Youth Scene: Black Diamonds capture title

The Black Diamonds claimed the championship of the AYSO Section 11 Area K All-Star tournament by sweeping their way to the title Saturday.

The tournament included All-Star teams from regions 55 (North Huntington Beach), 56 (South Huntington Beach), 117 (Fountain Valley-Huntington Beach), 143 (Huntington Beach), 177 (Long Beach), 517 (Santa Ana) and 1335 (Orange), and was held at Centennial Park in Santa Ana.

The Black Diamonds, a girls’ under-10 Silver All-Star team of AYSO Region 55, won their first five games in the tournament and were the top seed in the championship bracket. The team outscored their five opponents, 15-1. Scoring goals on offense were Kate Marsh, Alicia Rodriguez, Lindsay Rule, Maggie Rae Walker, Niki Serrano and Cristina Stewart. The defense was anchored by Niki Okimura, Kat Robinson and Jocelyn Shih.

Okimura, Robinson, Rodriguez, Serrano, Stewart and Walker shared goal-tending duties during the tournament.

The championship game was a rematch between the Black Diamonds and Region 177 (Long Beach). The locals won, 3-1, in an earlier tournament game. The final was scoreless through regulation and two, five-minute overtimes, and was decided on a best-of-seven penalty shootout session.

Rule and Rodriguez scored goals in the first round which ended with the score tied at 2-2, sending the teams on to sudden death. There, Serrano, who had sent a shot into the post on her previous penalty shot attempt, found redemption by scoring inside the near post to give the Black Diamonds the victory and title.

The Black Diamonds are coached by Mark Rule and Ben Rodriguez.

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Boys’ Soccer

It took overtime to decide the winner of the AYSO Area K All-Star Tournament Under-14 Gold Division championship, as Region 55 (North Huntington Beach) edged Region 5 (Fountain Valley), 2-1.

The tournament was played Jan. 19-20 at Dan Young Park in Santa Ana.

Parker Obert gave Region 55 a 1-0 lead by heading in a goal in the first half. In overtime, Ryan St. Pierre weaved his way through three defenders to score the winning goal.

By winning the Area K title, Region 55 earned a spot in the Area 11 Sectional All-Star Tournament Feb. 16-17 at Chapman Sports Park in Orange.

The Region 55 boys’ U14 Area K All-Star (Gold Division) team is: Eric Chambers, Jack Fults, Jeremy Lee, Parker Marlatt, Brad Martin, Wil McDaniel, Adam Meyer, Noah Muta, Chase Nelson, Parker Obert, Harrison Patri, Jack Springer, Ryan St. Pierre and Jair Vargas. The team is coached by Jeff Meyer and Marvin Springer.

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Wrestling

The Surfside USA wrestling club, which holds its practices at Huntington Beach High, sent six wrestlers to the Junior 5 Counties youth wrestling tournament at Fountain Valley High School Jan. 20, and all six placed in their respective weight classes.

The six wrestlers combined to win 20 of their 24 matches, with four winning first-place medals. Steele Marshall (age 7) went 4-0, as did Cade Haakenson (10), Joey McLaughlin (12) and Patrick Samson (12).

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