Yesenia Marin DeGuire of Olympian High School led the Metro Conference’s robust contingent of 25 place-winners at last weekend’s San Diego Section girls wrestling championship tournament at Brawley High School with a first-place finish in her 106-pound weight class.
DeGuire, a returning state qualifier, recorded pins in all four of her matches in the two-day tournament.
The top three place-finishers in each of 14 weight classes qualified for the state championship tournament later this month in Bakersfield.
A robust field of 11 Metro Conference wrestlers will be attending the elite event.
Joining DeGuire at the three-day state tournament are Eastlake’s Ana Mercado (second at 111 pounds) and Brooke Klomp (second at 160); Hilltop’s Nahdia Barrientos (second at 131); Montgomery’s Jasmin Ballesteros (second at 170) and Leilani Pompa (third at 137); Otay Ranch’s Aylin Salas (second at 189); Mar Vista’s Anya Rodriguez (third at 121); and San Ysidro’s Sandy Luevano (third at 111), Alexa Rosales (third at 116) and Desirae Ferguson (third at 126).
On an impressive note, five Metro Conference schools finished among the top 10 teams.
Eastlake finished third with 98 points while Olympian was fifth with 95 points, Hilltop was sixth with 85 points, Mar Vista was ninth with 70 points and San Ysidro was 10th with 64 points.
Tournament director Trevor Keifer reported a number of positives on this year’s event.
“The tournament grew again this year, registration was at 229, but only 211 made it to the tournament,” he said. “I expected a dip with the trip to the desert, but was pleasantly surprised. Brawley hosted an incredible event.
“With San Diego getting three state qualifiers this year, I believe we have enough talent to make some noise at the state level.”
Rancho Bernardo 143-pounder Annabelle He was the surprise of the tournament, according to Keifer. “She came in unseeded, beat the one and two seeds to win the tournament,” he said.
A total of 54 schools were entered in the team standings, with 51 schools scoring points.
State of mind
This year’s Metro Conference list of state meet qualifiers included 11 female wrestlers, up from nine last year (when just the top two place-finishers in each weight class advanced).
Four of the 11 are returning state meet qualifiers: Olympian’s DeGuire, Hilltop’s Barrientos, Montgomery’s Ballesteros and Otay Ranch’s Salas.
Metro Conference wrestlers qualified for the state meet in 10 of the 14 weight classes to match last year’s total.
Ballesteros placed first at 172 pounds at last year’s section championship tournament and will be making her second trip to the state meet after placing second at 170 pounds this year.
“I’m excited and happy to be one of the first girls to qualify for state twice,” she said.
Ballesteros came up short in her quest to repeat as a section champion after being pinned in the first period by Serra’s Paulina Jimenez.
Pompa, a sophomore, is competing in her second year on the mat. She placed third at last year’s section finals — one place removed from qualifying for the state tournament.
She called competing at the section finals “nerve-racking.”
“I’m excited to be going this year (to the state meet),” she said. “I want to see what the other wrestlers are like (from elsewhere) in California.”
Pompa pinned Steele Canyon’s Brianna Schultz in 4:45 to secure the bronze medal and a trip to the state meet.
Mar Vista’s Rodriguez is competing in her third year of girls wrestling but first at the Imperial Beach school. She said the key to exceling at this year’s event was to remain in a calm state throughout the two-day tournament.
“I approached it like any other tournament,” she explained. “I didn’t overwhelm myself with thoughts. I didn’t do anything too fancy; I stuck with what I knew.”
This year, third-place matches were standalone features of the tournament, with the winner earning a trip to the state meet.
“I had already wrestled the girl I would be going against for third,” said Rodriguez, who takes a 25-4 record into competition at the state tournament. “I was confident but I knew it would be a tough match.”
The MV wrestler won by a 14-5 major decision over Montgomery’s Anahila Flores.
Mar Vista’s Mary Cincotta was another state meet hopeful. She finished just short in her quest to join Rodriguez in Bakersfield after placing fourth place at 126 pounds in a 10-8 setback to San Ysidro’s Ferguson.
She called this year’s tournament “very competitive and challenging.”
“It takes a big mental toll on you,” she said. ‘The girls are very intimidating but in a good way.”
