SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: ROUNDUP, February 25, 2024
La Habra wins boys basketball sectional title; La Salle wins Pizza Chalet Baseball Tournament; South Hills defeats Bishop Amat in football.
BOYS BASKETBALL
La Habra team photo after winning a CIF-SS Div. 3AA Final. (Escarcega)
La Habra 76, St. Bonaventure 45: It was a tour de force effort for the Highlanders as they held the Seraphs to 8 points in the second quarter and cruised to an authoritative win in a CIF-SS Div. 3AA final at the Toyota Arena. Jaedon Anderson made 12 of 15 free throws and finished the game as the leading scorer with 22 points with Acen Jimenez adding 21 points. Grayson Sinek added 11 points and Sebastian Esparza tallied 10 points.
Mathew Wilson led St. Bonaventure with 13 points and Kaden Glover pumped in 10 points. We’ll have much more on this game in our Monday column as we go all-access with La Habra Basketball.
Temecula Valley 53, Northview 40: The second-seeded Vikings fell behind 25-12 at halftime and never recovered in losing a CIF-SS Div. 4A championship final at the Toyota Arena. Northview made 11 of 29 field goals in the first half and was held to five points in the second quarter.
Caleb Mckendrick led the way with 11 points and seven rebounds. We will also have a lot more on this game in our Monday column.
Alemany 86, Bosco Tech 80, 3 OT: In the game of the year in the Southern Section playoffs, Alemany and Bosco Tech put on a show in a Div. 3A final that will be remembered for years to come. Jaden Erami, who led all scorers in the game with 37 points, made a 20-foot 3-pointer just before the horn sounded to end the second overtime period.
Ryan Osborne was 7 of 10 from the field and finished the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds. David Tadian added nine points. Alemany was led by Jared Mims with 25 points and Logan Dorsey added 22 points. Bourgeois Tshilobo also had a big game with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
WRESTLING
CIF STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Faith Bartoszek of Northview in action on Saturday at the CIF State Wrestling Championships. She would win the state title at 140 pounds. (Photo: RT Tolentino)
It was a huge day for the area as five wrestlers won gold medals on the final day of the meet that took place at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
In the boys division, Ronnie Ramirez repeated as a state champion at 120 pounds with a 4-1 win over Nathan Carrillo of St. John Bosco. Teammate Christian Garcia also earned a state medal as he took 6th place.
Northview also had a wrestler hit the medal stand as Sonny Acuna finished in 6th place at 190 pounds. San Marino’s pair of Mikel David Uyemura and Ryder Yoshitake advanced to the third day of the tournament but lost in the “blood” round and didn’t make the stand.
In the girl’s division, it was a career day for Walnut as they won the team point title and had two wrestlers win a state title. Anaya Falcon won her third straight title with an 8-0 win over Olivia Lopez of Hamilton. Falcon was pushed in the semifinals as she emerged with a narrow 7-6 win over Jazmine Turner of Grace Davis.
Walnut’s other state champion was Deandra Meza. The top seed at 110 pounds, defeated Kaiya Maggini 5-0 to capture the title. Meza also had a tough semifinal match as she held off Poway’s Eden Hernandez for a 3-2 win. This is the first state title for Meza.
Walnut had two other state placers in Eliana Garcia (8th at 120) and Jasmine Macias (3rd at 130).
Northview’s Faith Bartoszek capped off an undefeated season with an impressive 9-5 win over Olivia Davis of Monte Vista HS. Bartoszek, who was a transfer from Wyoming Seminary Prep School in Pennsylvania, was impressive in the semifinal as she pinned top-seeded Gianna Dibenedetto of Bella Vista in the first round.
Northview had one other wrestler earn a state medal as Samantha Rivera, who failed to clear CIF-SS Masters last season, finished in 6th place at 115 pounds.
Gabrielino also made history as Juliana Marquez became the program’s first state champion as she pinned top-seeded Kathryn Hingano of Rio Linda in the second period of their 190-pound championship match.
