The San Diego Section Division IV boys wrestling championship tournament took the spotlight Saturday at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach.
While showcasing the section’s smaller mat programs, the 23 teams assembled produced some big numbers. Team champion Holtville qualified nine wrestlers for this weekend’s San Diego Masters state-qualifying tournament at Olympian High School while runner-up Mountain Empire High School recorded a record-breaking seven Masters qualifiers, four finalists and one individual champion.
Tourney host Mar Vista didn’t fare too badly either with three weight class champions and four Masters qualifiers. Mater Dei Catholic added two Maters qualifiers and one division champion to the Metro Conference’s medal haul.
“I’m super excited,” Mar Vista head coach Ed Delos Reyes said. “I’ve had CIF champions before, but never three in one tournament.”
It was a gold medal bonanza for the Mariners.
The top four place-finishers in each of the 14 weight classes from the Division IV tournament moved on to battle it out with the section’s best at Masters, which will feature 24-man brackets in one division.
The top four place-winners in each weight class from the two-day meat-grinder will represent the section at the state tournament Feb. 26-28 in Bakersfield.
The opening day of Masters is Friday. The second day concludes with medal matches on Saturday.
Southern exposure
Junior Ryder Bareng started off the Division IV finals with a bang by defeating Mater Dei Catholic’s Diego Herrera by a 11-0 major decision in an all-Metro Conference pairing. Bareng, the Metro weight class champion this year and CIF runner-up last year, improved to 31-8.
“I wasn’t as nervous as last year,” Bareng said. “It feels good to have my hard work pay off.”
South County remained in the spotlight in the next match at 113 pounds as Mar Vista second-year Ayden Pendergraft (20-10) recorded a 15-9 decision over Christian sophomore Samuel Larson.
It was a big move up for Pendergraft, who finished third at the preceding Metro finals.
“It was a good accomplishment,” Pendergraft admitted. “I just did my moves that I’ve been practicing.”
Senior Aaron Marcial put the finishing touches on the Mariners’ championship parade with a 15-7 major decision over Mission Bay’s Jayden Villanueva. The No. 1 seed in the weight class, Marcial improved to 26-5 on the season.
“I just wanted to make up for all the losses in the past,” Marcial said.
Mater Dei Catholic’s Ron Pizarro, another defending Metro champion, gained some well-deserved notoriety at 157 pounds by defeating top-seeded Noah Wisniew of Mountain Empire by an 8-5 decision to raise his season record to 29-7.
“It feels great,” said Pizarro, who credited leg-riding and power holds as his strengths in the match. “It makes me feel that all the work paid off.”
The girls Masters state-qualifying tournament also highlights the sport locally with a one day stop at Eastlake High School. Each weight class will spotlight 16 qualifiers from the section’s four divisional tournaments. But only the top three finishers in each weight class advance to the state meet.
San Diego Section Boys Wrestling Divisional Tournaments
South County Place-winners
Division I
Feb. 14 at Del Norte HS
Top 7 advance to Masters
106 pounds: 2. Anthony Hernandez (Otay Ranch), 5. Abiel Rangel (Eastlake)
113 pounds: 5. Jon Francis Ascunsion (Otay Ranch)
120 pounds: 6. Sean Ramirez (Otay Ranch), 7. Eli Herrera (Olympian)
126 pounds: 7. Andre Alvarez (Otay Ranch)
132 pounds: 3. Luis Bue (Olympian)
138 pounds: 8. Joshua Panuco (Sweetwater)