Lady Wildcats
Brawley won the team title with 183 points while Valley Center finished second with 146 points. Brawley won the team title with just one individual champion, with team depth contributing to the scoring total.
“The girls believe in team work,” Brawley girls wrestling coach Raymond Leon explained. “We won eight of the nine tournaments we competed in San Diego this year. When you are pushing your teammates in practice, it makes everyone compete at their best.”
The Wildcats look to be strong next season with 15 freshmen on this year’s squad of 35 wrestlers.
“It’s a new sport,” Leon said. “Girls who have tried other sports are finding it competitive.”
Girls CIF Final Results
Individual Place-winners
101 Pounds
1st Place – Karen Salais (Calexico)
2nd Place – Carla Leon (San Diego)
3rd Place – Victoria Urquiza (University City)
4th Place – Karina Juarez (Olympian)
5th Place – Jailynn Lopez (Brawley)
6th Place – Karina Santos (Westview)
Championship: Salais pinned Leon, 1:17
Third place: Urquiza won in overtime, 12-11, over Juarez
Fifth place: Lopez pinned Santos, 2:15
106 Pounds
1st Place – Yesenia Marin Deguire (Olympian)
2nd Place – Berlin Kiddoo (Ramona)
3rd Place – Emily Sway (Torrey Pines)
4th Place – Luz Mercado (Eastlake)
5th Place – Kailey Smith (Granite Hills)
6th Place – Rachel Hernandez (Valley Center)
Championship: DeGuire pinned Kiddoo, 1:16
Third place: Sway pinned Mercado, 4:07
Fifth place: Smith pinned Hernandez, 1:43
111 Pounds
1st Place – Savannah Kiddoo (Ramona)
2nd Place – Ana Mercado (Eastlake)
3rd Place – Sandy Luevano (San Ysidro)
4th Place – Candee Nunez (Granite Hills)
5th Place – Kayleen Segovia (Hilltop)
6th Place – Allyson Byus (West Hills)
Championship: Kiddoo won by 8-3 decision over Mercado
Third place: Luevano pinned Nunez, 2:32
Fifth place: Segovia pinned Byus, 3:49
116 Pounds
1st Place – Victoria Bjork (Westview)
2nd Place – Toren Dunbar (Steele Canyon)
3rd Place – Alexa Rosales (San Ysidro)
4th Place – Katiana Carrillo (Eastlake)
5th Place – Nyah Smallwood (Brawley)
6th Place – Yazmin Castaneda (Valley Center)
Championship: Bjork pinned Dunbar, 1:49
Third place: Rosales won by 3-1 decision over Carrillo
Fifth place: Smallwood pinned Castaneda, 2:44
121 Pounds
1st Place – Ariah Barragan (Imperial)
2nd Place – Cora Johnson-Woessner (La Costa Canyon)
3rd Place – Anya Rodriguez (Mar Vista)
4th Place – Anahlia Flores (Montgomery)
5th Place – Jalissa Alvarez (Brawley)
6th Place – Isabella Schutz (San Pasqual)
Championship: Barragan won by 4-3 decision over Johnson-Woessner
Third place: Rodriguez won by 14-5 major decision over Flores
Fifth place: Alvarez pinned Schutz, 3:26
126 Pounds
1st Place – Anne-Marie Maskalenko (Clairemont)
2nd Place – Amber Plasencia (Madison)
3rd Place – Desirae Ferguson (San Ysidro)
4th Place – Mary Cincotta (Mar Vista)
5th Place – Carli Bridges (San Pasqual)
6th Place – Aranza Rivera (Mater Dei Catholic)
Championship: Maskalenko won by 6-3 decision over Plasencia
Third place: Ferguson won by 10-8 decision over Cincotta
Fifth place: Bridges won by 13-2 major decision over Rivera
131 Pounds
1st Place – Phonisha Pruitt (Lincoln)
2nd Place – Nahdia Barrientos (Hilltop)
3rd Place – Desiree Jones (Valley Center)
4th Place – Katrina Cullens (El Camino)
5th Place – Neangnuom Chem (Mar Vista)
