EASTVALE – Aside from a brief moment in the finals, Aleeah Gould had a solid weekend of wrestling at the CIF-SS Girls Individual Championships.
Gould, a junior from Canyon, won all five matches by fall en route to finishing first at 106 pounds at Eleanor Roosevelt High to qualify for her second consecutive CIF State Tournament.
Still, that takedown she allowed was still on her mind and will likely provide the motivation for the upcoming weeks.
The top eight wrestlers at each weight class advances to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at the Visalia Convention Center.
“I’m a little disappointed in some parts, but overall I did pretty good,” she said. “I know what I did wrong and I can work on that.”
Aside from that she was nearly flawless for the weekend, with three of her victories by fall coming in the first period. And for good measure, she was selected Lower Weight MVP. In the finals, she pinned Corona’s Sugey Ceja in 31 seconds.
She has come a long way from her first year.
“I went 0-2 at CIF and I didn’t make the second day,” she said of her freshman year. “Right now, I’m undefeated and that is a lot of pressure, but I just try to wrestle it match by match. If I lose, fix what I need to work on and if I did my best and the girl was just better, it happens. I never underestimate my opponent.”
Gould finished first at 111 at last year’s tournament and placed fifth at the state tournament. This year, she’s undefeated and the top-ranked wrestler in the state. She believes she is better prepared to handle what’s ahead of her at the state tournament. .
“I’m ready for the spotlight match, if I make the finals,” she said.
Kennedy’s Miyuki Pugrad won the 126-pound title defeating Maddy Tung of Santa Monica by fall. Pugrad also won all of her matches by fall. This will be her third state appearance. She was 0-2 as a freshman and 1-2 last year as a sophomore.
“I felt really mature and very calm going into my matches,” she said. “This year, my mental game is better.”
Valencia’s Gabby Garcia, a two-time CIF State champion, finished third. Garcia lost to Tung in the semifinals, but won her final two matches to secure her third-place finish.
At 143, Buena Park’s Adrianna Escobedo defeated Tustin’s Jasmine Cordero by fall in the finals. Cordero had defeated Escobedo in their first two meetings this season.
Magnolia led all county schools with three state qualifiers (Arlene Hernandez, 150; Esther Severiano, 170 and Janeet Garcilazo, 189).
Godinez’s Diana Hernandez (121), Mater Dei’s Julie Calzada (137), Santa Ana’s Josahandy Moreno (137), Tustin’s Cordero and Magnolia’s Hernandez qualified for their second consecutive state tournament.
Northview of Covina led all schools with nine qualifiers.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