144 pounds: 7. Ian Ramos (Olympian), 8. Patrick Parker (Eastlake)
150 pounds: 4. Noah Soria (Olympian)
175 pounds: 3. Jaidon Castillo (Otay Ranch), 6. Joshua Peterson-Hernandez (Eastlake), 8. Emiliano Perez (Olympian)
190 pounds: 4. Michael Jorgensen (Olympian)
215 pounds: 6. Tamim Bader (Olympian)
285 pounds: 4. Isaiah Sary (Otay Ranch), 8. Josiah Rivera (Olympian)
Tem standings: 1. Granite Hills 356.5, 2. Rancho Bernardo 239, 3. Torrey Pines 211, 4. Mira Mesa 154,5, 5. Carlsbad 150.5, 6. Olympian 97.5, 7. Otay Ranch 96.5, 8. San Marcos 94.5, 9. Helix 90.5, 10. Mission Hills 81, 11. Patrick Henry 77, 12. Del Norte 68, 13. Calexico 47.5, 14. Grossmont 43.5, 15. Eastlake 35, 16. Steele Canyon 30, 17. Sweetwater 19, 18. El Camino 14.5, 19. Canyon Crest Academy 0
Division II
Ferb. 14 El Centro Southwest HS
Top 7 advance to Masters
106 pounds: 4. Niccolo Villegas (Bonita Vista)
113 pounds: 3. Matteo Arechiga (Bonita Vista)
120 pounds: 7. Gustavo Aguiar (San Ysidro)
126 pounds: 3. Frank Zambada (San Ysidro), 6. Edwin Flores (Bonita Vista)
132 pounds: 8. Michael Sanchez (Bonita Vista)
138 pounds: 4. Adrian Tapia (Bonita Vista), 6. Angel Rodriguez (Hilltop)
144 pounds: 4. Nathan Banaszek (Bonita Vista), 6. Alejandro Gonzalez (Chula Vista)
157 pounds: 3. Conlon Merton (Bonita Vista), 5. Aiden Herrera (Chula Vista), 6. Elysian Bellaire (San Ysidro), 7. Angel Lopez (Hilltop)
165 pounds: 2. Ricardo De La Torre (Hilltop), 3. Madden Poderick (Bonita Vista), 7. Jiryah Liburd (San Ysidro)
175 pounds: 5. Micah Hopkins (Hilltop)
190 pounds: 6. Jad Keddo (Bonita Vista)
215 pounds: 4. Michael Maddy (Hilltop), 6. Jeyren Lopez (San Ysidro)
285 pounds: 2. Nicolas Quintal (San Ysidro), 4. Erik Nealson (Hilltop), 8. Ryan Shrooki (Bonita Vista)
Division III
Feb. 14 at Lincoln HS
Top 6 advance to Masters
120 pounds: 5. Uziel Diaz (Southwest)
126 pounds: 8. Cesar Martinez (Southwest)
138 pounds: 8. Mario Valdespino (Southwest)
144 pounds: 8. Troy Flores (Montgomery)
150 pounds: 2. Alan Jean (Montgomery)
165 pounds: 7. Michael Siva (Montgomery)
285 pounds: 8. Aiden Avalos (Montgomery)
Team standings: 1. La Costa Canyon 240.5, 2. Valhalla 223.5, 3. Imperial 177.5, 4. Monte Vista 128, 5. Ramona 126, 6. Escondido 119, 7. Cathedral Catholic 111.5, 8. St. Augustine 109.5, 9. Pt. Loma 85, 10. San Diego 77.5, 11. El Cajon Valley 75.5, 12. Mission Vista 73.5, 13. Lincoln 57.5, 14. West Hills 52.5, 15. Santana 50.5, 16. Montgomery 50, 17. University City 33, 18. Southwest 23, 19. Mt. Miguel 22.5, 20. Morse 22
Division IV
Feb. 14 at Mar Vista HS
Top 4 advance to Masters
106 pounds: 1. Ryder Bareng (Mar Vista), 2. Diego Herrera (Mater Dei Catholic)
113 pounds: 1. Ayden Pendergraft (Mar Vista)
157 pounds: 1. Ron Pizarro (Mater Dei Catholic)
165 pounds: 1. Aaron Marcial (Mar Vista)
190 pounds: 6. Noah Hudkins (Mar Vista)
215 pounds: 3. Santiago Campos (Mar Vista)
285 pounds: 5. Jake Moreno (Mar Vista)
Team standings: 1. Holtville 173.5, 2. Mountain Empire 162.5, 3. Mar vista 117, 4. Coastal Academy 112.5, 5. Crawford 100.5, 6. Kearny 82.5, 7. Christian 80.5, 8. La Jolla 78.5, 9. Army-Navy Academy 70, 10. Palo Verde Valley 66, 11. Valley Center 64, 12. Clairemont 63, 13. Canyon Hills 58.5, 14. Mission Bay 53, 15. Liberty Charter 44, 16. Mater Dei Catholic, 17. Guajome Park Academy 33.5, 18. Sage Creek 24. 19. Madison 21, 20. Logan Memorial 20, 21. Calipatria 12, 22. Castle Park 5, 23. High Tech High North County 3
East County mops up the mat at CIF boys wrestling finals
The road to the state wrestling tournament in Bakersfield has narrowed to this weekend’s San Diego Masters state-qualifying tournament.
