Sports briefs: Juan Soto named MVP

DOWNEY - Downey High School hosted the Viking Invitational wrestling tournament December 21-22. Cross-town rival Warren wrestled, as did 40 other local wrestling programs.CIF champion Bloomington earned top honors with 265 points while Downey finished second with 222 points and Warren finished third with 186 points. Downey had 13 wrestlers place first through eighth while Warren had 10. San Gabriel Valley League foe Paramount finished tenth overall with 96.5 points and had three wrestlers place in the top eight. Downey's 171-pound wrestler Juan Soto earned Upper Weight MVP honors by earning 3 pins, 1 bye and 1 decision en route to his first place finish. Downey's Mark Lopez finished first, Warren's Ricky Medina was second, Warren's Steven Aragon finished fourth and Downey's Martin Gevorkian finished eighth at 113 pounds. Warren's Adrian Duarte placed second at 113 pounds. Warren's Jacob Valdez finished fifth and Downey's Ronald Casasola finished seventh at 120 pounds. Warren's Justin Palacios finished second and Downey's Johnny Robles finished third at 126 pounds. Downey's Armando Padilla finished third and Warren's Mario Martinez finished fifth at 132 pounds. Warren's Zac Brito finished second at 138 pounds. Downey's Brian Puente finished sixth at 145 pounds and Downey's Dylan Moreno finished first at 152 pounds. Downey's Jacob Beltran finished sixth at 160 pounds. Downey's Juan Soto finished first and Warren's Julian Gutierrez finished sixth at 171 pounds. Downey's Stephen Chavez finished fifth and Warren's Brian Vives finished sixth at 182 pounds. Warren's Alex Mendez finished fourth and Downey's Jorge Guerrero finished fifth at 195 pounds. Downey's Benjamin Cuellar finished eighth at 220 pounds and Downey's Anthony Florido finished third at 285 pounds. Both Downey and Warren had strong showings at the Downey Invitational. The dual meet later in January will definitely be worth watching. Coach Soto of Downey and Coach Brogden of Warren, their staffs and wrestlers are looking forward to S.G.V.L. competition and making runs at the CIF dual meet title. ** The Warren High School girls' basketball team currently has an overall record of 4-8 and have not started league play yet. The Lady Bears competed in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix Dec. 19-21. Warren lost to South Mountain of Phoenix, 66-55, and defeated St. Francis of Sacramento, 66-40. Warren also competed in the Larry Doyle Tournament at Edison High School in Huntington Beach over Christmas Break. The Lady Bears lost to Redondo Union, 49-39, on Dec. 26, were defeated by North, 70-47, on Dec. 27 and came up short against Edison, 56-40, on Dec. 28. The Lady Bears will play at Torrance on Jan. 8 and conclude their busy preseason schedule by playing at El Rancho on Jan. 10. Warren travels to Gahr Jan. 15 in their San Gabriel Valley League opener and will then host cross-town rival Downey on Jan. 17. Perennial league power Lynwood is once again considered the team to beat. in the SGVL. ** The Warren High School boys' soccer team currently has an overall record of 5-2-2 after competing in the Marina Tournament over Christmas Break. Warren tied Katella, 2-2, on Dec. 27 and defeated Lawndale, 1-0, on Dec. 30. The Bears will conclude their preseason schedule against Mira Costa at Warren on Jan. 7 before starting league play against cross-town rival Downey at Warren on Jan. 10. Warren is the reigning Division 2 champion and is currently ranked 232nd nationally and 105th in the state. ** The Downey High School girls' basketball team improved its record to 8-5 overall record after finishing 3-1 in the Maxpreps Holiday Classic tournament in the Palm Springs area over Christmas break. The Lady Vikings lost to Bellevue, Washington, 56-36, on Dec. 26 but rebounded by routing Palm Desert, 65-29, the following day. They followed that up with victories over Dana Hills, 69-39, and Laguna Beach, 59-40. Downey will play La Serna at Staples Center on Jan. 8 before traveling to Whittier on Jan. 10. They conclude their preseason schedule at Mark Keppel on Jan. 11. The Lady Vikings will start San Gabriel Valley League play at home against league favorite Lynwood on Jan. 15 and will then travel to cross-town rival Warren for a showdown with the Lady Bears on Jan. 17. ** The Downey High School boys' basketball team had mixed results at the same Maxpreps tournament, finishing 2-2 to bring their overall record to 10-4. Downey lost to King of Riverside, 65-45, but responded with two consecutive wins over Marantha of Pasadena, 62-35, and Green Valley of Arizona, 56-53. The Vikings lost to Anchorage Christian of Alaska in overtime, 77-70, on Monday. The Vikings will play at Schurr later today and will face Cerritos at Staples Center on Monday. The game at Staples Center marks the end of Downey's preseason schedule. Downey begins San Gabriel Valley League play Jan. 15 when they host Lynwood. The Vikings will then travel to cross-town rival Warren on Jan. 17.

********** Published: Jan. 2, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 38