Vikings swim to league championship
The Downey High School girls’ swim team is the 2017 S.G.V.L. champion.
The Lady Vikings finished their season with an undefeated record. Downey won all three relays at league finals and crowned several individual league champions: Nektaria Anagnostou won the 100 and 200 freestyle, Jania Gregorio won the 100 butterfly and Maritza Ochoa won the 100 backstroke.
The finish for the 100 backstroke was exciting and came down to the final stroke.
Captain Valerie Vazquez placed second in the 50 and 100 freestyle and junior Alejandra Villa placed second in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. Coach Sal Castro is extremely proud of how well his swimmers competed.
C.I.F prelims and finals were May 10 and May 12, respectively (results unavailable at press time).
The Downey High School boys’ swim team also claimed the S.G.V.L. title. This marks the sixth straight S.G.V.L. championship for the Downey boys’ swim team.
Downey swimmers swam some of their fastest times when it mattered most. The Vikings were led by senior captain Marcus Powell who set two individual S.G.V.L. records. Powell placed first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.72. This time was two seconds faster than last year.
Powell also placed first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.03. This time was also a new record.
The Vikings also placed first in two of the three relays. The 200 freestyle relay was swam by Powell, Dominik Del Carpio, John Choi and Andrew Cabrera and finished in a time of 1:32.57. The 400 freestyle relay also finished first with a time of 3:24.51 and broke the league record that stood for six years. This relay consisted of Powell, Del Carpio, Cabrera and Nathan Lopez.
In the 100 butterfly, juniors Uriel Angeles (57.64), Humberto Banuelos (56.73) and sophomore Jesus Marguia (57.91) all placed but more importantly dropped time to qualify for C.I.F.
Downey and Warren went back and forth throughout the meet. Downey was able to clinch the meet by placing first, second and third in the 100 breaststroke. Powell finished first, junior Werner Rosales (1:05.38) finished second and senior John Choi (1:06.52) finished third.
Coach Delhousay is extremely proud of this year’s squad, especially the seniors, and looks forward to competing in C.I.F prelims and C.I.F. finals.
■ The Downey High School boys’ volleyball team finished S.G.V.L. play in second place with an overall record of 16-10 and a S.G.V.L. record of 7-3. The Vikings are currently ranked 7th in Division 4 and are back in the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Vikings defeated Heritage Christian in five sets 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 24-26 and 21-19 in their first round playoff game on Tuesday. Downey played Long Beach St. Anthony’s (19-6, 9-1) yesterday in the second round of Division 4 play (score unavailable at press time).
■ The Downey High School boys’ tennis team finished S.G.V.L. finals with five players advancing to semifinal and final round play and three players claiming individual league champion honors.
Nico de la Pena took first place in singles play and the team of Simon Choo and Renzo de la Pena took first place in doubles play. David Reoyo and Justin Park finished in third place and are first alternates.
■ Downey High School boys’ golfer Victor Macias has won his second straight S.G.V.L. championship.
Salvador Hinijosa finished sixth overall and earned All-S.G.V.L. first team honors and Alex Macias finished ninth overall and earned All- S.G.V.L. second team honors.
■ The Downey High School boys’ golf team is the 2017 San Gabriel Valley League champion and will be competing on Monday, May 15, in C.I.F. play. Coach Bean is extremely proud of how well his team has played this season.
■ The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 16-10 and is 6-3 in S.G.V.L. play.
The Bears swept Dominguez last week and defeated Lynwood on Tuesday at Warren 16-6. Warren will conclude their away and home series against Lynwood, as well as their regular season schedule, when they host the Knights later today.
The Bears are currently in third place in league play. Gahr is currently in first place with an overall record of 12-14 and a S.G.V.L. record of 7-2. Paramount is currently in second place with an overall record of 13-10-1 and a league record of 6-3. Downey is currently in fourth place with an overall record of 13-12 and a league record of 5-4. Lynwood is currently in fifth place with an overall record of 8-8 and a league record of 3-6 and Dominguez is currently in sixth place with an overall record of 6-19 and a league record of 0-9.
The Bears need to win at Warren later today against Lynwood to finish league play at 7-3. Coach Pearson, his staff and players look like they will finish third in league and qualify for postseason play.
The C.I.F Division 3 playoff bracket will be released this weekend and Warren will be on the road for their first playoff game.
■ The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 19-8 and is 7-2 in S.G.V.L. play.
Warren was defeated by Gahr at Gahr 6-2 on May 2, defeated Downey at Warren 5-4 on May 5, defeated Dominguez at Dominguez 15-0 on Monday and hosted Lynwood on Wednesday in their league finale (score unavailable at press time).
Gahr is currently in first place in league play with an overall record of 24-0 and a league record of 9-0, Warren is currently in second place with an overall record of 19-8 and a league record of 7-2 and Paramount is currently in third place with an overall record of 16-5 and a league record of 5-4. Downey is currently in fourth place with an overall record of 14-14 and a league record of 4-5. Lynwood is currently in fifth place and Dominguez is currently in sixth place to round out the S.G.V.L. standings.
Downey hosted Paramount on Wednesday in both teams’ league finale. A Downey win will get them into the playoffs and a Downey loss ends their season (score unavailable at press time).
Coach Starksen, her staff and players are all looking forward to postseason play. The C.I.F. Division 2 playoff brackets will be released this weekend.