The boys tournament, with 24 qualifiers in each weight class drawn from last weekend’s four divisional tournament, is scheduled Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at Olympian High School while the girls tournament, with 16 qualifiers in each weight class from four divisionals, is scheduled Saturday, Feb. 21, at Eastlake High School.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class in the boys Masters advance to the state tournament Feb. 26-28 while the top three girls at the Masters do so.
For the most part, it was a record-setting weekend for East County mat squads.
Granite Hills High School won the Division I team championship at Del Norte High School with nine individual champions, 11 finalists and 14 Masters qualifiers while Valhalla finished runner-up in the Division III tournament at Lincoln High School with three individual champions and 10 Masters qualifiers. Mountain Empire set a record with seven Masters qualifiers to go with its meteoric second-place finish in the Division IV team finals at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach.
Between the four divisional tournaments, East County racked up a hefty haul of 50 Masters qualifiers.
That is nothing short of impressive.
Division I team champion Granite Hills qualified all 14 weight classes for this weekend’s San Diego Masters tournanent. Courtesy photo
Soaring Eagles
Granite Hills has traditionally ranked among the section’s elite teams, so this year’s Division I championship came as no surprise. The Eagles topped the 19-team field with 356.5 points — well in front of runner-up Rancho Bernardo’s 239 points.
Weight class champions for Granite Hills included Cash McClurg (106 pounds), Emilio Escobar (120), Uriah Hawkins (132), Ames-Michael Hoevker (144), David Daniels (150), Aiden Chur (157), Jovanni Mansour (190), Steven Gomez (215) and Travin Shahbaz (285).
Silver medalists included Elias Pedroza (113) and Anthony Stanley (165).
The top seven place-finishers at the Division I tourney qualified to compete at Masters. Also representing Granite on the mat this weekend are Jackson Kartchner (fourth, 175), Adam Winter-Smith (fifth, 126) and Jayden Ruiz (fifth, 138) to fill out the Eagles’ full lineup.
“Winning CIF was an incredible experience for our program,” head coacvh Jesse Sheard said. “Watching these young men invest countless hours of hard work, dedication and commitment, then seeing it all pay off has been truly rewarding. We preach having Granite grit, and that really showed last weekend. Our coaching staff works hard to prepare our athletes for success, and we’re fortunate to have a tremendous support system that makes it all possible. The community continues to stand behind our program, and we’re especially grateful for our athletic director, James Davis, who consistently shows up for our athletes and makes sure our program has everything it needs to be successful.”
Helix, Grossmont and Steele Canyon also participated at the Division I finals.
Helix finished in ninth place with six Masters qualifiers: Isaiah Boelk (second, 175), J.J. Martinez (second, 215), Aiden Anselmo (fifth, 120), Kaden Bedsole (fifth, 157) and Vincente Cuervo (fifth, 165) and Xavier Jackson (seventh, 190).
Grossmont finished in 14th place with three Masters qualifiers: Maxim Kozlowski (fifth, 113), Sa Kyaw (fifth, 144), Parnelli Riley-Judd (seventh, 150).
Steele Canyon finished in 16th place with one Masters qualifier: Danial Erfani (fourth, 126).
Eighth-place finishers denoted Masters alternates. They included Grossmont’s Emmanuel Porter (106) and Steele Canyon’s Charlie Beck Winkler (132).
