Recently in Sultana High School Category

It was a good day for San Bernardino County wrestlers, as a total of 26 advanced to next weekend's CIF State Championships in Bakersfield.

The county produced three champions: Chino Hills senior Christian Martin (113), Sultana sophomore Corey Griego (152) and Oak Hills senior Robert Marchese (195). Marchese is ranked No. 1 in the state and improved his record to 45-0.

A listing by school of state qualifiers, with some notes:

Alta Loma (4): Jacob Leon (2nd, 138, qualifies for 2nd straight year), Eli Mack (4th, 145, qualifies for 2nd straight year), Joseph Rodriguez (8th, 152), Anthony Flores (5th, 195, qualified last year while at Kaiser). First time 4 state qualifiers in same year.
Apple Valley (1): Anthony Ballinger (5th, 182)
Arroyo Valley (1): Bryan Garcia (9th, 160), first ever wrestling state qualifier from the school. Only 2nd state qualifier from school in any sport.
Bloomington (1): Derrick Jones (5th, 220, only a sophomore)
Carter (2): Casper Sherow (6th, 126, first Masters semifinalist in school history), Kenneth Clark (8th, 285). First time 2 state qualifiers from Carter in the same year.
Chino Hills (2): Christian Martin (1st, 113, qualifies for 2nd straight year), Brody Goens (6th, 182)
Colony (1): Anthony Soto (9th, 106 qualifies for 2nd straight year)
Etiwanda (2): Larry Cutbirth (3rd, 182, held out of Masters last year for academics), J.J. Everard (3rd, 220, qualifies for 2nd straight year). 2nd time in school history two state qualifiers the same year.
Granite Hills (1): Ryan Soto (2nd, 152)
Los Osos (2): Timmy Maldonado (3rd, 132), Jon Solano (3rd, 170). Both qualify for 2nd straight year
Miller (1): Raymond Sanchez (9th, 182)
Oak Hills (1): Robert Marchese (1st, 195, placed at state the last 2 years)
Rialto (1): Thomas Pegues (9th, 145) Was 5th last week at CIF-SS Southern Division. Third qualifier in school history.
Rim of the World (1): Seth Whisner (8th, 145, qualifies for 2nd straight year)
Serrano (1): Shaun Donley (7th, 170)
Sultana (3): Corey Griego (1st, 152, only a sophomore), Matt Williams (5th, 160) and Zach Williams (9th, 220). Williams are brothers
Victor Valley (1): Zack Douglass (6th, 160)

If there was a competitive-eating competition involving high school football teams in San Bernardino County, Sultana would be one of the favorites. While many local coaches have commented on their lack of size, Sultans coach Blake Robbins has a plethora of big guys to lead the way.

"I'm really not sure what it is, but we have a lot of big guys in the program," Robbins said. "I'm not complaining. If they can play up to their potential, we have a chance to be pretty good."

Sultana comes into 2011 with a monkey off its back, as it broke a 23-game losing streak with a win at Pacific last September and prevailed over Hesperia for the first time since 2006 in the "Key Game." While Robbins is happy that those streaks are over, he feels that his team squandered an opportunity to do even more a year ago.

"We went 2-8, but we really felt that we should have won three or four more games," Robbins said. "We played tough in most of our games but we weren't able to make the big play. A lot of times we'd move the ball down the field and then commit a turnover or get a penalty that would ruin it."

Tony Rotundo/wrestlersarewarriors.com

Last weekend was the prestigous Doc Buchanan Wrestling Invtiational in Clovis. There were only two county teams entered in the event: Redlands East Valley and Sultana, and each brought home an individual champion.
REV's Chris Mecate (pictured above at the tournament) won the 135-pound weight class, defeating Bakersfield's Natrelle Demison 6-4 in overtime in the final, and defeating several ranked wrestlers earlier in the event. Demison entered the event ranked No. 1 in the state at 130 pounds.The placers at 135 included Demison, Mecate (ranked No. 4), third place Wiliam Fox of Gilroy (ranked No. 6), fourth place Shane Tate of Oakdale (No. 3), sixth place Nikkolas Pena of Selma (ranked No. 1 at 140) and seventh place Andrew Perez of Pitman (No. 5),
Sultana's Michael Gonzalez took home the title at 145, defeating David Meza of Buena Park 9-5 in the finals. Gonzalez was ranked 10th at 145 pounds before the event, while Meza was sixth at 140.
The only other placer from the county was REV's Taylor Rippy, who was sixth at 171 pounds.

