February 2011 Archives

A total of 12 wrestlers from the Inland Valley placed in the top 9 in their respective weight classes at Saturday's CIF-SS Masters Meet at Temecula Valley, qualifying them for the CIF State Championships at Bakersfield.

To give it perspective, with Masters results available on the internet going back to 2001, the most state qualifiers the Inland Valley produced in any year during that time was 2004 and 2005, when there were 11. Last year, there were only four.

A list of state qualifers by school: Alta Loma 3 (likely the most in school history), Los Osos 2, Colony 2, Chino Hills 2, Kaiser 1, Etiwanda 1, Diamond Bar 1. The total could've been higher: Montclair, Upland and Diamond Bar all had wrestlers lose in the 9th place match.

Here's perhaps the most impressive thing about the Inland Valley wrestlers, is the youth. Of the 12 qualifiers, only two are seniors: Diamond Bar heavyweight Brian Ryu (who qualified for the 2nd straight year) and Colony's 125-pounder Gilbert Gomez. Eight of the wrestlers are juniors (Chino Hills' Christian Martin and Brody Goens, Alta Loma's Eli Mack and Jacob Leon, Etiwanda's J.J. Everard, Kaiser's Anthony Flores, Colony's Anthony Soto and Los Osos' Timmy Maldonado) and two: Los Osos' Jon Solano (160) and Alta Loma's Michael Rodriguez (130) are only sophomores. That bodes well for the next couple of years of Inland Valley wrestling.

Here's a link to the complete results:
http://www.tmi.150m.com/Results2010-2011/11-SSM-F.pdf

After the first day of the CIF-SS Masters Wrestling Championships at Temecula Valley on Friday, 5 wrestlers from the Inland Valley have advanced to the semifinals and clinched a spot among the top six. The top 9 in each weight class advance to the CIF State Championships at Bakersfield next weekend. There are 10 others from the Inland Valley alive overall in consolation. In each weight class, there are 12 wrestlers who make it to day 2.

Inland Valley semifinalists: 103: Christian Martin (Chino Hills, after finishing 3rd last week), 119: Timmy Maldonado (Los Osos, 2nd) ; 140: Eli Mack (Alta Loma, 1st); 160: Jon Solano (Los Osos, 1st); 189: Anthony Flores (Kaiser), 1st).

Others still alive: 103: Anthony Soto (Colony), 125: Spencer Glasheen (Upland), Gilbert Gomez (Colony); 130: Michael Rodriguez (Alta Loma); 135: Jacob Leon (Alta Loma); 171: Brody Goens (Chino HIlls), Kevin Kim (Diamond Bar); 215: J.J. Everard (Etiwanda); Heavyweight: Martin Gonzalez (Montclair), Brian Ryu (Diamond Bar).

Teams with wrestlers alive: Alta Loma 3, Diamond Bar 2, Chino Hills 2, Los Osos 2, Colony 2, Kaiser 1, Upland 1, Etiwanda 1, Montclair 1.

Entering the final game of the regular season with 23 wins in 25 games, Bonita girls basketball coach Darren Baumunk admitted he still needed some convincing.
Losing eight straight meetings to one team apparently leaves a lasting mark.

Bonita defeated nemisis Diamond Ranch Friday night 66-58 to earn its second win over the second-place Panthers this season and finish undefeated in the Hacienda League.
Bonita built a 17-point lead in the first quarter but much like the first meeting allowed Diamond Ranch to storm back. It took a put-back with two seconds remaining for the Bearcats to claim the first meeting, a 50-48 win on Jan. 24.

"We had gone 0-8 against these guys coming into this year and sometimes you think maybe it was by luck that shot went in last time," Baumunk said. "I don't think we had gotten over that hump with them until tonight."

Los Osos basketball coach David Smith has organized the second Hoops for Hope event set for March 12 at Los Osos that will feature basketball teams from five local fire departments playing for charity.

After raising over $17,000 in February of last year that was donated to San Antonio Hospital and City of Hope Cancer Center, the fund-raising event for cancer research is hoping to receive $20,000 in donations this year, according to Smith, a survivor of stage four colorectal cancer.

The basketball tournament between fire departments from Chino, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland was inspired by the Los Osos basketball coach and the late Chip Smith, an Ontario Fire Department Captain whom Smith met while undergoing cancer treatment last year.

BASKETBALL
BOYS
DIVISION 1-AA
1. Long Beach Poly
2. Mater Dei
3. Corona Centennial
4. Etiwanda
5. Murrieta Valley
6. Montebello
7. Pasadena
8. Eisenhower
9. Roosevelt
10. Thousand Oaks

Western Christian hired Kevin Oberlander as its new head football coach Wednesday after Scotty Kirkpatrick stepped down following the 2010 season. Oberlander has served as quarterback coach and assistant offensive coordinator the last three years for a La Habra Whittier Christian program that reached the CIF-SS Mid-Valley finals last season and the semifinals in 2009.

Western Christian compiled a 4-16 record the past two seasons under Kirkpatrick, who stepped down to spend more time with his family. Whittier Christian's record over the past two years is a combined 21-6.

Oberlander is a native of Atwater and played at Trinity University, an NAIA school outside of Chicago, where he coached after a stint playing arena football in Omaha, Neb. Oberlander's wife graduated from Western Christian in 2002.

