Area Roundup: Excelsior's Padilla claims the 126-pound CIF-SS Central Division title
Excelsior’s Itzel Padilla and 16 other local wrestlers extended their seasons at least another week by qualifying for the CIF-Southern Section Masters wrestling tournament.
Padilla is the area’s lone wrestler that captured a title at the CIF-SS Central Division girls wrestling tournament, held at Canyon Springs High School, on Saturday afternoon.
Padilla captured the 126-pound title by pinning Westlake's Mackenzie English in a minute and 30 seconds. Earlier in the day, Padilla scored an 11-4 division over Alissa Castillo, of JW North, in the semifinals. Padilla picked up two pinfall victories and a 9-7 decision on Friday.
“It feels amazing, it all felt so rewarding and I feel like it was all a dream,” Padilla said. “It was a tough tournament for sure, but I do believe that all the training and hard work certainly paid off and I’m eternally grateful for my coaches and my dad. When my hand got raised by the referee, I felt proud and overwhelmed with joy and I felt inspired.”
Four Sultana wrestlers made a run to title matches but fell short. Nataly Diaz (106) lost a 2-0 decision to Athziri Guizar, of Long Beach Poly, Estella Wade (111) was pinned by Paloma Valley's Karissa Turnwall, Mia Garcia (143) lost a 3-1 decision to Bela Smith, of Ventura, and Chelsea Garcia (160) was pinned by Yucaipa's Addrie Rodriguez.
Two of their Sultana teammates also qualified for the Masters.
Sultana took second place as a team with 152 points, behind Paloma Valley, which ended with 202.5 points.
Barstow is sending three wrestlers to the Masters, including Adelina Nava, who pinned Rio Mesa's Brooklyn Bittner in 40 seconds for third place in the 160-pound division.
Two Victor Valley wrestlers qualified for the Masters, including Roxanne Hurtado, who scored a 6-1 decision in the 111-pound third-place match.
Oak Hills is also sending two wrestlers, including Makayla Fascinato, who scored a 7-1 decision in the 131-pound third-place match.
The CIF-SS Masters tournament will be held at Palm Springs High School on Feb. 17 and 18. There, the top eight placers in each division will qualify for the CIF State Wrestling Championships, in Bakersfield.
Here’s a list of all the local girls that qualified for the CIF-SS Masters tournament.
106 — 2. Nataly Diaz (Sultana)
111 — 2. Estella Wade (Sultana), 3. Roxanne Hurtado (Victor Valley), 7. Alycia Reyes (Excelsior)
116 — 5. Dayanara Ramirez (Sultana)
126 — 1. Itzel Padilla (Excelsior), 7. Ariyanna Avalos (Barstow)
131 — 3. Makayla Fascinato (Oak Hills), 8. Hazel Hannon (Serrano)
143 — 2. Mia Garcia (Sultana)
150 — 4. Zania Zambrana (Hesperia), 5. Mariah Rodriguez (Barstow)
160 — 2. Chelsea Garcia (Sultana), 3. Adelina Nava (Barstow), 8. Melanee Argandona (Oak Hills)
170 — 6. Natalie Gonzales (Victor Valley)
235 — 4. Savannah Etheridge (Sultana)
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Silverado 61, Montclair 43
At Victorville, the Hawks kicked off their playoff run with a victory in the second round of the Div. 4AA playoffs.
Silverado had a first-round bye and played its first game since Feb. 3.
Elizabeth Udeze led the way against Montclair with 15 points.
Three other teammates ended in double digits. Bella Rincon followed right behind Udeze with 14 points, Nitzel Cuen scored 13 points and Song Fields added 10 points.
Silverado (19-2) is on the road Wednesday at Aquinas, which beat Knight 42-37.
Riverside Prep 40, San Gabriel Academy 29
At San Gabriel, the Silver Knights advanced to the quarterfinals of the Div. 5A playoffs with a victory on the road Saturday night.
Riverside Prep (25-3) is on the road Wednesday against San Gorgonio, which beat Tahquitz 33-25.
Anaheim 76, Hesperia 72
At Hesperia, the Scorpions’ season came to an end in the second round of the Div. 3A playoffs after losing in double overtime on Saturday night.
Hesperia (18-9) took an eight-point lead into halftime but gave up the lead and Anaheim tied it up entering the fourth quarter.
Queen Allah led the team with 31 points, Berlyn Miramontez followed right behind with 22 points and Anisha Nolen added seven points.
Anaheim 17 8 19 9 11 12 — 76
Hesperia 15 18 11 9 11 8 — 72
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Victor Valley 2 (5), Shadow Hills 2 (4)
At Indio, Dante Celis sent the Jackrabbits to the quarterfinals of the Div. 6 playoffs after sinking his penalty kick into the back of the net during the shootout Saturday night.
The teams went to penalty kicks after ending regulation tied 2-2.
Candelario Castillo put Victor Valley on the board in the first half. Josiah Paez put the Jackrabbits up 2-1 in the 66th minute with a goal.
But the lead was short lived as Shadow Hills tied the game with two minutes left in regulation.
In the shootout, Bryan Solis, Jonathan Guzman, Ismael Estrada, Emmanuel Lopez and Celis each made their penalty kicks.
Lopez, the goalkeeper, saved a shot in the shootout, setting up the stage for Celis to make the game-winner.
Victor Valley (14-5) is home Wednesday night against Temescal Canyon, which beat San Jacinto 1-0.
Long Beach Poly 1 (6), Hesperia 1 (5), PKs
At Long Beach, the Scorpions’ season came to a heartbreaking end in the second round of the Div. 2 playoffs with a loss in penalty kicks.
Both teams made all five of their penalty kicks. Hesperia’ missed the next one, and Poly’s Anner Aguilar sent his shot to the right corner of the net to seal the deal.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Area Roundup: Excelsior's Padilla claims the 126-pound CIF-SS Central Division title