Orange Nation
Valhalla made it close at the Division III tournament, falling 17 points behind team champion La Costa Canyon — 240-5 to 223.5 points.
The Norsemen’s individual champions included Ivan Rivers (126), Noor Al Saedi (132) and Marcelino Nona (175)
Michael Huerta finished in second place at 165 pounds while Zachary Haggar was third at 215 pounds.
The top six place-finishers advanced to Masters from the Division III field. Additional Valhalla qualifiers included William Hypes (third, 150), Ethan Perry (fourth, 120), Abdul Baset Amiri (fourth 144), Vincent Gosswiller (fourth, 157) and Tomas Toshee (fifth, 106).
Monte Vista finished in fourth place with seven Masters qualifiers: Joshua Laverdiere (second, 1320, Christopher Garcia (second, 106), Isaiah Garcia (fourth, 150), Adrian Perez (fourth, 190), Carlos Aguilera (sixth, 126), Frankie Flores (sixth, 138) and Daygo Rios (sixth, 165).
El Cajon Valley finished in 11th place with two Masters qualifiers: Jayden Parks (second, 215) and Paul Marcelin (third, 190)
West Hills finished in 14th place with three Masters qualifiers: Jay Noriega (third, 138), Gabriele Baguio (sixth, 106) and Jordyn Gillissie-Hicks (sixth, 144).
Santana finished in 15th place with one Masters qualifier: Aland Abdulhamid (sixth, 132).
Mt. Miguel finished in 19th place with one Masters qualifier: Marcellus England (fourth, 138).
Seventh-place finishers are alternates: West Hills’ Gerald Eganhouse (120), Valhalla’s Nicholas Haggar (138) and ECV’s Aiden Dixon (285).
The Division II tournament at El Centro Southwest High School in Imperial Valley included El Capitan. The Vaqueros recorded five Masters qualifiers: Wyatt Welsh (fourth, 165), Caiden Sarff (fourth, 190), Ian Fierro (fifth, 106), Brody Cosgrove (fifth, 285), Corbin Cross (seventh 150) and alternate Kayne Eggelston (eighth, 215).
Mountain men
The three East County teams competing at the Division IV tournament represented the section’s smaller programs but produced big results with six individual weight class finalists and 10 Master qualifiers between them. Mountain Empire led the group with four finalists and one champion while Christian High School had two finalists and two Masters alternates. Liberty Charter had one Masters qualifier to add to the total.
It was a tight scramble for the top with only the top four place-finishers among the 23 scoring teams advancing to the Masters state-qualifying meet.
The Redhawks came down from the mountain to turn in a blockbuster showing at the beach.
“We got hard-working kids who stepped up, who got out and found their own off-season plan besides what I could give them,” Redhawks head coach Jason Reed said. “We really stepped up in terms of our faith this year.”
Mountain Empire finished with 162.5 points to just fall short of Holtville’s winning tally of 173.5 points. Tourney host Mar Vista was third with 117 points,
The Redhawks’ seven Masters qualifiers include Weston Kowalski (first, 150), Jackson Kowalski (second, 144), Noah Wisniew (second, 157), Maxwell Anderson (second, 175), Caleb Best (third, 138), Jason Landman (third, 190) and Ezekiel Lopez (fourth, 215).
Christian’s finalists included Samuel Larson (second, 113) and Brandon Scharer (150), both second place.
Liberty Charter’s Masters qualifier included Chris Hermez (fourth, 113).
Weston Kowalski defeated Scharer by a 24-10 major decision in an all-East County championship round.
Fifth-place alternates to Masters include Christian’s Landon Salling (132) and Tristan Rickert (190).
Mountain Empire tackled new horizons this season as a member of the Grossmont Valley League, finishing runner-up to Helix with a 4-1 dual meet record.
“We’re no joke — that’s what it says,” Reed noted.
The Redhawks program also set a new record this season with 10 girls for 31 members total, including 21 boys.