"For a young coach, he brings a lot of experience from the college level to his most recent experience at Whittier Christian High School." Western Christian athletic director Nick Karavedas said. "Coach Oberlander understands that building a quality football program begins with building quality young men. We're excited about what he brings and for the future of Western Christian football."

Here is a list of each football player who signed a national letter of intent Wednesday from the Daily Bulletin coverage area and all of San Bernardino County.

Promise Amadi, WR, Chino - Hawaii
Josh Armstrong, DB, Redlands East Valley - Sacramento State (FCS)
Devon Blackmon, WR, Summit - Oregon
Allen Brown, OL, San Dimas - Fresno State
Desman Carter, DB, Kaiser - Nevada
Jacoby Carter, DB, Diamond Ranch - Sacramento State (FCS)
Joseph Carter, DE, Chaffey College - Nebraska
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, DB, Chino Hills - Oregon
Walter Earnest, DE, Kaiser - UC Davis (FCS)
Tyler Ervin, RB/DB, Colton - San Jose State
Johntel Franklin, DB, Victor Valley College - Texas A&M
Rodney Hardrick, LB, Colton - Oregon
Nate Harris, DB, Chino Hills - Montana (FCS)
Dallas Kelley, LB, Chaffey College - USC
Daniel Kessler, QB, Claremont - Utah (preferred walk-on)
Marcus Mason, RB, Etiwanda - Washington State
Justin Nunes, QB, Upland - UC Davis (FCS)
Quinton Pedroza, WR, Chino - Utah
Paul Pitts, WR, Los Osos - San Diego State
Jamal Prater, OL, Etiwanda - Oregon
Chase Price, RB, Diamond Ranch - San Diego State
Paul Rodriguez, OL, San Gorgonio - San Diego State
Greg Sherwood, Los Osos, LB - Nebraska at Kearney (Division II)
Christian Solis, Western Christian, WR - Malone University (Division II)
John Siliga, DL, Redlands - Portland State (FCS)
Jordan Smith, OL, Redlands - San Diego State
Daimion Stafford, DB, Chaffey College - Nebraska
Dennis Taylor, LB, Kaiser - Portland State (FCS)
John Taylor, OL/DL, Colton - Sacramento State (FCS)
Andrew Tibbs, OL/DL,Colony - Bemidji State (Division II)
Brandon Tuliaupupu, DL, Claremont - UCLA
Jake Van Ginkel, K, Upland - Boise State
Dominique Williams, WR, Garey - Washington State

Aside from Devon Blackmon, the Summit High School receiver who signed with Oregon Wednesday morning, USC and UCLA took their time making inroads to the Inland Valley.
USC waited until precisely 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, UCLA three days before national signing day.

When Chino head football coach Matt McCain fielded a call from USC head coach Lane Kiffin early this morning it only added to the burden on Quinton Pedroza's mind. After his first and only season of high school football, the senior receiver/safety who had just spent the last three weeks mulling over offers from Utah and Arizona State had one more school to ponder when USC offered him two and a half hours before Chino's 10:30 a.m. signing ceremony Wednesday.

"I think he was already overwhelmed," McCain said. "It was a lot of stress when they came on board and I think it was just too late. thought it was a big deal but it didn't have the effect on him I thought it would. You had Utah waiting for their letter of intent and he was racing against the clock."

Pedroza, who committed to Arizona State Jan. 8 before Utah offered him a scholarship Jan. 11, had already donemore thinking than he ever bargained for. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senoir signed with Utah, at 10:30.

On the eve of National Signing Day, here is a list of football players in the Daily Bulletin coverage area and the schools with which they are expected to sign on Wednesday.

Promise Amadi, Chino, WR - Hawaii
Devon Blackmon, Summit, WR - Oregon
Allen Brown, San Dimas, OT - Fresno State
Desman Carter, DB, Kaiser - Nevada
Jacoby Carter, Diamond Ranch, CB - Sacramento State (FCS)
Joseph Carter, DE, Chaffey College - Nebraska
Walter Earnest, DE, Kaiser - UC Davis (FCS)
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Chino Hills, DB - Oregon
Nate Harris, Chino Hills, RB/CB - Montana
Dallas Kelley, LB, Chaffey College - USC
Daniel Kessler, Claremont, QB - Utah (preferred walk-on)
Marcus Mason, Etiwanda, RB - Washington State
Quinton Pedroza, Chino, WR/DB - Arizona State
Paul Pitts, Los Osos, WR - San Diego State
Jamal Prater, Etiwanda, OT - Oregon
Chase Price, Diamond Ranch, RB - San Diego State
Greg Sherwood, Los Osos, LB - Nebraska at Kearney (Division II)
Christian Solis, Western Christian, WR - Malone University (Division II)
Dennis Taylor, LB, Kaiser - Portland State (FCS)
Andrew Tibbs, OL/DL,Colony - Bemidji State (Division II)
Brandon Tuliaupupu, Claremont, DT - UCLA
Jake Van Ginkel, Upland, K - Boise State
Dominique Williams, Garey, WR - Washington State

Claremont's Brandon Tuliaupupu made a late change of plans, accepting a late offer from UCLA on Monday after having made a verbal commitment to Washington State on January 16, according to Claremont head coach Mike Collins. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive tackle had 63 tackles and four sacks in helping Claremont to a second-place finish in the Sierra League this season. Rivals.com rates the three-star senior the No. 52 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 98 player in California.