Sports briefs: wrestling season wrapping up

DOWNEY - The Downey and Warren High School wrestling teams have seen their dual meet seasons come to an end. Both schools competed in the C.I.F. Division 4 dual meet championship at Quartz Hill High School this past weekend.Warren advanced to the semifinal round where they were defeated by Bloomington 56-18. Downey advanced to the final match and also lost to eventual Division 4 champion Bloomington, 49-15. Warren was seeded fifth out of 16 teams and won their first two matches. The Bears defeated Buena 35-22 in the first round and then defeated Highland 45-25 in the quarterfinal round before falling to Bloomington. Downey was seeded third out of 16 teams and won their first three matches. Downey defeated Alemany 60-9 in the first round, defeated host school Quartz Hill 43-37 in the quarterfinal round and then defeated California 41-30 in the semifinals before falling to Bloomington. Interestingly, Downey was eliminated by Bloomington last year, 39-31, in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 4 duals. Bloomington won the C.I.F. Division 4 championship last season as well. San Gabriel Valley League finals will be held at Gahr tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. Championship matches should begin at 3:30 p.m. C.I.F. Individual competition will be held next Friday and Saturday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. Master's Meet competition will be held Feb. 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 St. John Bosco High School wrestling team saw their dual meet season come to an end last Saturday at Northview High School in West Covina at the C.I.F. Division 2 Dual Meet championship. The Braves were eliminated by eventual champion Northview in the semifinal round 37-29. Bosco defeated Cajon 61-3 in the first round and then defeated Charter Oak 39-38 in the quarterfinal round. Northview went on to defeat Trinity league foe Servite 42-30 in the final. With the win, Northview won their third title in the last four years. Interestingly, Bosco defeated Northview last year to put the blemish on the four year streak. Standout 152 pound wrestler Aaron Pico did not wrestle for Bosco at the Division 2 duals due to signing a professional contract on New Year's Eve Day. Bosco will now turn their attention to individual wrestling competition. Trinity League Finals will be held tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange. Standouts Benjamin Angel (106), Julian Gendreau (113), Joseph Dominguez (138), Ismael Sakez (145) Zahid (132) and Anthony (170) Valencia are all expected to perform well. C.I.F. Individual competition will be held next Friday and Saturday at Santiago Canyon College, also in Orange. Master's Meet competition will be held February 28th and March 1st at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The State Meet will be held March 7th and 8th at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. *** The Downey High School boys' basketball team currently has an overall record of 21-5 and are 8-1 in league play. The Vikings have been on a roll by winning 12 of their last 13 games after starting the season 9-4. Downey defeated Dominguez 74-55 at Dominguez on 1/29, defeated Lynwood 44-38 at Lynwood on 1/31, defeated Warren 57-41 at Downey on 2/5, were defeated by Gahr 81-58 at Downey on 2/7 and defeated Paramount 71-51 at Paramount on Tuesday. The Vikings are winding down their season and will conclude their regular league schedule against Dominguez at Downey tonight. With a win, Downey will become league champions at 9-1. I am certain that is Coach Shelton's, as well as his team's, mindset. With a loss, however, Downey could finish at 8-2 and in a tie with Lynwood who will also finish at 8-2 with a win over Gahr at Gahr. If Gahr defeats Lynwood, however, Gahr and Lynwood would be tied for second place at 7-3. As of this morning, Lynwood is 16-10 overall and 7-2 in league. Gahr is 14-11 overall and 6-3 in league. Paramount is 13-12 overall and 4-5 in league. Warren is 6-18 overall and 1-8 in league. Dominguez is 1-18 overall and 1-8 in league. Things are starting to heat up as San Gabriel Valley League play concludes and teams make pushes for their respective playoff divisions. Paramount competes in 1A, Downey competes in 1AA, Lynwood competes in 2AA and Gahr competes in 3AA. *** The Warren High School girls' water polo team currently has an overall record of 23-9 and finished undefeated in league play. The Lady Bears are the 2014 San Gabriel Valley League champions. The Lady Bears finished 15th out of 32 teams at the Southern California Championships tournament hosted by Irvine High School last weekend. Warren defeated Edison (Division 1 #7) 8-7 in their first game. Kayla Casas scored six goals and Stephany Velazquez had five steals to lead the Lady Bears. Warren was defeated by Santa Barbara (Division 1 #6) 11-6 in their second game. The Lady Bears were led by Natalie Manzanares' two blocks and two steals. The Lady Bears fell to Montebello (Division 2 #5) 14-11 in their third game. Warren was led by Kayla Casas' four goals and Stephany Velazquez's three goals. The Lady Bears were defeated by Coronado (San Diego) 10-8 in their fourth game. Kayla Casas, Jocelyn Castro and Destiny Hernandez all scored on offense while Natalie Manzanares recorded three blocks and Destiny Hernandez had three steals on defense. Warren concluded their day, and tournament, with a hard fought 10-9 win over El Toro (Division 2 #7). Natalie Manzanares recorded four blocks in the winning effort. The Lady Bears went 5/6 on power plays and clamped down on El Toro's power plays by limiting the Lady Chargers to 2/5. According to Coach Cordero, "that was the difference in the game." The Lady Bears finished the tournament with a record of 2-3. The Lady Bears will finish their regular season today against Mira Costa (Division 3 #3). C.I.F. brackets will be released Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Coach Cordero, her staff and players are looking forward to another run in the C.I.F. Division 5 playoffs.

********** Published: Feb. 13, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 44