The wrestling season is less than 2 weeks old, but www.thecaliforniawrestler.com has already put out individual wrestling rankings. Here are the county wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the state in their respective weight classes.

103: Anthony Soto, Colony (No. 20)
119: Ray Delgado, Oak Hills (No. 6), Tim Maldonado, Los Osos (No. 16).
125: Alec Smith, Sultana (No. 17)
130: Chris Mecate, Redlands East Valley (No. 4)
135: Michael Gonzalez, Sultana (No. 4)
152: Juan Alvarado, Bloomington (No. 7), Ryan McWatters, Sultana (No. 8),
160: Jonathan Solano, Los Osos (No. 17)
171: Robert Marchese, Oak Hills (No. 5), Anthony Ballinger, Apple Valley (No. 18)

--Pete Marshall

I could basically copy and paste the Sunkist League breakdown in here, as the three playoff participants have already been decided, with one game to decide seeding to be played Friday.

1. Serrano (8-1, 3-0): The Diamondbacks have clinched the league title and the No. 1 seed no matter what they do Friday against Hesperia due to their head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Oak Hills and Apple Valley.

2. Oak Hills (6-3, 2-1): The Bulldogs have clinched a playoff spot and are playing Apple Valley for the No. 2 seed. Should Oak Hills lose, it will get the No. 3 seed out of the league.

3. Apple Valley (5-4, 2-1): The Sun Devils have clinched a playoff spot and are playing Oak Hills for the No. 2 seed. Should Apple Valley lose, it will get the No. 3 seed out of the league.

4. Sultana (2-7, 1-3): Eliminated from playoff consideration.

5. Hesperia (1-8, 0-3): Elimianted from playoff consideration.

If you love cross country -- and I'm sure there are many of you who do - Mt. San Antonio College is the place to be the next two Saturdays, Nov. 13 and 20.
The CIF-SS released the heat sheets for the CIF Prelims Nov. 13. In all, there will be 33 races, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and the last one beginning at 4:05 p.m. There will be a county team or individual competing in 31 of 33 races. It was also announced on Saturday that the Aquinas and Western Christian boys teams were selected as at-large teams in Division 5 based on their rankings.

Here are some races to keep an eye on:
Race 5, Boys Division 2, 8:43 a.m.
Ayala and Sultana, two schools better known for their girls teams, also have solid boys teams in search of the CIF Finals.
Race 24, Boys Division 1, 2:06 p.m.
Former Citrus Belt League rivals Rialto and Redlands East Valley will battle. Rialto won the San Andreas League this year, while REV was a close second to Yucaipa in the CBL.
Race 26, Boys Division 1, 2:33 p.m.
This one has five county teams in it. State ranked Rancho Cucamonga is there, as is CBL champion and defending state qualifier Yucaipa. Redlands, third in the CBL is there as is Chaffey, Upland and Christian Navarro of Los Osos.
Race 31, Girls Division 1, 3:38 p.m.
Two of the top teams in the county, Rancho Cucamonga and Redlands will be represented as will Los Osos and Rialto.

Victor Valley College hosted the cross country finals for both the Mojave River League and the Desert Sky League on Wednesday.
Granite Hills, as expected, dominated the DSL. The boys' 23 points, led by winner senior Cody Jordan (16:01) easily defeated runner-up Ridgecrest Burroughs (49).
In a race that had only 23 runners and three scoring teams, the Granite Hills girls (ranked No. 1 in the county) scored a perfect 15 with the first five finishers and seven of the top nine. Granite Hills sophomore Chelsea Bennis won in 19:15. Burroughs was second with 54.

As opposed to the four-team DSL, the five-team MRL had close finishes for both team titles. For the boys, Apple Valley, with five finishers in the top 12, edged out Serrano, 31-38. Serrano's Ben Minick won in 16:23, while Apple Valley's Nick Reynolds was runner-up in 16:38.

The MRL girls has two of the top teams in CIF. Sultana entered the week ranked No. 7 in CIF-SS Division 2, while Serrano is right behind them at No. 8.
And that's how it played out Wednesday. Sultana won with 29 points, to edge out Serrano, with 34. Again Serrano had the individual winner (Melissa Fairchild, 18:01), but not the team winner. Sultana's Hannah Munyan was second in 18:04.

