The Calvary Chapel wrestling team has put together a couple of good weekends of work recently.
A couple of weeks after a third-place finish at the Black Watch Invitational, Calvary Chapel made a strong push for the team title Saturday at the Asics SoCal Challenge, but the Warriors had to settle for second place.
“Our goal was to try and pin everybody, and with seven guys make a statement and win this tournament,” Coach Jacob Harman said. “We fell short. I think we missed some opportunities in the quarters when we could have got some more pins, but we have some great data to work on and we have a lot of great kids that are ready to work.
“To me it is bittersweet because I believed we had the potential to win this tournament. Maybe that sounds crazy, but we’re right here, in second place, 20 points away with only seven kids.”
Elijah Palacio (106), Christian Claudio (132) and Johnny Knowles (138) were individual champions for Calvary Chapel. Gabe Collins (145), Morris Wilner (152) and Jacob Collins (160) were third at their weights.
“The last two weeks, we’ve been plodding along and improving,” Harman said. “I have a young team and I’m really proud of how they trust us. When we will tell them you can do it, they come out here with a complete total belief that they can do it.
“I’m trying to make the most out of a small team, but I love what we’re doing and I appreciate the faith that these guys have in our (coaching) staff.” …
This week’s top dual is tonight in the South Coast League as No. 2 Laguna Hills hosts No. 4 Trabuco Hills. The Five Counties Invitational begins Friday at Fountain Valley and concludes Saturday. Also Saturday, Troy is hosting a one-day tournament and Tustin is hosting a one-day girls wrestling tournament.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
GIRLS WATER POLO
The thoughtfulness of the gesture brought tears to Edison girls water polo coach Diggy Riley.
Before the Chargers played Huntington Beach last week in a Sunset League showdown, the Oilers presented their crosstown rivals with cancer awareness swim caps in honor of Riley’s wife, Sally, who is battling cancer in her lower back.
Players from both teams wore the caps during warm-ups at Newport Harbor.
“It just puts everything in perspective,” Riley said of the gesture. “It’s something you just don’t expect in a heated game.”
Riley’s wife had surgery in November to remove a tumor that was touching her spine. She recently started another round of chemotherapy but is feeling better and hopes to attend Edison’s match Wednesday at Newport Harbor, Riley said.
Edison edged Huntington Beach, 7-6, in a game that could determine third place and the final automatic playoff berth in the Sunset League. Michigan-bound Delaney Cleveland scored the winner with one minute left for Edison. …
The Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions runs Thursday through Saturday at Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos High of Goleta. The county’s entire top 10 is part of the field, led by top-ranked and defending champion Laguna Beach (10-0). …
Senior Makenzie Fischer became Laguna Beach’s all-time leading scorer earlier this season, passing Olympic gold medalist Annika Dries at the Holiday Cup. …
Kyla Pickell, Maddie Chen, Sophia Bajak and Shawna Kedzie of champion University were selected all-tournament at the Santa Ana Valley-hosted Falcon Tournament.
– DAN ALBANO
BOYS SOCCER
University has scored 26 goals this season, and Indiana Fuller is responsible for almost half of them.
Fuller has scored 11 goals, which puts him in a tie for third with in the county with JSerra’s Ivan Canales and Fountain Valley’s Larry Turner. Fuller also has four assists.
“We’re playing a style that suits him and he’s working hard to get himself in goal-scoring positions,” University coach Martin Carrington said. “He’s making the most of the chances being created for him whilst also creating for himself.”
The Trojans will need Fuller to be at his best this week as they face two contenders for the Pacific Coast League championship – Beckman and Corona del Mar.
“It looks to be a four-way battle for league between us, Beckman, CdM and favorites Northwood,” Carrington said. “(It’s) going to be a very competitive league.”
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS SOCCER
Hat tricks are rare. Texas hat tricks are even less common.
The latter is a four-goal performance. Last week, a pair of small school forwards accomplished the feat on the same day.
Whittier Christian’s Natalie Oronoz and Oxford Academy’s Brianna Washa each knocked in four goals during nonleague victories last Tuesday.
In addition to netting four goals, Oronoz also dished out three assists in the Heralds’ 10-0 win over Mary Star of San Pedro. The veteran striker capped her week by scoring Whittier Christian’s only goal in a 1-1 draw with Valley Christian of Cerritos.
Washa’s four-goal outing came in a 7-1 victory over Whitney of Cerritos. The Patriots followed that with a 10-2 win over Calvary Chapel of Downey. Washa was one of four Oxford players with two goals that afternoon. …
Looking ahead to this week, No. 4 Huntington Beach and No. 8 Los Alamitos will take the pitch today in another critical Sunset League match. The Oilers opened league play with a 2-2 overtime draw against second-ranked Edison last Thursday, while the Griffins earned a 2-1 win over Newport Harbor.
On Thursday afternoon, No. 7 Santa Margarita will host Mater Dei in a Trinity League showdown. The Eagles and Monarchs finished 1-2 in league a season ago.
Capistrano Valley will look to make it consecutive weeks knocking off a ranked foe. The Cougars handed Tesoro its first loss of the season last Tuesday. On Thursday, they’ll host top-ranked Aliso Niguel in a South Coast League match.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
CROSS COUNTRY
The CIF-Southern Section announced Monday that next year’s cross country prelims will be held at the new Riverside City Cross Country Course, formerly the Riverside Golf Club. The finals will be held at Mt. SAC.
The move is being made, in part, the CIF said, because of the “upcoming renovation of the entire sports complex” at Mt. SAC.
“We feel that this will give our teams a new experience and a quality course in preparation for CIF-SS Finals and the CIF State meet,” said CIF-SS assistant commissioner Rainer Wulf.
