“He was trying to keep me down,” said Northview’s Frank Martinez, who improved to 48-0. “So, I tried to get my hands up and get out.”

Not only did the Whittier area and San Gabriel Valley combine to qualify 14 wrestlers to next week’s CIF-State meet but the areas also produced a couple of champions at Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet at Temecula Valley High. Perhaps the day’s biggest drama took place in the 140-pound final between Northview High School’s Frank Martinez and El Dorado’s Charles Chavez.

Girls Basketball
CIF-SS Playoffs
Saturday’s semifinal results
Division 2A
Woodbridge 42, Diamond Ranch 34
Division 3AA
Ingelwood 63, Bishop Amat 48
Division 3A
Santa Margarita 57, Bonita 43

Bonita game story: Santa Margarita’s girls basketball team used experience, physical half-court defense and spectacular play by Melissa Zornig to defeat Bonita 57-43 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A semifinals on Saturday.

Bishop Amat game story: The Sentinels looked a lot like one of the Southland’s top teams by using a 12-0 run that started in the third quarter and ended early in the fourth to put away Amat in a 63-48 victory in the Division 3AA semifinals at Morningside High.

Diamond Ranch game story: It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t much of an upset, but third-seeded Woodbridge High School knocked off second-seeded Diamond Ranch 42-34 in Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 2A girls basketball semifinals at Ganesha High.

Above: Walnut players celebrate with coach Lani Ruh after winning the school’s first water polo title with an 11-6 victory over Los Altos on Saturday.

IRVINE – Los Altos High School and freshman sensation Stephanie Contreras might have a CIF-Southern Section record, but Walnut has something a bit more – a CIF-SS title.
Jacklyn Marriott scored three goals and Alex Escobar and Allie Zell had two each and the Mustangs won the school’s first girls water polo championship with an 11-6 victory over Miramonte League rival Los Altos in the Division 6 final Saturday morning at William Woollett Aquatic Center.
Walnut, also getting eight saves from goalie Allison Hu, finished 25-6. Los Atlos, which received two goals from Stephanie Tuning, finished 24-9. Contreras, who set the CIF-SS record for most goals in the season in Wednesday’s semifinal victory over Chadwick, was held to one goal on nine shots. She finished the season with 188 goals, which eclipsed the previous mark of 183, set by La Salle’s Kara-Leigh Huse in 2008.
“It’s really exciting,” Walnut coach Lani Ruh said. “This is the best any water polo team has done in Walnut history, boys or girls, so it’s really, really exciting.
“The girls worked really hard for this. I’m really proud of them.”

Continue reading “Girls Water Polo: Walnut beats Los Altos 11-6 to win Division 6 title for first time in history” »

Nadia Brianne Matthews, a star sophomore at Mater Dei and who had verball committed to play for Arizona, committed suicide. She was only 16.

Bishop Amat came to play tonight, they trailed by 5 and 10 points most of the night before settling on a 66-54 loss. Daniel Rodriguez (14 points) and Tyler Goldston (15 points) can ball, but the Lancers missed too many 3-pointers early, but still only trailed 25-21 at half. They shutout Cal-bound Allen Crabbe in the first half, but he made the difference in the second, where he scored all of his game-high 21 points. The other Cal-guy Richard Solomon finished with 8 points, but all in all, I got to take my hat off, they competed the whole night.

Friday’s semifinals
Division 2A
Eisenhower 82, Damien 74
Division 4A
Price 66, Bishop Amat 54
Division 5AA
La Verne Lutheran 60, Pasadena Poly 42

Bishop Amat game story: Amat, despite throwing a late scare into Price, suffered a 66-54 loss in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs.

Damien game story: Alex Varner put Eisenhower on his back and led them to their second consecutive CIF-SS title game, scoring seven consecutive points in a 92-second span in the fourth period to pave the way for an 82-74 Ike victory at Redlands East Valley High School, its second consecutive semifinal victory over Damien.

CIF-SS Girls Soccer Playoffs
Tuesday’s semifinals
Division 4
Sultana at Bishop Amat, 3 p.m.
Granite Hills at Los Altos, 3 p.m.
Division 7
Alverno at Sierra Vista, 3 p.m.

Sierra Vista game story: Lizbeth “Chata” Rodriguez, dropping into midfield to find the ball and a little space to operate, scored two goals and set up a third in the first 11 minutes of the second half to lead Sierra Vista to a 5-0 romp and into the semifinals for the first time.

Amat game story in Santa Maria Times: However, by the match’s end it was a herculean comeback by the visiting Lancers that squashed the Knights’ upset bid, ending one of the greatest soccer seasons in St. Joseph history.

By Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer
LA PUENTE — Bringing new meaning to the phrase, “survive and advance,” the Los Altos High School girls soccer team held its collective breath as Santa Ynez’s 32-goal scorer Alisa Silsbee broke free in stoppage time on a defensive breakdown, leaving her all alone with Los Altos goalkeeper Justine Padilla. Silsbee’s shot, however, hit the left post and Emily Ineman’s follow skidded wide, allowing the Conquerors to escape with a 1-0 victory over the Pirates (18-7-4) in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinal at La Puente High School on Friday. (To Continue, click thread).

Friday’s Girls Soccer quarterfinals
Division 4
Bishop Amat 3, Santa Maria St. Joseph 2
Sultana 2, La Serna 1, sudden death OT
Los Altos 1, Santa Ynez 0
Granite Hills 5, Serrano 0
Division 7
Sierra Vista 5, St. Paul 0
Alverno 3, Cate 1

Continue reading “Girls Soccer: Bishop Amat and Los Altos both win, a game away from mammoth rematch in championship; Sierra Vista wins easy again, 5-0” »

For complete pairings and results of the Masters, click thread

By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
February is about surviving and advancing for high school wrestlers.
It’s the same this weekend, when 35 area competitors look to advance to next week’s CIF State championships when they take part in the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet at Temecula High School. The meet begins today at 10 a.m., with preliminary bouts, and concludes Saturday. The top nine competitors in each weight class advance to the state championships, scheduled for March 5-6 at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

Continue reading “Wrestling: Masters Meet takes center stage” »