DOWNEY - The Downey High School wrestling team competed in the San Gabriel Valley League finals last Saturday at Gahr High School. The Vikings had eight individual league champions, three wrestlers who finished second and three more who finished third.The Vikings are the 2014 S.G.V.L. champions and are also C.I.F. Division 4 dual meet finalists. Downey lost to Bloomington 49-15 in the final at Quartz Hill two weeks ago. Mark Lopez defeated Warren's Richard Medina to win the 106-pound weight class and Armando Padilla defeated Warren's Justin Palacios to win the 126-pound weight class. Johnny Robles defeated Warren's Mario Martinez to win the 132-pound weight class and Brian Puente defeated Daniel Aguirre of Paramount to win the 145-pound weight class. Dylan Moreno defeated Jose Estrada of Paramount to win the 152-pound weight class and Juan Soto defeated Gabriel Rodriguez of Warren to win the 170 pound-weight class. Jorge Guerrero defeated Alex Mendez of Warren to win the 195-pound weight class and Tony Florido defeated Juaquin Durazo of Warren to win the 285-pound weight class. Downey's Andrew Lopez (113), Jacob Beltran (160) and Stephen Chavez (182) all finished second in their respective weight classes. The Vikings' Ronald Casasola (120), Antonio Santana (138) and Ben Cuellar (220) all took third place in their respective weight classes. C.I.F. Individual competition will be held today and tomorrow at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. Master's Meet competition will be held February 28 and March 1 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The State Meet will be held March 7-8 at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. *** The Warren High School wrestling team competed in the San Gabriel Valley League finals last Saturday at Gahr High School. The Bears had three individual league champions, eight wrestlers who finished second and three more who finished third. The Bears finished second this year in S.G.V.L. competition behind league champion Downey. Warren lost to Bloomington 56-18 in the semifinal round of the C.I.F. Division 4 duals at Quartz Hill two weeks ago. Bloomington won the C.I.F. duals by defeating Downey in the final 49-15. Warren's Adrian Duarte defeated Downey's Andrew Lopez to win the 113 pound weight class. Zac Brito defeated Eric Rhodes of Gahr to win the 138 pound weight class and Julian Gutierrez defeated Downey's Jacob Beltran to win the 160 pound weight class. The Bears' Richard Medina (106), Jacob Valdes (120), Justin Palacios (126), Mario Martinez (132), Gabriel Rodriguez (170), Alex Mendez (195), Jonathan Vega (220) and Juaquin Durazo (285) all finished second in their respective weight classes. Warren's Jesus Mora (145), Oliver Elizalde (152) and Brian Vives (182) all finished third in their respective weight classes. Downey and Warren took first place in 11 of the 14 weight classes. Steven De Leon of Paramount won the 120 pound weight class, Troy Orozco of Gahr won the 182 pound weight class and Noe Sandoval of Paramount won the 220 pound weight class. *** The Downey High School boys' basketball team finished their regular season with an overall record of 22-5 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 9-1. The Vikings defeated an overmatched Dominguez team 73-41 on 2/13 to clinch the victory. The Vikings are the 2014 S.G.V.L. champions. The Vikings will be the number one S.G.V.L. entry in the C.I.F. Division 1AA playoffs and are the ninth seeded team of the 32 teams competing in their bracket. The Vikings will play tonight against the Upland Highlanders in their first round playoff game. Upland finished their season with an overall record of 13-14 and a Baseline League record of 2-8. Etiwanda (25-3, 10-0) was the 2014 Baseline league champion. Downey would face the winner of the Silverado/Roosevelt game on 2/25 should they advance into the second round. Coach Shelton, his staff and players are looking forward to making a nice run in the playoffs. The Downey High School girls' basketball team finished their regular season with an overall record of 14-12 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 5-5. The Lady Vikings defeated an overmatched Lady Don team 53-10 on 2/23 to conclude league play. The Lady Vikings finished third in league play behind league champion Lynwood and Warren. The Lady Vikings come into this game winning five of their last eight games. The Lady Vikings will open up the C.I.F. Division 1AA playoffs against Great Oak of Temecula tomorrow. Great Oak concluded their regular season with an overall record of 20-3 and a Southwestern League record of 8-2. The Great Oak Lady Wolfpack is the number two entry from the Southwestern League behind Vista Murrieta (21-6, 9-1). Downey would face the winner of the San Clemente/Edison game on 2/26 should they advance into the second round. *** The Warren High School girls' basketball team finished their regular season with an overall record of 15-10 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 8-2. The Lady Bears finished second in league play behind league champion Lynwood (18-6, 10-0). The Lady Bears lost to Lynwood 52-28 on 1/24 and closed that gap to 57-43 on 2/11. Warren has won 11 of their last 13 games and are playing well at the right time. The Lady Bears will open up the C.I.F. Division 1AA playoffs against Agoura tomorrow. The Agoura Lady Chargers concluded their regular season with an overall record of 20-7 and a Marmonte League record of 11-3. Agoura is the number two entry from the Marmonte League behind Newbury Park (22-4, 14-0). Warren would face the winner of the Centennial/Diamond Bar game on 2/26 should they advance into the second round. Coach Palmer, her staff and players are looking forward to making a nice run in the playoffs. The Warren High School boys' basketball team did not qualify for postseason play in 2014. The Bears finished their season with an overall record of 6-19 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 1-9. The Bears defeated Dominguez at Warren 50-45 on 2/7 and were defeated by Dominguez at Dominguez in a nail-biter 48-46 on 1/22. Five of the nine Bear losses in league play were by 12 points or less. Coach Hart and his staff will begin to rebuild for next season. The Bears were the 2013 San Gabriel Valley League champions.

********** Published: Feb. 20, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 45