Results were received by The Sun late on Wednesday and will not appear in Thursday's paper. Hope is they will run in Friday's paper.

Redlands East Valley will be hosting a one-day, eight-team volleyball tournament Saturday featuring many of the top teams in Southern California. The REV Volleyball Classic will start at 8 a.m. with two pools of four teams each. Pool number one will feature REV, the No. 2 team in the most recent Division 1-A poll, Riverside King, Temescal Canyon and Sultana. Pool No. 2 will feature Palm Springs -- the No. 5 team in D2-A -- Wildomar Elsinore, the No. 7 team in D2-AA, Redlands and La Quinta.

Pool play will take place in the morning, with each match being played under the best-of-3, rally-scoring format. The top two teams from each pool will be placed in the Gold Bracket, with the championship game from that bracket being played at approximately 2 p.m. The bottom two teams from each pool will be placed in the Silver Bracket.

Well, last week wasn't a banner one in the history of T.J. Berka high school prognostications. While I actually only messed up on nine games - I thought I had missed double that - I was a pretty shoddy 5-5 on the feature games. Not quite enough to put a bag over my head, but close.

Colton at Arroyo Valley
The question, as has been the question throughout the season, is will Michael Yearwood play. It's a game-time decision according to Arroyo coach Marcus Soward and his presence will change the game considerably. If Yearwood plays, Arroyo stands a chance, as Colton was pushed to the brink last week by a fast, physical Carter team. If not, the Hawks don't have enough firepower to hang. I think Colton wins a low-scoring game.
Colton 20, Arroyo Valley 9

Redlands East Valley at Mission Viejo
After a tough loss to a physical Chino Hills team, the last thing REV needed to do was play the No. 1 team in Southern California. Whoops. Mission Viejo, the alma mater of Mark Sanchez, is No. 1 in the Pac-5 Division and a state bowl contender. This would be a good game next year, as REV has deep sophomore and junior classes. I'm not expecting much from the Wildcats in this game though. Mission Viejo is filthy-good.
Mission Viejo 28, Redlands East Valley 10

Yucaipa at La Quinta
The Thunderbirds have looked pretty good so far under Justin Price, winning three of their first four games behind an explosive offense led by Dylan Malone's nine TDs. Is Yucaipa a legitimate playoff contender though? This game will help answer that question, as La Quinta has already defeated Colton this season and is one of the traditional powers of the Low Desert. I don't think Yucaipa wins, but the T-Birds will scrap.
La Quinta 23, Yucaipa 14

San Gorgonio at Carter
I feel bad for San G. They go through a brutal four-game stretch to start the season - losing to Rancho Verde, REV, Yucaipa and Cajon, thinking that this could be the game they break out in. But the Lions are darn good, taking Colton to overtime at Colton in a game they easily could have won. If Carter doesn't have a hangover from that tough loss, it'll continue San G's misery.
Carter 26, San Gorgonio 13

Garey at Colony
Colony has been the grand poobah for the most part in the Mt. Baldy League during the last five years, winning four league titles and CIF titles in 2006 and 2007. Garey, meanwhile, hasn't made the playoffs. But the Vikings are dangerous this year, featuring all-everything WR Dominique Williams, and will be a formidable test for the Titans, who have won three straight since an inauspicious 1-2 start. Will go with the home team, but barely.
Colony 23, Garey 21

South Hills at Los Osos
The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for Los Osos, which was fresh off a triple-OT loss to Redlands and a lopsided loss against Vista Murrieta. South Hills has struggled in its move up the food chain, losing its last three. They'll likely have issues in a stout Sierra League and will have issues tomorrow with a sneaky-good Los Osos squad.
Los Osos 28, South Hills 16

Rialto at San Bernardino
The Knights were the darling of the San Andreas League during the nonleague season, winning their first three games to move up to No. 3 in the Central Division rankings. But a loss to Arroyo Valley has them in almost a must-win situation against a San Bernardino team that has quietly won three out of its first four games. The Cardinals can make it three in a row with a win here, but I'm not ready to give up on Rialto just yet.
Rialto 19, San Bernardino 16

