Sports briefs: S.G.V.L. wrestling heating up

DOWNEY - The St. John Bosco High School wrestling team finished in eighth place overall with a score of 79 points at the Doc Buchanan Invitational wrestling tournament in Clovis Jan. 3-4.Clovis took first with 239.5 points, Buchanan took second with 151 points, Poway took third with 128 points, Clovis West took fourth with 122 points and Pleasant Grove of Utah finished fifth with 100.5 points. Gilroy took sixth place with 98 points, Folsom took seventh with 94.5 points, Bosco took eighth place with 79 points, Northview took ninth place with 75 points and Modesto took tenth place with 72.5 points. More than 20 teams competed. The Braves had three wrestlers place in Clovis. Junior Zahid Valencia (132) took first place after he defeated Khristian Olivas of Clovis 14-5. With the win, Valencia improved to 14-0. Junior Joseph Dominguez (138) took fifth place after defeating Isaiah Hokit of Clovis 3-1. He improved his record to 12-4. Junior Anthony Valenica (171) took first place after he defeated Bryce Martin of Bakersfield 12-6. Valencia remains undefeated at 14-0. Both Valencia brothers were state champions as freshmen in 2012 and finished third at 113 pounds (Zahid) and second at 145 pounds (Anthony) in 2013, respectively. Noticeably missing from these placers is Bosco standout Aaron Pico (152). Pico finished last year as a state champion (42-0) at 132 pounds but has decided to forego his sophomore season in high school and college and will instead focus on freestyle wrestling in preparation for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Pico also sees a future in MMA once the 2020 Olympics are over. ** The Warren High School wrestling team wrestled at the Clinch Gear Tournament of Champions at Tustin High School Jan. 3-4. The Bears placed ninth out of more than 60 schools represented. Desert Vista finished first with 231.5 points, La Costa Canyon finished second with 202.5 points, Alta Loma finished third with 191.5 points, Shadow Ridge finished fourth with 159 points and Canyon Springs finished fifth with 153 points. Ayala finished sixth with 140 points, El Camino Real finished seventh with 125.5 points, California finished eighth with 120 points, Warren finished ninth with 111 points and Sonora rounded out the top ten by finishing with 110 points. Warren's Ricky Medina (106) placed sixth after a loss to Adam Vargas of Merced. Brian Vives (182) placed fourth after a loss to Kenneth Hamel of Merced and Alex Mendez (195)placed seventh after defeating Miguel Cantresas of Ayala. San Gabriel Valley League foe Paramount finished in 24th place with 64 points. Paramount's Steven Deleon (120) finished in seventh place and Noe Sandoval (220) finished fourth. There were no other S.G.V.L. teams competing at this tournament. Downey Calvary Chapel finished in a tie for 40th place (24 points) with Desert Vista and Ayala's "B teams." Wyatt Gerl (120) placed third for the D.C.C. Grizzlies. The S.G.V.L. will heat up when Warren wrestles against cross-town rival Downey at Warren next Thursday, Jan. 16. Junior varsity will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by varsity at 7 p.m. Coach Brogden, his staff and wrestlers are looking forward to the much anticipated dual meet against Downey. ** The Downey High School wrestling team competed at the Juan Enriquez Memorial wrestling tournament at John Glenn High School January 3rd and 4th. The Vikings took first place with 251.5 points and had eleven wrestlers place in the top eight of each weight class. There were 42 teams represented at this tournament. Downey had two weight classes where there were "all Viking finals." Downey's Mark Lopez pinned Downey's Martin Gevorkian at the 3:02 mark in the 106 pound final and Downey's Carlos Rivas decisioned fellow Viking Johnny Robles 7-3 in the 120 pound final. Downey's Ronald Casasola finished in fourth place at 120 pounds after losing a decision to A. Lopez of San Fernando 4-2. The Vikings took three of the top four places at 120 pounds. Downey's Armando Padilla (126) took first place after defeating Christian Lambarena of Arroyo 6-2 in the final. Antonio Santana (138) defeated Michael Estrada of John Glenn 13-4 to take third place and Dylan Moreno (152) took second place after being defeated in the final by Trevor Perez of Mater Dei 17-1. Downey's Juan Soto (170) dominated his weight class en route to a 12-2 major decision win against Thomas Chen of Arroyo in the final. Stephen Chavez (182) finished second after being defeated 7-0 by Tristin Martinez of Peninsula in the final. Benjamin Cuellar (220) defeated J. Flores of Arroyo 12-3 to take fifth place. Downey's Anthony Florido (285) took first place by defeating David Zavala of Lakewood 5-2 in the final. Downey wrestled Paramount yesterday at Paramount (score unavailable at press time) and will wrestle cross-town rival Warren at Warren next Thursday. ** The Long Beach Pres- Telegram released their annual Dream Team for football this past Wednesday. The Dream Team was heavily represented by players from St. John Bosco and Long Beach Poly. St. John Bosco won the state championship game against Concord De La Salle, 20-14,, while Poly won the Moore League title again and made another nice run in the PAC 5 playoffs. Between the two schools on offense, seven of 13 players were selected to the first team, four of 13 players were selected to the second team and one player was given honorable mention. Norwalk running back Rashaad Penny was selected as offensive player of the year. Between the two schools on defense, seven of 12 players were selected to the first team, not including defensive player of the year Iman Marshall of Poly. Five of 12 players were selected to the second team and three were given honorable mention recognition. Bosco quarterback Josh Rosen was selected to the first team as were teammates receiver Shay Fields, offensive linemen Zachary Robertson and Damien Mama, kicker Reid Budrovich and newcomer of the year running back Sean McGrew. Bosco's offensive lineman Elijah Zabuldoff was selected to the second team. St. John Bosco head coach Jason Negro was named coach of the year. Bosco defensive linemen Malik Dorton and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, linebacker Chandler Leniu and defensive back Naijiel Hale all earned first team honors on defense. Defensive lineman Ivan Martinez, defensive back Chandler Hawkins and punter R.D. Cole were all selected to the second team. Linebacker Christian Holland received honorable mention recognition. Downey quarterback Jorge Reyna and offensive lineman Arturo Gomez were selected to the second team on offense and defensive back Tristan Esparza was given honorable mention recognition on defense.

********** Published: Jan. 9, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 39