It has come down to the last week for local high school teams that advanced to the winter sports postseason of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. From the basketball courts and soccer fields to the water and wrestling mats, here is a breakdown of who still has a shot to be the last team standing in their respective division.
On the basketball courts, for the boys’ division, 12 local teams went into the playoffs, and coming into this week, the only team still left is Rancho Christian in Division 2A. They will be taking on La Mirada in the finals. For the girls’ teams, 16 local teams advanced to the playoffs, and now, no it’s not a typo, Rancho Christian is also still the only team standing, and they will be playing in the Division 3A Finals against Chino. Time, location and date were still TBD for both teams at the time of this article going to print.
On the girls’ soccer fields, 16 local teams began their postseason journey two weeks ago, but only the Hemet Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed in Division 5, remain the last team standing. Hemet advances to the finals for the second consecutive year but have yet to win a section title in their two previous finals appearances. They will travel to face Crean Lutheran (18-3-3) Friday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m.
On the boys’ soccer fields there are no local teams that made it past the semifinal round, though there could be some CIF State appearances discussed in certain divisions after this weekend’s CIF-SS Finals matches have concluded.
In the water, Murrieta Valley, after winning the CIF-SS Division 2 Finals this past weekend over Millikan, 7-6, the Nighthawks will be the No. 2 seed in the CIF State Division 2 regional bracket, and will host Grossmont from the San Diego Section in a first-round match this week.
Finally, on the wrestling mats, here is a look at what happened this past weekend for local  wrestlers. A new format was put in place, which seemed to be well received. Instead of a two-day event with one individual champion in each weight class being crowned champion, the section went to a one-day meet with two 16-person brackets and two champions for each of the weight classes.
Two local male wrestlers claimed championships at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet last Friday at Palm Springs High School. Lakeside’s Ryan Lobato advanced to the 126-pound finals in his bracket with two decisions and one technical fall. Lobato beat No. 2 seed Haden Hernandez of Marina in an ultimate tiebreaker to claim the championship. Temecula Valley’s Malikhi Espiritu was the area’s other individual champion as he advanced to the 132-pound final bracket with two pins and a decision. Espiritu beat Elijah Flores of Walnut on an ultimate tiebreaker to win the championship.
The top five wrestlers in each bracket secured a spot for this week’s CIF State championship meet at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. Temecula Valley leads the way with seven wrestlers headed to the state meet and were the only local team to finish inside the Top 10, placing fifth with 136.5 points. Lakeside and Paloma Valley both had three wrestlers qualify.
Here a list of the Inland boys’ wrestlers who qualified for the CIF State meet, with their bracket finishes in parenthesis.
113-pound: Steve Corona, Vista Murrieta (Blue, 5); Syruss Flores, Paloma Valley (Gold, 5). 120-pound: Aidan Munoz, Temecula Valley (Blue, 2). 126-pound: Ryan Lobato, Lakeside (Gold, 1); Justin Herrera, Chaparral (Blue, 2). 132-pound: Malikhi Espiritu, Temecula Valley (Gold, 1). 138-pound: Justin Wells, Lakeside (Gold, 2). 145-pound: Isaac Rea, Lakeside (Blue, 5). 152-pound: Elijah Benavidez, Paloma Valley (Blue, 4); Daniel Sterling, Temecula Valley (Blue, 5). 160-pound: Gabriel Barragan, West Valley (Blue, 3); Logan Alawneh, Temecula Valley (Blue, 4). 170-pound: Kameron Phillips, Temecula Valley (Blue, 4). 195-pound: Matthew Porras-Diamond, Temecula Valley (Blue, 2); Noah Bode, Vista Murrieta (Gold, 5). 220-pound: Vaughn Taylor, Chaparral (Blue, 4); Simon Flores, Paloma Valley (Blue, 5). 285-pound: Justice El-Sayad, Temecula Valley (Blue, 4).
Six female wrestlers from the local Southwest Riverside County area also claimed championships at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet this past Saturday at Palm Springs High School.
In the 101-pound weight class, Hamilton’s Olivia Lopez claimed one title when she pinned Northview’s Lexi Garza, making it her fourth victory by pinfall. Lakeside’s Jillian Wells reached the final of her bracket with two pins and a decision, capturing the championship with a 2-1 decision over Marina’s Nathalie Erazo.
Paloma Valley’s Karissa Turnwall advanced to the 116-pound final with three pinfall victories and won a championship with a 12-3 major decision over Walnut’s Deandra Meza. Orange Vista’s Addison Ellis claimed a title at 131 pounds by winning all four of her matches via pinfall. Temescal Canyon’s Cara Cheng captured her 137-pound bracket championship with an 8-1 decision over Corona’s Phylicia Sudario, and Elsinore’s Gabby O’Connell claimed the 189-pound title when she scored a 5-0 decision over Schurr’s Isabell Sosa.
Aside from the champions, a handful of local female wrestlers also secured a spot for next week’s CIF State championship meet at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. Paloma Valley, who took 70 overall as a team, leads the way sending three wrestlers to the state finals.
Here is a list of the Inland girls’ wrestlers who qualified for the CIF State meet, with their bracket finishes in parenthesis.
101-pound: Olivia Lopez, Hamilton (Blue, 1); Jillian Wells, Lakeside (Gold, 1). 111-pound: Karissa Turnwall, Paloma Valley (Gold, 1). 116-pound: Jiana Alexis Rivera, Paloma Valley (Blue, 4). 121-pound: Makayla Correa, Paloma Valley (Blue, 2). 131-pound: Addison Ellis, Orange Vista (Gold, 1). 137-pound: Cara Cheng, Temescal Canyon (Gold, 1). 150-pound: Andi Albers, Hemet (Blue, 4). 189-pound: Gabby O’Connell, Elsinore (Gold, 1); Diara Pomares, Hemet (Blue, 2). 235-pound: Anna Bozanic, Liberty (Blue, 3).
All postseason brackets and updates can be found by going to the top of the CIF Southern Section website at www.cifss.org. Please email socaltrekkie@gmail.com or sports@reedermedia.com if there are any changes that need to be made.