Victor Valley at Patriot
While Rialto might have been the darlings of the SAL, Victor Valley has been the story in the High Desert, as the Jackrabbits have rolled to a 4-0 start with big victories over Rim of the World and Apple Valley. They head down the hill for the first time to take on a Patriot team that has been solid under new coach Scott Pearne. It should be a good test for Victor, one that I expect they'll pass with flying colors.
Victor Valley 30, Patriot 20

Barstow at Sultana
These teams limp into this one, as Barstow hasn't won a game while Sultana lost to Victor Valley this week. Why am I previewing this game then? Well, its a pretty thin week and I need 10 games to write about and the winner here could be a darkhorse in their respective leagues. Emphasis on could. I think Barstow, while anemic to date, is probably due here.
Barstow 16, Sultana 14

Ontario at Chaffey
When worse comes to worse, end the featured games with the Cat Bowl. This longtime rivalry will be played tonight at Chaffey and it could be competitive just for the simple fact that Chaffey seems to be down this year. The Tigers have struggled mightily in going 1-4 and could be vulnerable to the Jaguars, but I think their power-run game will be too much.
Chaffey 28, Ontario 12

Other games of note:
Riverside Notre Dame 30, Arrowhead Christian 10
Anza Hamilton 36, Bloomington Christian 14
Twentynine Palms 23, Cathedral City 16
Chino 45, El Monte 20
Etiwanda 54, Eisenhower 10
Pico Rivera El Rancho 24, Fontana 14
Hemet Tahquitz 27, Citrus Valley 16
Kaiser 58, Hesperia 0
Oak Hills 33, Laguna Beach 14
Bloomington 27, Menifee Paloma Valley 19
Summit 45, Murrieta Mesa 9
Desert Hot Springs 28, Rim of the World 20
Pasadena Maranatha 35, Western Christian 13
Yucca Valley 27, Imperial 14
Don Lugo 26, Montclair 16
Cajon 48, Pacific 6

Last week: 21-9
Overall: 107-47-3

It was a fast decline for the Sultana football team, as the Sultans went from being the 2005 Mojave River League champions and a 2006 playoff qualifier to having the longest losing streak in the county. The streak, which dates back to Nov. 2, 2007, is something that coach Blake Robbins never saw coming.

"I really don't know why it's happened," Robbins said. "I don't know if it's a combination of a down cycle in talent and tough schedules, but we never anticipated something like this happening. There's no question that we want to get a few wins and be back on the way up."

That task is left for Robbins, who takes over for Zane Sweeney after serving as an assistant at Sultana for several years. Robbins' familiarity with the program has allowed for a smooth transition and has even allowed for him to throw in a few schematic changes for the Sultans.

County qualifiers and top alternates for Friday's CIF-Masters Track Meet at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

BOYS
100 meters: Davonte Stewart, Miller. Alternate: Justin Harris, Upland.
200: Josh Mance, Don Lugo; Davonte Stewart, Miller
400: Josh Mance, Don Lugo; Laijon White, Rancho Cucamonga
3,200: Daniel Rosales, Apple Valley; Dustin Fay, Rim of the World
110 hurdles: Devon Blackmon, Summit; Jered Bell, Colony. Alternate: Demi Adegoke, Los Osos
300 hurdles: Darron Usher, Eisenhower
High jump: Aaron Hale, Upland; De'Marrio Brooks, San Gorgonio; Larry Roberson, Granite Hills.
Triple jump: Justin Lovingood, Summit; Jaelen Spencer, Sultana. Alternate: Jonathan Chea, Cajon

GIRLS
100 meters: Brea Buchanan, Ayala; Omunique Thomas, Carter. Alternate: Treasurie Hatten, Victor Valley
200: Alternate: Omunique Thomas, Carter
400: Vanessa Jones, Etiwanda
3,200: Alternate: Melissa Telon, Rancho Cucamonga
100 hurdles: Brea Buchanan, Ayala; Shanice Stewart, Carter
300 hurdles: Ashley Cooke, Colony; Jordie Munford, Etiwanda; Haley Sanner, Cajon. Alternate: Ke'Nya Hardge, Miller
4x100 relay: Summit, Cajon, Los Osos
4x400 relay: Colony, Etiwanda
High jump: Ashley Henry, Rancho Cucamonga
Long jump: Shanice Stewart, Carter; Ashlie Curenton, Silverado
Triple jump: Mayra Carter, Alta Loma; Jenna Nordschow, Ayala
Pole vault: Nicole Larson, Upland
Shot put: Erin Randolph, Yucaipa

Things have been busy at Sultana High School lately, as the school recently hired longtime assistant coach Blake Robbins as head football coach to replace Zane Sweeney while seeing two-time defending CIF champion girls soccer coach Daniel Polmounter step down.

