdown. Now, can they stop Santa Margarita’s offense again?

Jaden Jefferson TD. Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle 7. 6:43 left in second. pic.twitter.com/QzsKMWP58i
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025

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De La Salle gets its first real break. Mosley fumbles, and the Spartans pounce on it inside the Eagles’ 40. If they want to have any chance of staying in this game, they need to make the most of this short field.

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End of the first quarter: Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle 0

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

42 seconds left in first quarter. Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle. Luke Gazzaniga TD. About the only thing the Eagles need to work on are PATs. 1 for 3. pic.twitter.com/WA6IY0blgI
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 0

Johnson finds Luke Gazzaniga on a wide-open post against a blown coverage. It’s too easy for the Eagles right now, and with their elite defense, it’s possible they’ve already scored enough to win this game.

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De La Salle with a quick three-and-out on offense, and they punt on a 4th-and-19. Mosley returns it inside De La Salle’s 35. This is already starting to look ugly.

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SANTA MARGARITA 13, DE LA SALLE 0

Trace Johnson finds Mosley with a short swing pass to the right side of the field, and the senior standout does his thing winding and weaving his way 34 yards through traffic before running over the final defender at the goal line. Again, the early feeling watching this is not good for De La Salle.

What a luxury.
Just get it to Trent Mosley and watch.
Santa Margarita 13, De La Salle 0 (missed PAT)pic.twitter.com/3cp3hBbUJ5
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) December 14, 2025
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Santa Margaria quickly approaching the red zone again.

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De La Salle puts together a good drive to get into position for a short field goal attempt. But it’s blocked by Santa Margarita, ending the scoring threat. If you’re a De La Salle fan, you’re encouraged by the offense being able to move against the Eagles. But combined with the defensive personal fouls on Santa Margarita’s first drive, you also get the feeling early that this could be a really tough night for the Spartans. It’s early, we’ll see how they rebound from the lost scoring opportunity.

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SANTA MARGARITA 7, DE LA SALLE 0

Helped along by a couple of personal foul penalties, Santa Margarita drives quickly on its first possession, scoring on a short run by Trent Mosley out of the Wildcat formation.

Tulane bound Trace Johnson and Griffin Brahm connect get in the red zone.
4⭐️ USC bound Trent Mosley then scores. He’s a freakish talent.
Santa Margarita up 7-0 on De La Salle with 8:00 left in the 1st pic.twitter.com/vpo2yvYp9R
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— West Coast Preps (@westcoastpreps_) December 14, 2025

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Santa Margarita won the toss and deferred to the second half. De La Salle picks up one first down against this stout Eagles’ defense before being forced to punt.

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They’re under way in California! This is the final game of California’s high school football season.

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Coming soon!

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De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita start time

Date: Saturday, Dec. 13
Start time: 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST local)

The game between De La Salle and Santa Margarita is being played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.

How can I watch De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita today?

MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFF HEADLINES

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California

Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded $31.5m after sister’s California torture death

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded .5m after sister’s California torture death

A lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old California girl who was allegedly tortured and starved by her adoptive family reached a settlement on Friday totaling $31.5m from the city and county of San Diego as well as other groups.

The suit was brought on behalf of the two younger sisters of Arabella McCormack, who died in August 2022. The girls were ages six and seven at the time. Their adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and McCormack’s parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, are facing charges of murder, conspiracy, child abuse and torture. They pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their criminal case is ongoing.

Arabella McCormack. Photograph: San Diego county sheriff’s office

The lawsuit alleged a systemic failure across the city and several agencies and organizations to not report Arabella McCormack’s abuse.

The settlement includes $10m from the city of San Diego, $10m from San Diego county, $8.5m from the Pacific Coast Academy and $3m from the Rock church, the sisters’ attorney, Craig McClellan, said. The school oversaw Arabella McCormack’s home schooling, and her adoptive mother was an ordained elder at the church.

“The amount is going to be enough to take care of the girls for the rest of the lives,” McClellan said. But it “isn’t going to be enough and never could be enough … to replace their sister, nor is it going to erase the memories of what they went through”.

The lawsuit said county social workers did not properly investigate abuse claims and two teachers at the Pacific Coast Academy failed to report the girl’s condition. It also said a San Diego police officer, a friend of the girl’s adoptive mother, gave the family a wooden paddle that they could use to hit their children.

San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a child in distress at the McCormack home 30 August 2022. They found Arabella McCormack severely malnourished with bruises, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Her sisters are now nine and 11 and living with a foster mother. They are in good health and “doing pretty well considering all things”, McClellan said.

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California

California High School Wrestlers To Watch – FloWrestling

Published

2 days ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

California High School Wrestlers To Watch – FloWrestling

California consistently produces an incredible amount of high school wrestling talent. The current crop of high schoolers from The Golden State has piled up a massive collection of accolades and has major next-level potential. Here’s a look at some of the top wrestlers to watch this year in California.

