Northview’s Steven Lopez, right, defeated St. John Bosco’s Leon Gonzalez 17-2 in the 170 lb match during the CIF-SS Division 2 Dual wrestling championships at South Hills High School on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 in West Covina, Calif. St. John Bosco won 45-24.
(Keith Birmingham/ San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
WEST COVINA — There will be no three-peat for the Northview High School wrestling team.
St. John Bosco, which lost to the Vikings for the division crown last season, rode a wave of three early wins by fall to score a 45-24 victory over Northview in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 dual finals Saturday at South Hills High School.
The Braves, who routed Redlands East Valley (75-6), Charter Oak (57-15 and Santa Ana (50-24) en route to the finals, opened the championship match with consecutive wins by fall from Johnny Zazazueta, Joseph Dominguez and Aaron Pico for an 18-0 lead.
Northview, which was dominant in victories over South Hills (50-13) and Servite (55-13), looked like it might rally, pulling within 30-24 following wins by fall from Bryan Salinas and Anthony Orozco in the 182-pound and 220 bouts, respectively.
But the Vikings’ fate was all but sealed when No. 2 heavyweight Jose Alonzo, filling in for Josh Alonzo, who was injured in the victory over Servite, was pinned by Charles Avidrez late in the second period, giving St. John Bosco a 36-24 lead with two matches left and forcing Northview to go for pins in the final two bouts.
Northview assistant coach Vince Le Farge: “Duals are a tournament of momentum. We lost some really close matches, and those were big point swings. We knew it was going to be a battle. Even on a good day, we knew it was going to be tough to beat those guys. They have a lot of talent, they’re well-coached. They are a good team. I think today we just have to take our hats off to them.”
More local results after the jump
DIVISION 2
Charter Oak and South Hills advanced to the quarterfinals, losing to top seeds St.John Bosco (57-15) and Northview (50-13), respectively. The Chargers beat Thousand Oaks (54-23) in the first round, with the Huskies opening with a 70-6 win over Yucaipa.
Covina lost to Troy (43-30) in the first round.
DIVISION 4
Bishop Amat, with wins over Ventura (37-23) and Montclair (57-17), advanced to the semifinals,losing to top-seeded Bloomington, 56-12.
The Lancers’ Jonathon Ornales (106), Billy Carmouche (132) and Tristan Ruiz (160) went undefeated in the tournament.
DIVISION 6
Sierra Vista went 1-1, losing in the quarterfinals to Trabuco Hills (43-25). The Dons, who won the Montview League, beat Kern Valley (69-12) in the first round.
Gladstone lost in the first round to Carter, 84-0.
GIRLS
CIF-SS QUALIFIER
Sabrina Solis (120) and Katie Auxier (148) each won their weight class to lead Northview to the top spot at the CIF-SS girls qualifier. The Vikings placed eight in the top eight to the second annual CIF State Championships, scheduled for Feb. 22-23 at Lemoore High School. The Vikings won with 227 points. West Covina, which had four qualifiers, was fourth with 147 points.
Other locals winning titles were Charter Oak’s Brittny Hernandez (105)and Savanna Barr (116); Sierra Vista’s Marisela Fierro (124); West Covina’s Alyssa LaFrancis (167) and La Puente’s Sharon Garcia (191). In all, the area produced 27 qualifiers.