Robbins has most recently served as a defensive coordinator for the Sultans, who have a 21-game losing streak dating back to 2007. Robbins has seen success at Sultana, as he was an assistant on the 2005 Mojave River League championship team. He was hired three weeks ago according to a conversation we had yesterday.

Polmounter, fresh off a second-straight CIF-SS Division 4 title, stepped down to spend more time with his wife Stephanie and two children, 2-year old Bryant and 2-month old Camryn. Along with serving as an assistant coach on the football team and a baseball umpire, it got to be too much for the former Eisenhower kicker.

"I love coaching soccer and coaching these girls, but it didn't leave time for my family," Polmounter said. "I didn't see how I could continue coaching and still be there as a husband and father. It got to be too much."

Sultana made the clean sweep in Division 4, grabbing the Offensive Player of the Year (Brianna Gonzalez), Defensive Player of the Year (Mayra Diaz) and Coach of the Year (Danny Polmounter) honors. It's good to be the two-time defending division champs.

The division shifts in football got most of the attention by the CIF-Southern Section on Monday, but several other powerful local teams in other sports were impacted by the changes.

One of the teams most impacted was the Redlands East Valley girls volleyball team. The three-time defending CIF-SS champions are being bumped up a class from Division 2-AA to 1-A. The Baseline and Citrus Belt leagues were bumped up in softball from Division 2 to Division 1 and the Citrus Belt was bumped up from Division 2 to Division 1 in girls soccer.

The High Desert also saw its soccer prowess recognized as two-time defending Division 4 girls champion Sultana moves into Division 3, along with CIF-State Southern California Division II regional champion Granite Hills. The boys soccer teams got a bump too, with the Mojave River League moving up to Division 4 and the Desert Sky League going to Division 5.

While the county boys soccer teams were shut out of the SoCal regional brackets, the combatants in the Division 4 girls championship made the cut. D4 champion Sultana made the Division 1 bracket, where it'll play Buchanan at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Tice Park or Lamonica Stadium in Clovis. Granite Hills qualified in D2, where it'll also head to Clovis to play Clovis North Tuesday. The game will be at Tice Park or Clovis West HS.

Semifinals will be played Thursday with the championship being played Saturday at Downey Warren High School.

Division 1
Sultana at Buchanan
San Clemente at El Camino Real
Riverside King at La Costa Canyon
Rancho Buena Vista at Esperanza

Division 2
Sierra Vista at Coronado
Beckman at West Hills
Granite Hills at Clovis North
Belmont at Harvard-Westlake

Still no state champions in wrestling from San Bernardino County since Rim's Ricky Turk in 2002, but the county produced five state placers on Saturday in Bakersfield: Sultana's Matt Welch (fourth, 112), Barstow's Sean Silva (fourth, 119, 2nd time placing in state), REV's Chris Mecate (fifth, 125), Oak Hills' Robert Marchese (eighth, 160, school's first-ever state placer) and Sultana's Manuel Mazariegos (7th, heavyweight).
It's the first time Sultana's had 2 state placers in the same meet. Not a bad showing. And Welch was impressive a year after he was ineligible due to grades.
I do think, however, Rialto's Giordan Porter got a raw deal in his last match. He should've been awarded a takedown with 12 seconds left, when the referee ruled him out of bounds and he ended up losing by one point.
Sometimes you need to avoid back luck and you need to get a good draw to place. Porter and Colony's Cody Dixon, 2 CIF-SS Masters champions, were both victims of that.

The drought of no state champions from San Bernardino County will extend to eight years.
The three semifinalists from the county, all lost Saturday morning here in Bakersfield.
third-ranked Matt Welch (Sultana, 112) lost to No. 1 Alex Cisneros of Selma 4-2 in the semifinals when he was unable to get a reversal in the final seconds.
Third-ranked Sean Silva (Barstow, 119) lost to second-ranked Bryan Grubbs of La Costa Canyon 5-2 in his match.
Fourth-ranked Chris Mecate (REV, 125) lost the toughest one of all, dropping a 3-1 decision in overtime to second-ranked Chris Martinez of Fresno Clovis West.
All three are in consolation, but can now finish no higher than third.
Welch's teammate, heavyweight Manuel Mazariegos won his first match to clinch a spot among the top eight.
Oak Hills' Robert Marchese (160) became the first state placer in the first year of the school's existence, and is currently wrestling in consolation. Teammate Ray Delgado did not place.
Rialto's Giordan Porter and Colony's Cody Dixon, both hoping to become their schools' first state placers, lost their first matches Saturday and were eliminated.

