Downey wrestling head coach steps down

DOWNEY -- Downey High School head wrestling coach Miguel Soto has decided to step away from the wrestling program. Soto will remain at Downey High School as a physical education teacher but will begin his college coaching career next season.

Coach Soto has accomplished many things since taking over the wrestling program from previous head coach Gordon Weisenburger in 2005. Soto is responsible for several C.I.F Dual Meet championships and C.I.F. Dual Meet Finals appearances. The Vikings were C.I.F. Dual Meet champions in 2010, 2011, 2015 and were C.I.F. Northern Division Champions in 2017. Downey was a C.I.F. Dual Meet Finalist in 2012, 2014, 2016 and in 2018. Coach Soto made wrestling at C.I.F. Finals an annual event.

Downey has also seen several wrestlers place in C.I.F. Individual competition, place at the Master’s Meet and in C.I.F. state competition. The Vikings had their first state champion last season in Jonathan Prata at 106 pounds.

This season saw several wrestlers win C.I.F. Individual titles and advance to the Master’s Meet. Those wrestlers included Jonathan Prata (106), Dilan Ajtun (113) and Matthew Morales (126). Other wrestlers who placed at C.I.F. and wrestled at the Master’s Meet included Roland Dominguez (120) 2nd place, Sergio Smith (145) 7th place, Adrian Guerra (220) 3rd place and Elias Velasco (285) 8th place.

A new coach has not been named. Downey High School Principal Tom Houts would like to thank Coach Soto for his time and dedication to the student-athlete wrestlers, both past and present, at Downey High School and wish him the best of luck at the next level.

WARREN BASEBALL: The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 11-5 and are 1-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Bears defeated Lynwood at Warren 12-0 on Tuesday and will travel to Lynwood later today to complete their home and away series.

Warren will travel to Valley Christian tomorrow to play in a double header against the Crusaders. The first game is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and the second game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The Bears will host Paramount next Tuesday and will then travel to Paramount next Friday. The much anticipated game against cross-town rival Downey will be at Warren on 5/1 and at Downey on 5/4. Coach Pearson, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play, competing for a league title and a postseason playoff spot.

WARREN SOFTBALL: The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 8-5 and are 1-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Bears competed in the La Mirada Tournament over spring break and are currently 1-1. Warren will resume the tournament tomorrow where they have two more games scheduled.

The Bears defeated Trabuco Hills 11-0 on 4/7 and were defeated by Santa Fe 1-0 on 4/7 in the La Mirada Tournament. Warren defeated Lynwood at Warren 16-0 on Tuesday and hosted Paramount at Warren yesterday (score unavailable at press time).

The Bears will host cross-town rival Downey at Warren next Thursday in the first of their two scheduled games. Warren will compete in the Thousand Oaks Tournament next Saturday where they already have two games scheduled. Coach Starksen, her staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play, competing for a league title and a postseason playoff spot. 

WARREN VOLLEYBALL:  The Warren High School boys’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 11-4 and are 3-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Bears defeated Lynwood at Warren 3-0 on 3/20, defeated Paramount at Paramount 3-0 on 3/27, defeated Gahr at Gahr 3-1 on 3/29 and were defeated by cross-town rival Downey at Warren 3-1 on Tuesday.

The showdown with Downey featured a first set that included 38 total points scored. The Bears won the first set 35-33 in action-packed style. The tone was set for the evening with such an intense first set. The sets which followed did not disappoint.

The Vikings came alive the in the second set and won 25-19 to even the score at one set each. The third set had the exact same 25-19 score and Downey took a 2-1 set lead going into the fourth set. The Vikings closed out the fourth and final set with a hard fought, 25-22 win.

With the win, Downey now has the much coveted inside track to the S.G.V.L. title. Warren must now win their remaining games, including their much anticipated rematch against Downey at Downey on April 26th.

Warren played Dominguez at Dominguez yesterday (score unavailable at press time) and will travel to Lynwood next Tuesday. Coach Lane, his staff and players are all looking forward to the second round of league play, defeating Downey and making a push for postseason play.

DOWNEY BASEBALL: The Downey High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 7-11 and is 1-0 in S.G.V.L. play. Downey competed in the St. Paul Tournament over spring break and finished with a record of 2-3. The Vikings won their first two games and were defeated in their last three.

Downey defeated Schurr 8-2 on 3/2 in their first game, defeated Serra 7-4 on 3/31 in their second game, was defeated by Mary Star of the Sea 2-1 in 11 innings on 4/2 in their third game, was defeated by San Dimas 6-2 on 4/3 in their fourth game and was defeated by Oaks Christian 4-2 on 4/4 in their fifth and final game.

The Vikings opened league play on Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Paramount. The Vikings will travel to Paramount later today to complete their home and away series with the Pirates. Downey will host Los Altos at Downey on Monday, will travel to Dominguez on Wednesday and host Dominguez at Downey next Friday.

DOWNEY SOFTBALL: The Downey High School softball team currently has an overall record of 12-4 and is 1-0 in S.G.V.L. play. The Lady Vikings competed in the La Mirada Tournament over spring break and are 2-0 at this time. The La Mirada Tournament will resume tomorrow and Downey is scheduled to play La Serna in their third game and a “to be determined” opponent based on the result of the La Serna game.

The Lady Vikings will travel to Lynwood to face the Lady Knights next Tuesday and will travel to cross-town rival Warren to face the Bears next Thursday. The result of the Downey/Warren game may very well determine who has the inside track to this year’s league title. Returning S.G.V.L. champion Gahr is certainly looking on and is definitely going to be in the mix as well.