Girls wrestling: San Diego Section finals
South County Place-winners
Division I
Feb. 7 at Rancho Bernardo HS
Top 5 advance to Masters
100 pounds: 2. Jianna Goodwin (Olympian), 4. Krisabella Villalobos (Sweetwater)
105 pounds: 3. Elyza DeGuzman (Olympian), 4. Alexi Montoya (Sweetwater)
110 pounds: 1. Olivia Grace Delosreyes (Eastlake), 6. Evynn Kilby (Olympian)
120 pounds: 4. Emme De Mesa (Eastlake)
125 pounds: 2. Kareli Rascon (Eastlake)
130 pounds: 4. Briseis Ramirez (Olympian)
135 pounds: 4. Annnara Quintero (Olympian)
140 pounds: 2. Madelyn Hogue (Olympian), 5. Sydney Weevie (Eaatlake)
145 pounds: 1. Natalia Righellis (Olympian)
155 pounds: 4. Sulay Ramirez (Olympian)
190 pounds: 2. Isis Rivas (Otay Ranch), 4. Chloe Diaz (Olympian), 5. Arianni Benitez (Eastlake)
235 pounds: 1. Eliza Najera (Olympian), 4. Adriana Shepard (Otay Ranch)
Team standings: 1. Olympian 194, 2, Mira Mesa 188, 3. Steele Canyon 166, 4. Rancho Bernardo 131, 5. Grossmont 113, 6. San Marcos 105.5, 7. Eastlake 103.5, 8. Helix 91, 9. Granite Hills 78, 10. Mission Hills 75, 11. Carlsbad 67.5, 12. Calexico 56, 13. Otay Ranch 42, 14. Sweetwater 37, 15. Patrick Henry 28, 16. El Camino 22.5, 17. Torrey Pines 22, 18. Del Norte 12, 19. Canyon Crest Academy 0
Division II
Feb. 7 at San Ysidro HS
Top 5 advance to Masters
100 pounds: 5. Jaslene Pena (Bonita Vista), 6. Elizabeth Byland (Hilltop)
105 pounds: 4. Emma Payan (Bonita Vista), 5. Angel Torres (Hilltop)
110 pounds: 5. Lillyana Torres Wynne (Bonita Vista)
120 pounds: 6. Arianna Moises (Chula Vista)
125 pounds: 6. Tatitanna Barrientos (Hilltop)
130 pounds: 5. Abby Quiros (Bonita Vista)
135 pounds: 5. Layla Schoen (Bonita Vista), Amarissa Romero (San Ysidro)
140 pounds: 3. Xiamara Wright (Bonita Vista), 5. Pamela Garcia (Chula Vista)
145 pounds: 1. Ella Edvalson (Bonita Vista), ,6. Valerie Pablo (Hilltop)
155 pounds: 2, Viviana Romo (Chula Vista), 3. Keyrey Martinez (San Ysidro), 5. Leila Keeran (Bonita Vista), 6. Isabella Verganza (Hilltop)
170 pounds: 4. Ivanna Ruiz (Bonita Vista), 6. Anaaya Skipper (San Ysidro)
190 pounds: 3. Ahlani Dominguez (San Ysidro)
235 pounds: 2. Alyssa Riggs (Bonita Vista), 3. Naomi Anaya (San Ysidro)
Team standings: 1. Brawley 248.5, 2. Poway 243, 3. Central Union 180, 4. Bonita Vista 163.5, 5. Scripps Ranch 117, 6. El Capitan 87.5, 7. Southwest El Centro 77, 8. San Ysidro 75, 9. San Pasqual 68, 10. Chula Vista 46.5, 11. Hilltop 44.5, 12. Rancho Buena Vista 35, 13. Mt. Carmel 32, 14. (tie) Oceanside, Orange Glen 22, 16. Vista 13, 17. Hoover 12
Division III
Feb. 7 at Ramona HS
Top 3 advance to Masters
105 pounds: 4. Genesis Tovar (Montgomery)