Three County wrestlers made it through the first day unscathed at the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield, and will be wrestling in the semifinals Saturday morning.

Sultana senior 112-pounder Matt Welch, ranked third, will wrestle No. 1-ranked Alex Cisneros of Selma in the semifinals. Cisneros, a sophomore won 103 pounds last year.
Barstow senior 119-pounder Sean Silva won 10-0, 8-3, and 5-4. Silva, ranked third, will face second-ranked Bryan Grubbs of La Costa Canyon in the semifinals.
Redlands East Valley junior 125-pounder Chris Mecate won twice via technical fall, then 3-0 and 5-1 to advance to the semifinals. Mecate, ranked fourth, will face second-ranked Chris Martinez of Fresno Clovis West in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1-ranked Jesse Delgado of Gilroy has already lost.
Those are the 3 standouts from the county, but others are still alive in consolation.
Both of Oak Hills' wrestlers, Ray Delgado (112) and Robert Marchese (160) are still in consolation, needing to win their first match Saturday to make the top eight.
Sultana's five wrestlers started the day 8-0, but faltered after that. Other than Welch, however, only heavyweight Manuel Mazariegos is still alive among the five Sultans. Mazariegos won twice, lost 2-1, then won twice in consolation.
Rialto heavyweight Giordan Porter is still alive in consolation. He lost a 5-4, double-overtime match in the third round, but won via pin and 1-0 to remain alive.
Colony 160-pounder Cody Dixon is also alive, losing his first match by a 15-1 score, but maneuvering through consolation.
Others who didn't make Day 2:
San Gorgonio's Richie Cascante (didn't make weight at 112), Los Osos' Tim Maldonado (119), Sultana's Alec Smith (125), Michael Gonzalez (135) and Ryan McWatters (152), REV's Pedro Vazquez (130), Bloomington's Juan Alvarado (152), Hesperia's Chris Sloat (160), REV's Andrew Hudson (215, after finishing eighth last year).

Sultana left no doubt tonight, as Brianna Gonzalez scored twice and Britney Roberts had a goal and an assist for the victorious Sultans, who felt like this year's victory redeemed the close, penalty-kick nature of last year's triumph against Granite Hills.

"This was a lot less nerve-wracking," Sultana coach Daniel Polmounter said. "We proved a point tonight. All we've been hearing is how Granite is going to run the score up on us. We just played hard the entire time."

Granite Hills had its chances at times and was only outshot 11-9, but the Cougars fell in the title game for the third straight year. In four title-game appearances since 2006, all Granite Hills has to show for it is a split title in 2006 back when the CIF awarded two titles in the event of regulation ties.

Cougars coach Mike Bradbury didn't want to talk, instead asking Daily Press reporter Matthew Peters and I to direct the story toward Sultana. That story will be available in a couple hours online and in the paper tomorrow.

The High Desert remains alive and well in soccer going into this weekend's CIF-SS title games, as all three remaining teams in the boys and girls playoffs are located north of the Cajon Pass.

On the girls side, Sultana and Granite Hills will get a chance to replay their classic Division 4 championship game from a year ago, which the Sultans won on penalty kicks, 7 p.m. Friday at Downey Warren High School. The Sultans advanced to the finals with a 1-0 victory over No. 1-seeded La Puente Bishop Amat Tuesday while No. 2 Granite Hills defeated Hacienda Heights Los Altos 1-0 in the semifinals.

On the boys side, No. 1-seeded Oak Hills advanced to the Division 6 championship in its inaugural season by ousting Brentwood Tuesday. After a scoreless tie in regulation, the Bulldogs won the penalty-kick round 4-1 on goals by Abel Arriola, Brett Croft, Juan Nuno and Sergio Romero. The Bulldogs will face El Monte Mountain View at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Warren HS.

