Wrestlers Begin Road to State Finals

Southern Section wrestling finals for the Channel, Marmonte, Golden and Mission leagues take place Saturday, as wrestlers begin their quest to qualify for the state finals March 6-7 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Senior Cristobal Gonzalez of Ventura, 36-2 at 189 pounds and third in the state last season, is favored to win a third consecutive Channel League title at Dos Pueblos High.

Ventura’s Joe Martinez (215 pounds), 25-3, and Dustin Clocherty (130), 28-2, also are favored to win titles. Senior Spikie Gonzalez (103-112) and Ramon Rodriguez (140) of Rio Mesa are defending league champions.

The Marmonte League finals at Channel Islands will feature senior heavyweight Chad Troxler of Simi Valley, who is 36-4 with 20 pins and has placed first in three tournaments. Troxler and senior Dylan Hull of Agoura (189) are defending league champions.

Highland will strive for a sixth consecutive Golden League title at Palmdale. The Bulldogs, defending Division IV dual meet and individual champions, are 29-0 in league dual meets since entering the league in 1992.

Senior Stuart Young (152), defending Division IV champion, is 37-5. Juniors John Garfinkel (140), 41-1, and Robert Estrada (145), 31-9, are defending league champions. Junior Devon Zemp of Palmdale (130), second in league last season, is 37-2.

Alemany, the only area team in the Mission League, will compete at St. John Bosco. Senior Alex Herrera (130-135), who placed fourth in the Division IV finals last season, is 26-3.

Southern Section division finals are scheduled for Feb. 21. The Southern Section Masters Meet and City Section finals are scheduled for Feb. 28. Fountain Valley High will host the Masters Meet. The City finals will take place at San Fernando High.

BASKETBALL

Showdowns: There will be four marquee nonleague matchups Saturday involving area girls’ teams.

Buena (19-1), ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, travels to Brea Olinda (18-1), the nation’s No. 12 team.

Harvard-Westlake (18-4), ranked sixth in the region, plays at City 4-A champion Crenshaw in a 3 p.m. game.

Ventura (13-5), ranked 10th, hosts eighth-ranked Nordhoff (16-5), while Marmonte League-leading Thousand Oaks (14-5) travels to Cerritos Valley Christian (13-6) for another nonleague game. Valley Christian has won five of the past six Southern Section IV-A championships.

Wounded knee: Chaunte Mayronne, a junior guard for the Verdugo Hills girls’ basketball team, is out of the lineup after again injuring her left knee.

Mayronne sat out the Dons’ first 15 games because her range of motion was restricted by an ailment doctors have been unable to diagnose.

Cleared to return to the court, Mayronne last week played her first two games this season. They could also be her last two games of the season.

“I guess there’s a certain motion that’s hurting her, and we’re trying to find a brace that will restrict that. But I don’t know if she’s going to be able to play,” Verdugo Hills Coach Laura Redford said.

Redford said the Dons (2-15, 1-9 in Northern Conference play) have been missing Mayronne, a starter as a sophomore last year, all season.

“She’s not going to score a lot, but she’s our best defender, and our fastest player. We’re a different team when she’s not in there. She just sets the tone defensively.”

SOCCER

Top teams: Eight girls’ teams and five boys’ teams from the region are included in the latest Southern Section coaches’ poll.

In the girls’ rankings, Hart is No. 5 in Division I and Buena No. 6 in Division II. In Division III, Chaminade is top-ranked, followed by La Canada at No. 3 and Notre Dame at No. 9. Division V includes St. Bonaventure at No. 2, Paraclete at No. 5 and La Reina at No. 6.

In the boys’ rankings, Thousand Oaks is No. 8 in the Division I poll and Buena is No. 7 in the Division II list. In Division III, Burroughs is No. 7 and in Division IV, Harvard-Westlake is No. 4. Village Christian is No. 5 in the Division V rankings.

Changing places: Turnover has been the name of the game recently for the Reseda boys’ team.

The Regents gained the services of freshman goalkeeper Jorge Cervantes, who was academically ineligible. Coach Julio Castillo said Cervantes may soon start because incumbent Jimmy Ordaz has difficulty making practices because of his involvement in the Reseda band and his pursuit of a college music scholarship.

Reseda lost senior Sergio Penerada, who returned to his native Bolivia because of a family emergency, Castillo said.

A first: The Agoura boys’ team had never beaten Marmonte League rivals Royal and Simi Valley in its first seven years of Marmonte League membership before beating them both this season.