6th Place – Kayley Garcia (Vista)
Championship: Pruitt pinned Barrientos, 3:33
Third place: Jones pinned Cullens, 4:43
Fifth place: Dhem pinned Garcia, 1:28
137 Pounds
1st Place – Jadyn Jardon (Brawley)
2nd Place – Esmeralda Santiago (San Pasqual)
3rd Place – Leilani Pompa (Montgomery)
4th Place – Brianna Schultz (Steele Canyon)
5th Place – Kyrra Young (Valley Center)
6th Place – Kyla Pattillo (Mira Mesa)
Championship: Jardon pinned Santiago, 4:36
Third place: Pompa pinned Schultz, 4:45
Fifth place: Young pinned Pattillo, 2:51
143 Pounds
1st Place – Annabelle He (Rancho Bernardo)
2nd Place – Trinity Sanchez (Mira Mesa)
3rd Place – Rana Willink (Pt. Loma)
4th Place – Andrea Orosco (Steele Canyon)
5th Place – Dylan Jardon (Brawley)
6th place – Sabrin Farha (Eastlake)
Championship: He won 8-6 in overtime over Sanchez
Third place: Willnik pinned Orosco, 3:52
Fifth place: Jardon won by forfeit over Farha
150 Pounds
1st Place – Maddie Konopka (La Costa Canyon)
2nd Place – Savannah Mefford (Valley Center)
3rd Place – Cassandra Betancourt (Rancho Buena Vista)
4th Place – Diane Baker (West Hills)
5th Place – Elena Contreras (Otay Ranch)
6th Place – Melani Perales (Hilltop)
Championship: Konopka won by 5-3 decision over Mefford
Third place: Betancourt won by 14-3 major decision over Baker
Fifth place: Contreras won by forfeit over Perales
160 Pounds
1st Place – Sierra Mefford (Valley Center)
2nd Place – Brooke Klomp (Eastlake)
3rd Place – Belen Merino (San Pasqual)
4th Place – Kayla Urrea (Hilltop)
5th Place – Allie Garcia (Brawley)
6th Place – Kamaria Davis (El Camino)
Championship: Mefford pinned Klomp, 1:22
Third place: Merino won by 15-0 technical fall over Urrea
Fifth place: Garcia pinned Davis, 1:24
170 Pounds
1st Place – Paulina Jimenez (Serra)
2nd Place – Jasmin Ballesteros (Montgomery)
3rd Place – Miricle Barra (Brawley)
4th Place – Chloe Rabe (Central Union)
5th Place – Cassandra Wright (Escondido)
6th Place – Aunica Vargas (Olympian)
Championship: Jimenez pinned Ballesteros, 1:00
Third place: Barra won by medical forfeit over Rabe
Fifth place: Wright pinned Vargas, 2:58
189 Pounds
1st Place – Madelyn Navarro (El Camino)
2nd Place – Aylin Salas (Otay Ranch)
3rd Place – Perla Ramirez (Escondido)
4th Place – Chelsea Kuntz (Clairemont)
5th Place – Kathlyn Nelson (Valley Center)
6th Place – Jordan Crosson (Brawley)
Third place: Ramirez pinned Kuntz, 0:57
Fifth place: Nelson won by forfeit over Crosson
235 Pounds
1st Place – Kerri Gordon (Mt. Miguel)
2nd Place – Aislinn Hernandez (Brawley)
3rd Place – Cindy Zamarripa (Mission Hills)
4th Place – Valeria Rocha (El Cajon Valley)
5th Place – Catalina Yanez (Clairemont)
6th Place – Angelina Leal (Olympian)
Championship: Gordon pinned Hernandez, 1:38
Third place: Zamarripa pinned Rocha, 1:14
Fifth place: Yanez pinned Leal, 3:39
Team Standings
1. Brawley 183
2. Valley Center 146
3. Eastlake 98
4. San Pasqual 97.5
5. Olympian 95
6. Hilltop 85
7. Clairemont 79
8. Steele Canyon 71
9. Mar Vista 70
10. San Ysidro 64
11. El Camino 58
12. Montgomery 56
13. (tie) La Costa Canyon 53
13. (tie) Otay Ranch 53
15. Ramona 48
16. Imperial 45.5
17. Westview 45
18. Lincoln 40.5
19. Mt. Miguel 40
20. (tie) Escondido 35
20. (tie) Mira Mesa 35
20. (tie) West Hills 35
23. Granite Hills 33
24. Serra 30
25. (tie) Central Union 28
25. (tie) Rancho Bernardo 28
