Braced by a new conference record 10 weight class champions, Olympian High School dominated last Friday’s Metro Conference girls wrestling championship tournament with 264.5 points.
Runner-up Eastlake scored 98 points while Castle Park finished in third place with 79 points.
The conference title was the fifth for the Lady Eagles, who have spread their wings as the top girls wrestling program in the San Diego Section. Olympian has won three CIF division titles in program history as a measure of respect.
“We’re looking for a fourth title this year,” Olympian coach Jesse Perez said. “It’s become a culture at Olympian to wrestle. It’s not just playing a sport, it’s being part of a family.”
The entry field of 112 girls set another new conference record, 30 more than last year.
Girls wrestling continues to grow and offer more opportunities for competition.
“Girls wrestling grew so much this year,” said Montgomery coach David Jarumayan, who served as tournament director. “I think there’s about 20 more girls who could have wrestled in this year’s tournament. It’s exciting. There’s a ton of parent support now. There’s lot of determination from the girls.”
“Girls wrestling is starting to explode,” Castle Park boys coach Robert Schertzer said. “The quality of wrestling is going up. When it first started, there was a lot of head-and-arm pins, now the girls are taking shots, there’s a lot more moves. It’s been very competitive the last couple years. It’s picking up steam. It’s growing, and growing fast, especially in our league. We have separate coaching staffs from boys wrestling down here. It’s growing fast.”
Olympian brought 29 girls to this year’s tournament. The Lady Eagles received nine top seeds and left the event with 15 wrestlers placing among the top four place-finishers in their respective weight classes.
Eastlake brought 16 girls to do battle on the mat, placing four in the semifinals and finishing with seven wrestlers who placed at least fourth or higher.
While Olympian continues to possess the top program, the Lady Eagles are starting to receive more competition on the mat. All 13 conference teams placed at least one wrestler among the top three place-winners in each weight class, with five schools recording individual champions.
In the 14 weight classes, Olympian placed 10 wrestlers in the finals (winning 10 championship matches) while tacking on three third-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes. Other schools represented in this year’s tournament finals included Chula Vista (three finalists, one champion), Eastlake (three finalists), Otay Ranch (two finalists, one champion), Southwest (two finalists, one champion, Hilltop (two finalists), Mar Vista (two finalists), San Ysidro (one finalist, one champion), Castle Park (one finalist), Bonita Vista (one finalist), and Sweetwater (one finalist).
Parade of champions
Photos by Phillip Brents
Hilltop, with seven girls in its program, received four second seeds.
“They are competitive in their weight class,” assessed Hilltop coach Thomas Juarez, whose squad recorded two runner-up finishes, one third-place finish and one fourth-place finish. “We’ve had a pretty good year. We have some talented wrestlers. I like their aggressiveness and passion.
“It’s truly refreshing to see them work hard and set goals. It’s good for the sport. In the South Bay, we have good representation and quality athletes. It’s been extremely fun to watch (the growth).”
Olympian’s Alina Solis, a two-time CIF champion, two-time state qualifier, remains the poster girl for the sport locally. She won her third Metro individual championship by pinning her way to the 128-pound title.
“I like it that wrestling allows me to clear my mind and my stress,” Solis said. “Even though it’s a physical sport, it offers me a chance to clear my head. It’s given me more confidence competing in front of hundreds of people.”
Olympian swept both top individual awards. Keagan Wyn Alatiw (133 pounds) won the tournament’s outstanding lower weight award with three pins in 5:31 while Vania Victoria (143 pounds) won the outstanding upper weight award with three pins in 6:15.
Top Individuals
103 Pounds
Championship: Isabella Ramirez (Olympian) won by 9-4 decision over Karina Lopez (Chula Vista)
Third place: Jaclynn Tiong (Mater Dei Catholic) pinned Gabriella Nebres (Bonita Vista) 2:57
108 Pounds
Championship: Natasha Mason (Olympian) won by 12-9 decision over Jessica Mexia (Mar Vista)
Third place: Zara Contreras (Olympian) won by 19-5 major decision over Isabella Nieves (Mater Dei Catholic)
113 Pounds
Championship: Maliya Lumahan (Otay Ranch) won by 6-3 decision over Alexa Delgado (Mar Vista)
Third place: Emme De Mesa (Eastlake) pinned Daniela Bravo (Olympian) 3:48
118 Pounds
Championship: Cheyenne Sandoval (Olympian) won by 18-3 technical fall over Keira Grantham (Otay Ranch)
Third place: Elisa Rocha (Montgomery) won by 7-5 decision over Ava McGough (Olympian)
123 Pounds
Championship: Jillian Josa (Olympian) pinned Juliana Peter (Eastlake) 1:13
Third place: Alina Gomez (Mar Vista) pinned Gabrielle Ruliva (Otay Ranch) 2:05
128 Pounds
Championship: Alina Solis (Olympian) pinned Laylene Martinez (Eastlake) 3:43
Third place: Audrina Perez (Castle Park) pinned Amaya Evans (Eastlake) 4:21
133 Pounds
Championship: Keagan Wyn Alatiw (Olympian) pinned Elia Edvalson (Bonita Vista) 1:48
Third place: Tiffany Buenrastro (Hilltop) won by 11-2 major decision over J Guerrero (Castle Park)
138 Pounds
Championship: Ariana Enriquez (Chula Vista) won by 7-2 decision over Jazmine Coronel (Castle Park)
Third place: Madelyn Hogue (Olympian) won by 9-3 decision over Keilani Speyrer (Hilltop)
143 Pounds
Championship: Vania Victoria (Olympian) pinned Mary Pappas (Eastlake) 2:49
Third place: Renata Maldonado (Chula Vista) won by 11-2 major decision over Lyla Ibarra (Mater Dei Catholic)
148 Pounds
Championship: Anabelle Sanchez (Olympian) pinned Isabella Verganza (Hilltop) 2:43
Third place: Delilah Velasquez (Castle Park) won by 3-1 decision over Beatriz Rockholt (Mater Dei Catholic)
158 Pounds
Championship: Natalia Righellis (Olympian) pinned Debora Velazquez (Hilltop) 1:43
Third place: Victoria Trujillo (Castle Park) pinned Ilisha Kulasekera (Eastlake) 3:54
173 Pounds
Championship: Jestarrah Cage (Southwest) pinned Viviana Romo (Chula Vista) 0:30
Third place: Sadie Ziemer (Olympian) pinned Kiara Leyva (Castle Park) 2:12
193 Pounds
Championship: Alexa Llamas Rios (San Ysidro) pinned Mariah Navarro (Southwest) 1:51
Third place: Arianni Benitez (Eastlake)
238 Pounds
Championship: Elisa Najera (Olympian) pinned Donna Lopez-Lander (Sweetwater) 2:03 and 2:30 (best of three round-robin)
Team Scores
Points: 1. Olympian 264,5, 2. Eastlake 98, 3. Castle Park 91, 4. Chula Vista 79, 5. Hilltop 71, 6. Otay Ranch 67, 7. Mater Dei Catholic 60, 8. Mar Vista 48, 9. Southwest 32, 10. Bonita Vista 27, 11. Montgomery 20, 12. San Ysidro 9, 13. Sweetwater 7
Outstanding wrestlers
MVP Lower weight: Keagan Wyn Alatiw (Olympian), 133 pounds
MVP Upper weight: Vania Victoria (Olympian), 143 pounds
