MOSES LAKE — Hunter Cruz had quite the collective gather in the Moses Lake High School office as he made his college choice official.

His mom, Tracy Garland, as well as teammates and coaches from wrestling and football conversed before Cruz put pen to paper, committing to wrestle for Fresno State University.

“This is not even close to everybody’s that’s helped me,” Cruz said. “It feels good to get a hometown vibe like this. I love it.”

Cruz announced his decision on social media two weeks ago, citing California’s wrestling culture and the camaraderie within the Bulldogs’ program.

The University of Wyoming was also considered and a visit to the University of Oklahoma was scheduled before Cruz announced his intention to attend Fresno State.

“I’m excited that he’s going to be going off to a program that is valued in California in that valley,” Moses Lake head wrestling coach Jaime Garza said. “There’s been some great wrestlers that came from that area and it’s nice that he’s going to be able to be amongst a great region where wrestling is dominant.”

The Bulldogs returned to competition this season for the first time since 2006. This year, Fresno State finished top five in attendance, packing in on average 4,566 fans into the Save Mart Center.

Former Moses Lake state champion Jeromy McKean also wrestled for Fresno State.

“I am pumped,” Cruz said. “They’ve got a huge fan base — they’re ranked top five in the nation. It’s just going to be a fun place to wrestle because when kids move from high school to college usually college doesn’t really have a lot of fans and that’s a special place there.”

Cruz wrapped up his high school wrestling career at Mat Classic XXX in February, defeating South Kitsap’s Nathan Marin 1-0 for the 160-pound state championship. It was Cruz’s second state title. As a junior, Cruz outlasted Battle Ground’s Izaiah Duran 2-1 in overtime for the 152-pound crown.

Cruz also tested his mettle nationally, finishing third at FloNationals in Indiana, Penn. in early April.

“When you look at college wrestling it’s not very often you see a 13-2 decision,” Garza said. “It’s one, two-point matches so where he, in my opinion, excels is his defense is well above average when it comes to high school wrestling. In college you have to have a solid defense.”