27. (tie) Calexico 26
27. (tie) Madison 26
27. (tie) Point Loma
30. San Diego 25
31. Mission Hills 24
32. Torrey Pines 22
33. Rancho Buena Vista 21
34. University City 19
35. Bonita Vista 17
36. El Cajon Valley 16
37. Mater Dei Catholic 15
38. Helix 13
39. (tie) Valhalla 11
39. (tie) Vista 11
41. Orange Glen 10
42. Castle Park 9
43. (tie) Crawford 7
43. (tie) High Tech High Chula Vista 7
43. (tie) Mountain Empire 7
43. (tie) Santana 7
47. (tie) Grossmont 6
47. (tie) Hoover 6
49. (tie) Calipatria 4
49. (tie) Cathedral Catholic 4
49. (tie) Chula Vista 4
52. (tie) Del Norte 0
52. (tie) Guahome Park 0
53. (tie) Oceanside 0
More details will be added as they become available.
CIF girls water polo playoffs include six Metro Conference teams
The San Diego Section girls water polo playoffs started this week. The Metro Conference was well represented this year with six divisional qualifiers.
Bonita Vista received the No. 12 seed in the Division I playoffs while Eastlake and Mar Vista received the fourth and ninth seeds, respectively, in the Division II field.
San Ysidro (sixth seed), Chula Vista (seventh seed) and Montgomery (ninth seed) all received berths in the Division III playoffs.
Moving forward
Eastlake (17-8) will play fifth-seeded Point Loma (15-2) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 2:45 p.m. at La Jolla High School.
Mar Vista (15-14) will meet top-seeded Fallbrook (17-9) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. at the same site.
The winners of both games will play each other in next Thursday’s semifinals at La Jolla High School at 5:45 p.m.
The division championship game is scheduled Feb. 16 at 1 p.m., also at LJHS.
Mar Vista recorded a mild upset by topping eighth-seeded El Capitan (17-7) by a score of 6-5 in overtime in Wednesday’s opening-round playoff game.
Senior Alyssa Barrows was credited with two goals for the victorious Mariners.
Eastlake enters Saturday’s elimination game after completing Mesa League play with an undefeated 10-0 record while holding league opponents to a stingy 2.9 goals per game.
Eastlake head coach Stuart Sokil said his team has continued to build momentum over the course of the 2018-19 season.
The Titans carry a 7-8 non-league regular season record into the playoffs after finishing 2-3 at the recent San Diego Open tournament.
The three teams seeded ahead of Eastlake in the Division II playoffs include No. 1 Fallbrook, No. 2 Poway (19-9) and No. 3 Grossmont (16-12).
The Titans dropped close contests to both Grossmont (9-8) and Poway (10-8) during the regular season but have yet to meet Point Loma this season.
The Pointers, who finished 10-0 to win this year’s City-Central League championship, eliminated 12th-seeded Classical Academy, 10-2, in Wednesday’s playoff opener.
Bonita Vista (13-16) ended its season with a 13-8 loss to fifth-seeded Scripps Ranch in Tuesday’s opening round. .
South Bay League champion San Ysidro (10-0 in league) fell, 9-8, in overtime to 11th-seeded Valley Center in a first-round match-up Tuesday at Southwestern College.
Chula Vista came up short by a score of 9-3 to 10th-seeded Mira Mesa in a first-round game played Tuesday at the Loma Verde pool.
Montgomery fell, 13-2, to eighth-seeded Santa Fe Christian in a first-round game played Wednesday at Southwestern College.
