OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS & VIEWS : Sports Showdowns

High school playoffs for winter sports start this week, and there is no shortage of hot contenders:

* Mater Dei will try for a third consecutive Southern Section boys’ basketball championship. The Monarchs are ranked second in the nation by USA Today.

* The unbeaten Brea Olinda girls seek their sixth consecutive section basketball title and fourth straight state championship. Also headed into the playoffs undefeated is Woodbridge, but the teams aren’t on a collision course; they compete in different divisions.

* Marina enters the girls’ soccer playoffs ranked No. 1 in the section and county. The Vikings shared the Division I title with Claremont last season. In boys’ soccer, defending Division II champion Santa Ana Valley and Division IV co-champions Santa Margarita return as unseeded entrants. The county’s top-ranked team, Corona del Mar, is seeded fourth in Division IV.

* Calvary Chapel looks to make it back-to-back section and state wrestling titles, and El Modena hopes to improve upon last year’s Division I runner-up status.