In the other semifinals Tuesday, Redlands East Valley fell to Harvard-Westlake 4-0 in Division 2 girls while Malibu defeated Ontario Christian on penalty kicks 3-2 in D6 girls after the teams played to a 1-1 tie.

Still have quite a few teams trucking, as Redlands East Valley, Sultana, Granite Hills and Ontario Christian have all advanced. All will be on the road Tuesday, as will boys semifinalist Oak Hills. The CIF had to make it tough for us, didn't it?

Division 2
Quarterfinals
Harvard-Westlake 1, Laguna Hills 0
Redlands East Valley 1, Corona del Mar 0
Beckman 1, Ayala 0
Flintridge Sacred Heart 3, Saugus 2

Semifinals
Redlands East Valley at Harvard-Westlake
Flintridge Sacred Heart at Beckman

Division 3
Quarterfinals
Sunny Hills 1, Bloomington 0

Division 4
Quarterfinals
Bishop Amat 3, Santa Maria St. Joseph's 2
Sultana 2, La Serna 1
Los Altos 1, Santa Ynez 0
Granite Hills 5, Serrano 0

Semifinals
Sultana at Bishop Amat
Granite Hills at Los Altos

Division 6
Quarterfinals
Lancaster Desert Christian 9, Calvary Murrieta 1
St. Margaret's 1, Santa Paula 0 (2OT)
Malibu 6, San Jacinto 0
Ontario Christian 3, Woodcrest Christian 0

Semifinals
St. Margaret's at Desert Christian
Ontario Christian at Malibu

Or at least, it seems that way.
Five different leagues (De Anza, Desert Sky, Mojave River, Mt. Baldy and Sunkist) with San Bernardino County schools will be sending wrestlers to Oxnard Pacifica High for the CIF-SS Northern Division individual championships on Friday and Saturday.

Four of those leagues: Desert Sky, Mojave River, Mt. Baldy and Sunkist all have wrestlers who are seeded among the top five in their weight class. The top five in each weight class advance to the CIF-SS Masters Meet next week.

Of the 70 wrestlers in the division seeded in the top five, 37 are from San Bernardino County.
Montclair leads county schools with top five seeds, (seven), followed by Bloomington and Colony (five), Sultana (four), Barstow, Victor Valley and Hesperia (three), Kaiser (two), Ontario (two), and one each for Granite Hills, Apple Valley and Rim of the World.

Six of the 14 top-seeded wrestlers in the division are also from the county: Barstow's Sean Silva (112), Hesperia's Ivan Pinto (125), Bloomington's Phillip Hendrix (130), Montclair's Joseph Martinez (135), Hesperia's Chris Sloat (160) and Sultana's Manuel Mazariegos (heavyweight).

This sport returns a defending champion, as Mojave River League champion Sultana will try to defend its Division 4 crown. Ontario Christian, also a frequent participant deep in the playoffs, notched the No. 2 seed in Division 6. Wild card games will be played Wednesday, with the first round starting Friday.

DIVISION 2
Wild Card
A: Chino at Burbank Burroughs
B: Villa Park at Nogales
C: Canyon Country Canyon at Highland
D: Fontana at Ontario
E: Palmdale at Arcadia.

First Round
Wild Card A at Harvard-Westlake
Redlands at El Dorado
Eastside at Laguna Hills
Valencia at Walnut
Wild Card B at Redlands East Valley
Glendora at Hart
Montclair at Corona del Mar
Knight at Crescenta Valley
Wild Card C at Beckman
South Hills at Burbank
Chaminade at Ayala
Wild Card D at Anaheim Canyon
Wild Card E at Saugus
Colony at Yucaipa
St. Lucy's at Lancaster
Brea Olinda at Flintridge Sacred Heart.

Pacific wrestler Samantha Cardoza won the 108-pound title at the CIF-State girls Southern Regional wrestling championships this past weekend at Covina Northview High School, heading a list of county athletes participating in the event.

Cardoza defeated Oceanside's Kalin Knight-Alvarez in the final, with Redlands East Valley's Alexis Rodriguez finishing third. Upland's Gabriella Gongora finished second in the 154-pound division to La Serna's Jackie Williams while Sultana's Sarah Bollinger took third at 132 pounds.

Redlands East Valley, buoyed by three placers in Rodriguez, Lauren Chavez (5th, 103) and Jase Osterblad (8th, 114), had the highest county team finish, taking 13th with 55 points.

