Sports Briefs: Downey High wrestlers take second at invitational

DOWNEY – The Downey High School wrestling team hosted the Viking Invitational this past weekend and finished in second place. Millikan took first place honors with 242 points, Downey took second place with 212 points (nine placers), Bloomington took third place with 212 points (eight placers), Pioneer Valley took fourth place with 154 points and Mater Dei took fifth place with 118.5 points to round out the top five finishers.

Downey’s Jonathan Prata (106) placed first by defeating Millikan’s Matt Saldana via pinfall at 2:37. Mark Lopez (113) also placed first by defeating Bloomington’s Belal Akhras via pinfall at 2:55.

Andrew Lopez (120) placed second after being defeated by Bloomington’s Ismael Carbajal 7-2. Carlos Rivas (126) also placed second after being defeated by Pioneer Valley’s Rafael Delgado 5-2.

Armando Padilla (132) placed sixth after defaulting to Alhambra’s Gabryel Valenzuela. Gregory Lopez (138) placed fifth after defeating Nick Marquez of Norwalk via pinfall at 2:32. Pablo Ochoa placed fourth after being defeated by J. France of Glendora via pinfall at 1:44.

Dylan Moreno (160) defeated Millikan’s Favian Real by technical fall 17-2. Rigoberto Garcia (182) placed sixth after being defeated by Millikan’s Enrique Sanchez 3-0. Downey did not place at 152, 171, 195, 220 and 285. The Vikings’ Mark Lopez (113) took TMI Lower Weight MVP honors by winning four matches via pinfall and having one bye. TMI Middle Weight MVP honors went to Dylan Moreno (160) for winning three matches by pinfall, one by technical fall and one via a bye.

Downey had nine placers out of 14 weight classes contested. The Vikings had three first place finishers at 106, 113 and 160 pounds. Downey had two second place finishers at 120 and 126 pounds. The Vikings had one fourth place finisher at 145 pounds, one fifth place finisher at 138 pounds and two sixth place finishers at 132 and 182 pounds, respectively.

Downey will wrestle cross-town rival Warren on Jan. 15.

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The Warren High School wrestling team competed in the Edison High School Beach Bash wrestling tournament December 12-13 and took second place.

Corona Centennial took first place with 228 points, Warren was second with 206, California was third with 165.5, Millikan was fourth with 161.5 and Bishop Amat was fifth with 158.5 to round out the top five finishers. There were 30 schools represented in the annual wrestling tournament.

Warren had several wrestlers place en route to their team’s second place finish. Jonathan Andrade (106) placed sixth after being defeated in his final match by Bob Alvarez of Mayfair 12-3. Ryan Alvarez (120) placed eighth after being defeated in his final match by Angel Zuniga of Montebello 9-0.

Adrian Duarte (126) narrowly missed being the tournament champion after being defeated in the 126 pound final by Jared Salinas of Estancia via pinfall at the 2:46 mark.

Jesus Mora (138) placed seventh after defeating Amalique Acuna by pinfall at the 2:16 mark. Oliver Elizalde (152) took fifth place after defeating Jack Andros of Edison 3-2. Julian Gutierrez (160) took fourth place after being defeated by Seth Atilano of Mayfair 10-9. Gabriel Rodriguez (170) earned Warren’s only tournament title after defeating Carlos Villa of Estancia via pinfall at the 2:28 mark.

Angel Luevanos (195) placed sixth after being defeated by Andrew Ramos of Mayfair by technical fall 15-0. Alex Mendez (220) placed third after pinning Martin Sanchez of Millikan at the 3:23 mark. Warren heavyweight Jonathan Vega (285) placed second after losing a nailbiter to Joshua Sapien of Bishop Amat 2-1 in the final.

In total, Warren had 10 wrestlers place at the Beach Bash out of 14 weight classes being contested. The Bears had one tournament champion at 170 pounds, two second places at 126 and 285 pounds, one third place at 220 pounds, one fourth place at 160 pounds, one fifth place at 152 pounds, two sixth places at 106 and 195 pounds, one seventh place at 138 pounds and one eighth place at 120 pounds, respectively.

Warren was scheduled to compete in the Vista Murrieta Duals last Saturday (results unavailable at press time) and are scheduled to compete at the Tournament of Champions at Cerritos College on January 2-3.

Warren will begin S.G.V.L. competition against Gahr on Jan. 8 before they face cross-town rival Downey on Jan. 15.

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The Lady Bears defeated Corona del Sol, 60-57, in their first game on 12/18. Warren was led by the senior tandem of Denise Gonzalez and Vivian Hernadez who scored 23 and 16 points, respectively.

Warren fell to Centennial 72-49 on 12/19 and to Castle View 64-25 on 12/20.

The Lady Bears have traveled to Phoenix for the past five years to compete in this highly regarded tournament. This was the first time Warren has won their first round game. The Nike TOC features some of the best high school prep teams in the country and provides Warren an excellent opportunity to compete at a high level.

The Lady Bears lost to Morgan 58-39 on Monday in another pre-season game. Warren currently has an overall record of 4-6 and will compete against Redondo Union in the Larry Doyle Tournament later today and this weekend. Coach Palmer, her staff and players are looking forward to the start of S.G.V.L. play in January.

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The Long Beach Press-Telegram announced their annual Dream Team selections last week for a variety of sports.

In girls’ tennis, Warren’s Isabella Lopez was selected to the First Team in singles competition, Bohesa Won was selected to the Second Team in singles competition and Victoria Echevarria and Diana Castrejon were given Honorable Mention recognition in doubles competition.

Coach Starksen and her staff are extremely proud of their players’ outstanding performances and resulting accolades.

Downey’s doubles team of Jessica Angell and Elizabeth Aceves were given First Team Dream Team recognition. Coach Denise Diego and her staff are extremely proud of their efforts and resulting recognition.

In boys’ water polo, Warren junior standout Bernard Carrillo was selected to the Second Team while senior Adam Pohl and sophomore Ignacio Sixtos were given Honorable Mention recognition.

Coach Rick Nichols and his staff are extremely proud of their players’ accomplishments. The commitment, dedication and hard work has paid off for this trio of Bears.

Downey senior Luis Valencia was selected to the First Team Dream Team. Senior Christian Gomez was selected to the Second Team Dream Team and senior Frankie Gonzalez was given Honorable Mention recognition for his efforts. Coach Shaun Delhousay is extremely proud of his players’ hard work and resulting accomplishments.

In girls’ golf, Downey’s Isabella Gutierrez and Jaclyn Guido earned Second Team Dream Team honors for their standout performances. Coach Jason Bean is extremely proud of his players’ efforts and resulting recognition.

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The Downey High School boys’ soccer team improved to 6-2-1 with their 3-0 victory over Long Beach Jordan last Thursday.

The Vikings were paced by senior Isaias Rodriguez’s two goals in the win. Downey is currently ranked number 4 in the latest Division I poll.

The Vikings will play at Bell Gardens on January 6 and host El Rancho on January 7 as final tune-ups before league play starts. Downey will begin S.G.V.L. play on January 13 at Lynwood before they host cross-town rival Warren on January 15.

Coach Mires, his staff and players are looking forward to the start of S.G.V.L. play and competing for the league title. Paramount and Warren will be, once again, the teams to beat.

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Published: Dec. 25, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 37