Glendora’s Samantha Sachs suffered a tough break as she incurred a minor injury in the second period of her championship match against Christian Osorio of Downey. Sachs did return to the match but was subsequently pinned with 15 seconds left in the period. She is the first Glendora wrestler to make a state final.
Ayala’s BK Martinez finished in sixth place at 110 pounds and Schurr’s Isabella Sosa took 7th place at 190 pounds.
BASEBALL
AT THE PIZZA CHALET TOURNAMENT
(Photo: La Salle Athletics)
La Salle 6, Bonita 3: It was the fourth inning that proved to be the undoing for the Bearcats as the Lancers scored six runs off starting pitcher Daniel Nageer. The key hit of the inning was a single to center field by UCLA signee David Mysza that scored two runs. AC Nieto followed that with a double to left field that brought in two more runs, The Lancers brought 11 hitters to the plate in the 3rd inning. Bonita’s Colton Perez and Diego Vasquez brought in runs for the Bearcats in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Frane Flores, a freshman, was impressive as he allowed one run on two hits and struck out two in 3 2/3 innings of work. La Salle’s record is 6-0.
Bishop Amat 5, Crescenta Valley 0: Miguel Perez drove in four runs and Jacob Campos went 2 for 3.
IN OTHER ACTION:
Arcadia 7, Ayala 3: Arcadia pitcher Fernando Palencia allowed one earned run on four hits and struck out seven to earn the win. Damian Catano drove in two runs.
La Habra 4, Lakewood 0: Jared Day tossed five shutout innings, struck out six, and allowed two hits.
Santa Fe 1, Sonora 0: Angel Rangel hurled six shutout innings, allowing two hits and fanning eight to earn the win.
San Marino 6, Flintridge Prep 1: Tomas Bilvado allowed one run on three hits and fanned four hitters in picking up the win.
Whittier 7, Bell Gardens 5: The Cardinal bats were alive collecting 12 hits on the day. Jose Fonseca had a homerun and Andrew Ruvalcaba had 3 hits, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs. Jacob Rocha struck out 8 to earn his third win of the year.
Maranatha 6, San Luis Obispo 1: Andrew Miller, a Cal State Fullerton signee, tossed four scoreless innings to pick up the win. AJ Beltre hit a triple and drove in two runs.
Monrovia 6, Cathedral 1: Sophomore Tory Grise had two hits and Isaias Hernandez drove in two runs for the Wildcats.
Monrovia 4, Burroughs 2: In the nightcap, Troy Grise drove in two runs and Andrew Cito allowed one earned run on two hits and fanned four hitters.
South Pasadena 11, Glendale 10: Griffin Johnson had two doubles and Devin Robinson drove in three runs for the Tigers.
Covina 14, Marshall 0: Diego Lopez (Soph) threw (5) shutout innings, giving up (3) hits and striking out (6) for the win.
Other Scores
Rosemead 4, Hoover 3
Arroyo 6, Alhambra 4
Pasadena 11, Mountain View 1
Azusa 9, Edgewood 1
Redondo Union 3, St. Paul 2
Sunny Hills 14, Schurr 5
Woodbridge 1, Los Altos 0
Jurupa Hills 12, Pasadena Poly 1
SOFTBALL
California 6, Cypress 1: Pricilla Ramirez, a Long Beach State commit, pitched five shutout innings and struck out eight to earn the decision. Isabella Salas hit a three-run homer.
South Hills 8, Bishop Amat 4: Kayla Sigala, a Syracuse signee, connected on a three-run homer that proved to be the difference.
Covina 2, Temple City 2: In her season debut, Rams pitcher Kassandra Gewecke allowed one run on three hits and fanned seven.
Other Scores
Duarte 1, La Canada 1
Rowland 10, King/Drew 0
Baldwin Park 15, Whittier 10
Schurr 8, Eagle Rock 1
Ramona Convent 6, Mountain View 2
La Canada 5, Temple City 4
Schurr 7, LA Poly 2