In addition to T.J.'s previous post about REV's Chris Mecate (seeded third) winning the 119 pound title at the Five Counties Wrestling Invitational last Friday, there were seven more wrestlers from the county who placed at state.

The were three county wrestlers placing in the 112 pound class, as Oak Hills' unseeded Ray Delgado was second, Sultana's unseeded Matt Welch was fifth and Ayala's unseeded Andrew Delgado was eighth.

At 135 pounds, Victor Valley's unseeded Chris Swayze took seventh, while Carter's Chuck Wilson, also unseeded was eighth at 140. REV's sixth-seeded Andrew Hudson took seventh at 215 and Sultana's fifth-seeded Manny Mazariegos was third at heavyweight.

There were eight wrestlers in each weight class seeded prior to the event, and the top eight placed. As far as I can tell, Mecate, Hudson and Mazariegos were the only county wrestlers who were seeded, yet not only did they all place, but five others from the county who were unseeded placed.

Looks to me like county wrestlers are deserving of a little more respect than what was given to them at the seeding meeting.

This is one of the more simple breakdowns I have. Which is probably why I'm doing it at 4 in the morning.

1) Serrano (7-2, 3-0): Has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Mojave River League. Even a loss to Sultana Friday wouldn't change that, as the Diamondbacks own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Rim of the World.

2) Rim of the World (9-1, 3-1): Has clinched the No. 2 seed in the Mojave River League.

3) Apple Valley (4-5, 1-2): Earns a playoff berth and the No. 3 seed out of the MRL with a win over Hesperia Friday. Eliminated from consideration with a loss.

4) Hesperia (3-6, 1-2): Earns a playoff berth and the No. 3 seed out of the MRL with a win over Apple Valley Friday. Eliminated from consideration with a loss.

5) Sultana (0-9, 0-3): Eliminated from playoff consideration.

A couple of significant volleyball tournaments will take place this weekend as Redlands East Valley and Ayala host tournaments for teams looking to cram for playoff play in a couple of weeks.

The 2009 REV Volleyball Classic -- a one-day, 12-team tourney on Saturday -- will feature the Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the most recent CIF-SS Division II-AA polls. Along with Redlands East Valley, the field includes Sultana, Yucaipa and several teams from Riverside County, most notably Division 2-A No. 1 Wildomar Elsinore and 3-AA No. 3 Palm Springs. Action starts at 8 a.m. with three four-team pools - pool A (Elsinore, Riverside Poly, Sultana, Yucaipa), pool B (REV, Temecula Chaparral, Riverside King, Paloma Valley) and pool C (Palm Springs, Corona, Temescal Canyon, Norco).

The Bulldog Classic at Ayala will take place Friday and Saturday. Joining the host Bulldogs will be Rancho Cucamonga -- the No. 9 team in Division 1-A -- and San Andreas League leader Cajon.

After last season's 0-10 disaster, the second straight season that Sultana finished last in the Mojave River League, Sultans coach Zane Sweeney has had enough. The last two years have been brutal for the Sultans - who have lost their last 11 games, have lost all eight league games and have fallen twice to crosstown rival Hesperia during that time.

As Sweeney was evaluating what went wrong, he decided that Sultana had gotten a little too diversified and had lost the foundation that led it to an MRL title as recently as 2005. So when evaulating his team in the offseason, Sweeney decided that Sultana needed to pull things back a bit.

No real drama here, as everything is basically decided, especially since there are no at-large berths in the Eastern Division. But whatever, I'll give equal time.

1. Hesperia (9-0, 3-0): The Scorpions have clinched the No. 1 seed out of the league for the MRL playoffs by virtue of their victory over Serrano a couple weeks ago. Hesperia will likely be the No. 2 seed in the bracket behind Perris Citrus Hill if it defeats Apple Valley Friday.

2. Serrano (6-3, 2-1): The Diamondbacks have clinched the No. 2 seed by virtue of their victory over Rim of the World in the league opener. Serrano will likely clinch a first-round home game with a victory over Sultana Friday.

3. Rim of the World (5-4, 2-2): The Fighting Scots have clinched the No. 3 seed by virtue of their win over Apple Valley two weeks ago. They'll be starting the playoffs on the road no matter what.

4. Apple Valley (4-5, 1-2): Eliminated from playoff contention.

5. Sultana (0-9. 0-3): Eliminated from playoff contention.