Team standings: 1. Ramona 165, 2. Santana 162.5, 3. West Hills 104.5, 4. Imperial 80, 5. Monte Vista 79.5, 6. Lincoln 66, 7. Escondido 49, 8. Mission Vista 37, 9. University City 32, 10. El Cajon Valley 27.5, 11. Pt. Loma 25.5, 12. Mt. Miguel 24, 13. San Diego 17, 14. Montgomery 13, 15. Cathedral Catholic 6, 16> (tie) La Costa Canyon, Morse, Southwest San Diego, Valhalla 0
Division IV
Feb. 7 at Valley Center HS
Top 3 advance to Masters
100 pounds: 13. Emma Grajeda Croce (Castle Park), 4. Eva-Arabella Tehrani (Mater Dei Catholic)
110 pounds: 3. Eli Serna (Castle Park)
120 pounds: 1. Kailani Topasna (Mater Dei Catholic), 2, Karla Corral (Castle Park)
125 pounds: 3. Noahlanie Velasquez (Castle Park)
140 pounds: 3. Layla Ibarra (Mater Dei Catholic)
145 pounds: 2. Natalia Corrao-Broussard (Mater Dei Catholic)
170 pounds: 1. Beatriz Rockholt (Mater Dei Catholic)
190 pounds: 1. Kaila Strother (Mater Dei Catholic), 4. Forever Whaley (Mar Vista)
Team standings: 1. Mater Dei Catholic 112, 2, Valley Center 96, 3. Crawford 94, 4. Liberty Charter 91, 5. Coastal Academy 90, 6. Holtville 77, 7. Castle Park 70, 8. Mountain Empire 67, 9. La Jolla 59.5, 10. (tie) Guajome Park Academy, Mission Bay 10, 12. Canyon Hills 32, 13. Clairemont 24, 14. Sage Creek 19, 15. Palo Verde Valley 16, 16. Kearny 11, 17, Mar Vista 4, 18. Madison 3, 19. Calipatria 0
South County Girls Water Polo Seeds
Open Division
Seeding: 1. Bishop’s 2. Valhalla, 3. La Jolla, 4. San Marcos, 5. El Camino, 6. Torrey Pines, 7. Carlsbad, 8. Cathedral Catholic
Championship game: Saturday, Feb. 21, La Jolla High School, 6:45 p.m.
Division I
Seeding: 1. Helix, 2. Rancho Bernardo, 3. Mission Bay, 4. Westview, 5. Bonita Vista, 6. Patrick Henry, 7. Grossmont, 8. Mt. Carmel, 9. Oceanside, 10. La Costa Canyon, 12. Clairemont
First round: (5) Bonita Vista 18, (12) Clairemont 2
Quarterfinals: (4) Westview 10, (5) Bonita Vista 5
Division II
Seeding: 1. Coronado, 2. Eastlake, 3. Francis Parker, 4. Del Norte, 5. Poway, 6. Our Lady of Peace, 7. San Dieguito Academy, 8. Mater Dei Catholic, 9. Ramona, 10. Santana, 11. Steele Canyon, 12. West Hills
First round: (8) Mater Dei Catholic 5, (9) Ramona 2; Eastlake (bye)
Quarterfinals: (2) Eastlake 10, (7) San Dieguito Academy 3; (1) Coronado 7, (8) Mater Dei Catholic 6
Semifinals: (2) Eastlake vs. (3) Francis Parker
Championship game: Saturday, Feb. 21, La Jolla High School, 1 p.m.
Division III
Seeding: 1. Classical Academy, 2. Olympian, 3. Scripps Ranch, 4. Fallbrook, 5. Mission Hills, 6. Hilltop, 7. CVLCC, 8. Vista, 9. Canyon Hills, 10. Sage Creek, 11. Monte Vista, 12. Montgomery
First round: (6) Hilltop 13, (11) Monte Vista 8; (10) Sage Creek 14, (7) CVLCC 9; (5) Mission Hills 5, (12) Montgomery 0; (2) Olympian (bye)
Quarterfinals: (2) Olympian 23, (10) Sage Creek 5; (3) Scripps Ranch 14, (6) Hilltop 0
Semifinals: (3) Scripps Ranch 14, (2) Olympian 11
