Sports briefs: Braves commit to colleges
DOWNEY - The St. John Bosco High School football team had 10 players signing national letters to play college football on Wednesday. The much anticipated signings started at 7:45 a.m in the gymnasium on the campus at St. John Bosco.
The Braves finished their season 16-0 and were the California state champion after defeating Concord De La Salle 20-14 in December at the Stub Hub Center in Carson. De La Salle had won the previous four state titles but were denied their fifth by the Braves.
Bosco was also recognized by Maxpreps as their national champion on Jan. 28.
Safety Brett Baldwin signed with the Air Force Academy and will become a Falcon. Defensive lineman Malik Dorton and offensive lineman Damien Mama both signed with USC and will become Trojans.
Defensive lineman Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and receiver Jaleel Wadood both signed with UCLA and will become Bruins, while receiver Shay Fields signed with Colorado and will become a Buffalo. Defensive back Naijiel Hale signed with Washington and will become a Husky. Linebacker Chandler Leniu signed with California and will become a Golden Bear. Ivan Martinez signed with Idaho State and will become a Bengal.
Defensive back Chandler Hawkins signed with the Naval Academy and will become a Midshipman.
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The Warren High School girls' basketball team currently has an overall record of 12-9 and are 5-1 in S.G.V.L. play.
Warren will host Dominguez tonight at the "Cave." Tonight's game will be senior night for the Lady Bears.
Warren defeated Gahr 55-32 at Gahr on 1/15, defeated Dominguez 57-25 at Dominguez on 1/22, were defeated by Lynwood 52-28 at Warren on 1/24, defeated Paramount at Warren 64-22 on 1/29 and defeated Gahr 66-50 at Warren last Friday.
The Lady Bears have played well of late and are preparing for the C.I.F. Division 1AA playoffs. Coach Palmer said that "things have pretty much gone the way I thought they would so far." Palmer thought the Lady Bears "would have had a few more wins in the preseason but is pleased with how things have progressed and how hard her girls continue to work."
Palmer points to close losses against ranked teams such as Redondo Union 49-39 on 12/26 in the Larry Doyle Orange County Championships, Orange Lutheran 54-50 on 12/5, St. Anthony's 53-47 on 12/10, San Juan Hills 49-41 on 12/11 and to South Mountain, Arizona, 66-55 on 12/19 in the Nike Tournament of Champions as "experience builders" for her team.
The Lady Bears have been led by senior captain Priscilla Gaxiola, junior Vivian Hernandez, junior captain Denise Gonzalez, senior Gionni Blankenship, senior captain Jacinda Reyes and senior Janeane Hernandez. The Lady Bears wrap up S.G.V.L. play against Lynwood next Tuesday and Paramount next Thursday.
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The Warren High School wrestling team defeated Paramount at Warren Tuesday evening 51-13. With the win over Paramount, the Bears secured second place in the S.G.V.L.
Wrestling has been extremely competitive in the San Gabriel Valley League over the past three seasons with three different schools claiming a title. Warren won the 2012 S.G.V.L. and C.I.F. titles, Paramount won the 2013 S.G.V.L. title and Downey is the 2014 S.G.V.L. champion.
The Warren-Paramount dual meet started at the traditional 106 pounds. Warren won the first five matches and built an early 23-0 lead. The Pirates finally got on the scoreboard when Warren narrowly lost a 2-1 decision at 138 pounds. Paramount also won a 3-1 decision at 145 pounds and a 7-1 decision at 152 pounds. After the 152 pound patch, Warren still led 23-9.
Warren answered back at 160 pounds with a pin at the 3:16 mark of the second period. Warren's Julian Gutierrez (170) pinned his Paramount opponent and Brian Vives (182) major decisioned his opponent 16-3 and earned four team points. Warren clinched the dual meet win after Gutierrez's win at 170 pounds.
Warren's Alex Mendez (195) pinned his opponent and stretched the Bear lead to 45-9. Paramount earned four team points when Pirate standout and 2013 state qualifier Noe Sandoval (220) major decisioned his Warren opponent. Warren heavyweight Juaquin Durazo (285) pinned his Pirate opponent at the 2:39 mark of the second period and ended the match. Warren won going away 51-13 and will now await the bracket for the C.I.F. Division 4 Dual meet championship.
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The Downey High School wrestling team defeated Paramount at Downey 57-6 last Thursday night, 1/30, to claim the 2014 San Gabriel Valley League title. Paramount was the 2013 S.G.V.L. champion.
The dual meet began at 126 pounds when Downey's Armando Padilla started things off with a victory. Johnny Robles' (132) victory gave the Vikings another win and an early 8-0 team lead. Downey's Antonio Santana (138) was defeated 8-6 in a close match and Paramount pulled to within 8-3.
Downey went on to win the next six matches and twelve of fourteen to close out the win. Brian Puente (145) won 9-2, Dylan Moreno (152) won 6-4 and Jacob Beltran (160) won 11-0. Downey's Juan Soto (170) pinned his Pirate opponent in 58 seconds and Stephen Chavez (182) pinned his opponent at the 1:11 mark of the first period. Downey led 30-3 after Chavez's match.
Downey's Jorge Guerrero (195) won by forfeit when Paramount did not send a wrestler to the mat. Guererro's forfeit clinched the dual meet win. Ben Cuellar (220) was defeated by Paramount state qualifier from last season Noe Sandoval 8-4. Downey heavyweight Anthony Florido (285) pinned his Paramount opponent in 26 seconds. Downey led 42-6 after Florido's win.
The Vikings' Mark Lopez (106) pinned his opponent in the first period as did his twin brother Andrew Lopez (113). Downey's Carlos Rivas (120) ended the evening with a 7-2 win. Downey won the match going away 57-6.
********** Published: Feb. 6, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 43