The Temecula Valley boys wrestling teams received the top seed in Division 1 as the CIF Southern Section released its dual-meet wrestling pairings Thursday, Jan. 27. The Golden Bears, who are the Division 1 defending champions, had to act fast as they were the host school for the Division 1 semifinal matches Saturday, Jan. 29, where they squared off against longtime rival Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (No. 4 seed). The other Division 1 semifinal match pitted No. 2 seed St. John Bosco against No. 3 Palm Desert.
Temecula Valley took down the No. 4 seeded Eagles 45-24 and will stay home to face Palm Desert this week, who beat St. John Bosco 50-23. The Golden Bears are looking to win the program’s 19th dual-meet title since the format was introduced in 1992.
Paloma Valley, who was seeded fourth in Division 2, traveled to Villa Park High School where they took on Costa Mesa in the opening round. The Wildcats beat Costa Mesa 59-23, then faced Villa Park in the quarterfinals, who they beat 45-36, but to cap off the day, they fell to Yucaipa 54-18 in the semifinal round. Also in Division 2, No. 3 seeded Esperanza defeated the Vista Murrieta Broncos 42-25.
The Division 3 matches were held at Victor Valley High School and in first round action the West Valley Mustangs beat Hillcrest in a tight match 42-40, but then fell to the host Jackrabbits in the quarterfinals, 60-21. There were no local teams competing in the Division 4 brackets, but in Division 5, held at Mayfair High School, Highland defeated Elsinore 45-23.
Santa Rosa Academy was the No. 4 seed in Division 6 and faced Newport Harbor in the first round Saturday, Jan. 29, at Western High School. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they fell 48-36. Also in Division 6 were the Heritage Patriots who beat Sierra Vista in the opening round but fell to Corona del Mar 72-12 in the quarterfinals. The highest-seeded team to advance to the finals in each division will host championship matches this week.
On the girls’ mats, Perris and Paloma Valley were the only teams to take part in the dual-meet bouts. Perris fell to Hillcrest 60-23 in the first round at Northview High School, and at Bonita High School, Paloma Valley took down Oxnard Pacifica 42-36 in the opening round, then beat Hillcrest 41-39 in the quarterfinals, but fell to Downey 48-35 in the semifinal round. The highest-ranked girls’ wrestling team to reach the final will host the championship match this week as well.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