Metro Conference 2018-19
Girls Water Polo Standings
(Regular Season)
Mesa League
Eatlake 10-0, 17-8
Mar Vista 8-2, 14-14
Hilltop 4-6, 11-10
Bonita Vista 4-6, 13-15
Mater Dei Catholic 4-6, 13-15
South Bay League
San Ysidro 10-0, 14-10
Chula Vista 7-3, 15-7
Montgomery 7-3, 13-8
Southwest 3-7, 7-16
Olympian 2-6, 4-19
Castle Park 0-10, 3-11
San Diego Section
Girls Water Polo Playoffs
Open Division
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Feb. 7
La Jolla High School
(1) Bishop’s 19, (8) Rancho Bernardo 7
(5) La Jolla 8, (4) Cathedral Catholic 5
(3) Coronado 10, (6) Valhalla 2
(2) Carlsbad 28, (7) West Hills 2
Semifinals
Wednesday, Feb. 13
La Jolla High School
(1) Bishop’s (16-6-1) vs. (5) La Jolla (17-8), 6:30 p.m.
(2) Carlsbad (18-8-1) vs. (3) Coronado (8-12), 8 p.m.
State Play-in Semifinals
Wednesday, Feb. 13
La Jolla High School
(4) Cathedral Catholic (9-15) vs. (8) Rancho Bernardo (16-10), 3:30 p.m.
(6) Valhalla (20-7) vs. (7) West Hills (18-9), 5 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
Bishop’s-La Jolla winner vs. Carlsbad-Coronado winner, TBA
State Play-in Final
(Third Place Match)
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
Cathedral Catholic-Rancho Bernardo winner vs. Valhalla-West Hills winner, 3 p.m.
Division I
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 5
(9) Westview 8, (8) Canyon Crest Academy 6
(5) Scripps Ranch 13, (12) Bonita Vista 8
(6) Del Norte 14, (11) Patrick Henry 3
(7) Clairemont 6, (10) Vista 4
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Feb. 9
La Jolla High School
(9) Westview 5, (1) Helix 4
(4) University City 7, (5) Scripps Ranch 4
(3) Torrey Pines 11, (6) Del Norte 8
(2) El Camino 10, (7) Clairemont 8
Semifinals
Tuesday, Feb. 12
La Jolla High School
(4) University City (18-9) vs. (9) Westview (13-16), 5:45 p.m.
(2) El Camino (19-10) vs. (3) Torrey Pines (17-11), 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
University City-Westview winner vs. El Camino-Torrey Pines winner, 5 p.m.
Division II
First Round
Wednesday, Feb. 7
(9) Mar Vista 6, (8) El Capitan 5 (OT)
(5) Point Loma 10, (12) Classical Academy 2
(9) Granite Hills 8, (11) Rancho Buena Vista 3
(10) Santana 7, (7) San Pasqual 5
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Feb. 9
La Jolla High School
(1) Fallbrook 10, (9) Mar Vista 1
(4) Eastlake 5, (5) Point Loma 4
(3) Grossmont 9, (6) Granite Hills 6
(2) Poway 6, (10) Santana 2
Semifinals
Thursday, Feb. 14
La Jolla High School
(1) Fallbrook (18-9) vs. (4) Eastlake (18-7), 5:45 p.m.
(2) Poway (20-9) vs. (3) Grossmont (17-12), 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
Fallbrook-Eastlake winner vs. Poway-Grossmont winner, 1 p.m.
Division III
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 5
(11) Valley Center 9, (6) San Ysidro 8 (OT)
(10) Mira Mesa 9, (7) Chula Vista 3
(5) Escondido 7, (12) Oceanside 6
Wednesday, Feb. 6
(8) Santa Fe Christian 13, (9) Montgomery 2
Quarterfinals
Friday, Feb. 8
La Jolla High School
(1) La Costa Canyon 12, (8) Santa Fe Chrisitan 2
(4) Monte Vista 9, (5) Escondido 4
(3) Mission Bay 8, (11) Valley Center 6
(2) San Dieguito Academy 11, (10) Mira Mesa 2
Semifinals
Monday, Feb. 11
La Jolla High School
(1) La Costa Canyon (18-10) vs. (4) Monte Vista (14-12), 5:45 p.m.
(2) San Dieguito Academy (18-11) vs. (3) Mission Bay (16-10), 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, Feb. 16
La Jolla High School
La Costa Canyon-Monte Vista winner vs. San Dieguito Academy-Mission Bay winner, 11 a.m.
