Downey girls’ lacrosse stays perfect in league play

DOWNEY – The Downey High School girls’ lacrosse team currently has an overall record of 4-1 and are 2-0 in Ocean League play. 

In preseason play, the Lady Vikings defeated Westridge at Westridge 12 -11 on March 1, were defeated by Crescenta Valley, 8-5, on March 7 and defeated Murrieta Mesa, 9-8, on March 10.

In league play, the Lady Vikings defeated Beverly Hills, 17-2, on March 14 and defeated Culver City at Downey, 12-8, on March 16. Downey played Peninsula at Downey on Tuesday night in a non-league game and played El Segundo at Downey on Wednesday night (score unavailable at press time). The Lady Vikings will travel to Santa Monica in another league game later today.

The Ocean League consists of Marlborough, Downey, Culver City, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The Lady Vikings do not compete in San Gabriel Valley League play because they are the only school from the S.G.V.L. that fields a team.

Downey finished last season with an undefeated Ocean League record and are the defending 2017 league champions. Coach Mires, his staff and players are all looking forward to finishing Ocean League play undefeated. 

WARREN BOYS BASKETBALL: The Warren High School boys’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 5-1 and began S.G.V.L. play when they hosted Lynwood at Warren yesterday (score unavailable at press time). 

The Bears will host cross-town rival Downey at Warren on April 10.

The Bears defeated Bellflower at Warren in three sets 25-15, 25-16 and 25-13 on Feb. 27. Warren was defeated in a nail-biter by Santa Fe at Warren in five sets 25-22, 22-25, 21-25, 25-21 and 15-12 on March 8. 

Warren bounced back by defeating Bell Gardens at Bell Gardens in five sets on March 13 and defeated Cypress in four sets on March 15.

The Bears hosted Valley Christian Wednesday in their final tune-up before the start of league play (score unavailable). Warren finished last season with an overall record of 14-7 and a S.G.V.L. record of 9-1. Warren’s only league loss last season was to Gahr at Gahr. The Bears are the 2017 defending S.G.V.L. champions. 

Warren was defeated by San Marcos of Santa Barbara at Warren in three sets 25-23, 25-22 and 25-18 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 2 playoffs last season. 

Coach Lane, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play and are looking forward to making a deeper run in the Division 2 playoffs.     

DOWNEY BOYS SWIMMING: The Downey High School boys’ swim team is off to another fast start. The Vikings are currently 5-0 overall and will begin league competition next week. 

Thus far, Downey has defeated Santa Fe 139-33, Cal High 139-29, Whitney 128-22, La Serna 118-52 and Cerritos 91-79. Downey was scheduled to swim against Kennedy yesterday (score unavailable at press time).

This year’s team is led by seniors Andrew Cabrera, Werner Rosales, Humberto Banuelos and Matt Farias. This year’s juniors include: Jesus Marguia, Christian Gonzalez, Nathan Lopez and Jose Salazar. Two key freshmen making varsity contributions are Armando Flores and Tomas Marquez.

Many of Downey’s swimmers are determined to beat their C.I.F. times from last season. Coach Delhousay believes this swim team may be the strongest Downey has had in recent years. Delhousay maintains, “there is a great combination of returning veterans and new swimmers” in this competitive group.

The Vikings’ main competition will come from cross-town rival Warren. Downey will face the Bears at Warren on April 26, with S.G.V.L. prelims and finals following at Warren on Tuesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 3, respectively. 

Coach Delhousay, his staff and swimmers are all looking forward to the start of S.G.V.L. competition and claiming another league championship. 

PIUS-MATTHIAS BOYS VOLLEYBALL: The St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy boys’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 2-13 and will begin Santa Fe League play against Bellarmine-Jefferson of Burbank on April 12. 

The Warriors were defeated by Mayfair at SPXSMA in three sets 25-15, 25-20 and 25-18 on Feb. 26. 

SPXSMA competed in the Ambassador Scramble Tournament on March 3 where they played eight other teams in back-to-back contests. A scramble tournament is when you play several schools in a one set competition up to 25. 

The Warriors were defeated by Upland 25-11 at 8:15 a.m., were defeated by Ambassador 25-21 at 9:15 a.m., defeated CAMS 25-18 at 10 a.m., were defeated by New Roads 25-21 at 10:30 a.m., were defeated by Chadwick 25-15 at 11:45 a.m., were defeated by Wiseburn-Da Vinci 25-17 at 12:15 p.m., were defeated by Mary Star of the Sea 25-14 at 1:00 p.m. and were defeated again by Chadwick 25-19 at 1:30 p.m. in the fifth place game.

SPXSMA was defeated by Culver City at SPXSMA in three sets 25-15, 25-20 and 25-11 on March 5 and was defeated by St. Paul at St. Paul in four sets on March 7. The Warriors most recently competed in the Foothill Tournament on March 9 and 10. 

SPXSMA was defeated by Damien in two sets 25-10 and 25-6 and was defeated by University in two sets 25-8 and 25-9. The Warriors were defeated by San Juan Hills in two sets 25-12 and 25-8 and were then defeated by Fountain Valley in two sets 25-8 and 25-18. 

The Warriors hosted Artesia at SPXSMA on Tuesday night (score unavailable at press time). Coach Miguel Flores, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of Santa Fe League play.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS: The fourth rotation of baseball and softball for middle school sports has concluded and four more city championships have been claimed. 

Griffiths won three of the four championships. The Indians won city championships in varsity and junior varsity baseball and varsity softball.

The Griffiths varsity baseball team finished in first place with a record of 5-1, Doty finished in second place with a record of 3-3, Stauffer finished in third place with a record of 2-3-1 and Sussman finished in fourth place with a record of 1-4-1.

The Griffiths junior varsity baseball team finished in first place with a record of 6-0, Doty and Stauffer finished in a tie for second place with records of 3-3 and Sussman finished in fourth place with a record of 0-6.

The Griffiths varsity softball team finished in first place with a record of 6-0, Doty finished in second place with a record of 4-2, Sussman finished in third place with a record of 2-4 and Stauffer finished in fourth place with a record of 0-6.

The Doty junior varsity softball team finished in first place with a record of 5-0-1, Griffiths finished in second place with a record of 4-1-1, Stauffer finished in third place with a record of 2-4 and Sussman finished in fourth place with a record of 0-6.

The fifth and final rotation of track and field will begin on April 26. There will be two more dual meets on May 3 and May 10 with the all-city track and field meet taking place on Friday, May 18, at Downey High School.