The California State Games added to a busy weekend July 9-11 in San Diego County as Little League baseball was in full bloom with all-star tournament play, high school football teams were feting their graduated heroes while at the same time getting a leg-up on the upcoming fall season, the Over-the-Line world championship was once again turning Fiesta Island into one big party zone and television viewers were glued to monitors watching the finals of the FIFA World Cup.
Oh, and the sun finally started to creep out of the overcast that had permeated the coastal areas the past three weeks to finally usher in summer.
The Chula Vista Badgers Wrestling Club pulled in a treasure trove of seven medals at last Saturday’s high school wrestling tournament at Rancho Bernardo High School. The event, which drew 181 competitors to both the youth and high school tournaments, included graduated seniors.
Otay Ranch’s Alfredo Espinosa was the highest South Bay place-winner with his championship medal at 105 pounds. Bonita Vista’s Carlos Ayala captured the silver medal at 132 pounds while second-place finishes went to Otay Ranch’s Albert Lopez (162 pounds) and Efren Roman (173 pounds).
Bronze medals went to Mathias Mendillo (127 pounds), Agrakay Sanchez (132 pounds) and David McCluggage (162 pounds).
The Badgers, in impressive fashion, captured two of the three medals in each of the 127 and 162 weight classes.
Carlsbad’s Chase Eskam was named the California State Games Wrestler of the Year after winning his 217-pound division while the Enforcers captured the high school division team championship.
Meanwhile, three sports turned the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center grounds into a mini-Olympics over the weekend as archery, soccer and BMX racing captured athletes’ fancy.
The inaugural BMX competition featured 38 moto races, including girls, cruiser, novice, intermediate and expert divisions.
The archery competition included recurve and compound bow classes, running the gamut from youth to adult age divisions.
Team handball (Salt Creek Community Center) was the fourth sport held over the weekend in the South Bay.
The California State Games remains a multi-sport festival of Olympic-style competition for amateur athletes of all ages and abilities in the state.
For complete results, visit the Web site at www.calstategames. org.