Michael Bernabe (Fresno) — Freshman, 106 pounds

Bernabe is one of the top freshmen in the country and is currently ranked second nationally at 106 pounds. Bernabe had a productive offseason, placing sixth in Fargo and third at the Super 32. He will be looking to run the table and win a California state title as a freshman, but it will not come easily. He will likely have #3 Luke Loren and #5 Thales Silva, both of whom are also incredible freshmen who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at Super 32, as well as #4 Eli Mendoza.

Rocklin Zinkin (Buchanan) — Senior, 120 pounds

Zinkin is one of the nation’s fastest-rising prospects. The two-time California state finalist won his first state championship last season at 113 pounds and followed that up with an eye-popping summer, finishing third at U17 World Team Trials, winning Fargo in the Junior division and looking incredible at Super 32 on his way to the 120-pound belt. Those showings propelled Zinkin from #100 on the 2026 Big Board up to #11. The Oklahoma State commit is currently ranked #2 in the country at 120 pounds and could have a showdown with two-time U17 World Champion Sammy Sanchez this season in his quest to close his career with a second state title.

Watch Zinkin dominate in the Super 32 finals

Samuel Sanchez (Esperanza) — Sophomore, 120 pounds

The #1 prospect in the Class of 2028 Big Board is the truth. After winning the U17 World Championships in 2024, Sanchez won a state title as a freshman last season at 106 pounds and then one-upped himself by going back-to-back with his second U17 World title at 51 kg this summer in Athens, helping lead Team USA to the team championship. Sanchez is so much fun to watch, and if we were to get a matchup between him and Zinkin, it could be one of the nation’s most anticipated high school matches of the season.

Watch Sanchez win his second U17 World Championship

Moses Mendoza (Gilroy) — Senior, 132 pounds

Mendoza is another Californian who has made big jumps heading into his senior campaign. The returning state champion for Daniel Cormier’s Gilroy High School team placed third at the state tournament in 2024. He has a lengthy list of freestyle accolades. The Michigan recruit defeated his former high school teammate, Isaiah Cortez, for the Fargo Junior freestyle title at 132 pounds this summer and won Super 32 in October. The nation’s second-ranked 132-pounder could have a big test in front of him for his second state title in #3 Ashton Besmer.

Watch Mendoza win his Super 32 belt

Ashton Besmer (Buchanan) — Senior, 132 pounds

Besmer put together an incredible run to make the U17 World Team at 60 kilograms, punctuated by a sweep of U17 World champion Paul Kenny in the best-of-three championship series. Besmer also notched wins against Moses Mendoza and Manuel Saldate on his way to a Doc B title last season before finishing third at the state tournament. The Army West Point commit has worked his way up to #3 in the national rankings at 132 pounds and could be looking at a rubber match with Mendoza this season. Last year in the Doc B semifinals, Besmer defeated Mendoza 22-15 in a crazy match, but just two weeks later Mendoza got his revenge in the Five Counties finals with a 16-1 tech fall in two periods.

Watch Besmer defeat Saldate for the 2025 Doc B title

Joseph Toscano (Buchanan) — Senior, 144 pounds

The third and final Buchanan wrestler on this list, Toscano is a three-time California state runner-up, He won a Doc B title as a freshman back in 2023, followed by two runner-up finishes, and has also been fourth at Super 32 the last two years. The Cornell commit is looking to get over the final hurdle on his way to a state championship, but it won’t be easy. Along the way, Toscano could match up with the likes of #7 Ivan Arias and #17 Arseni Kikiniou.

Arseni Kikiniou (Poway) — Junior, 144 pounds

Arseni Kikiniou is an interesting prospect and a guy to watch this season. Kikiniou’s father was a Greco-Roman World bronze medalist and Olympian for Belarus before their family moved to the United States, and his influence is evident in Arseni’s wrestling. Arseni claimed a bronze medal in Greco and a silver in freestyle at the U17 World Championships this summer. Arseni has placed second and fifth, respectively, in his first two state tournament appearances. He recently made his commitment to Cornell and will be making a big jump up in weight this season to 144 pounds. It’ll be intriguing to see if his international success translates to even more folkstyle success this season, especially with a possible showdown with future Cornell teammate Toscano on the horizon.

Watch Kikiniou win his U17 Greco-Roman World bronze medal

Mason Ontiveros (Pitman) — Senior, 175 pounds

Ontiveros has had an impressive 2025, finishing second at the state tournament, taking third at NHSCAs, and placing second in Fargo in the Junior division at 175 pounds. This has vaulted Ontiveros up to #6 in the country at the weight. Ontiveros is an Oklahoma recruit who will be looking to close out his career with a state title in what could be an interesting weight class in California. As it currently stands, we could see #7 Mario Carini, #9 Travis Grace, #12 Isai Fernandez and #14 Slava Shahbazyana, along with Ontiveros, all battling it out for the 175-pound California state championship this season.

Watch Ontivero’s win in the 2025 Fargo Junior semifinals

Coby Merrill (JW North) — Senior, 285 pounds

Coby Merrill is one of the most physical wrestlers in the country at any weight class. After state runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, Merrill dominated the 285-pound field last season, finishing 48-0 with 44 falls. Merrill finished sixth at the U20 World Team Trials this summer and finished second in Fargo. The second-ranked heavyweight in the country is a heavy favorite to win his second state title this season.

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