Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 1-9-20 E-edition

Cortez shines at Dinuba Invitational
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Pirates rally to beat Selma at Central Valley Showdown
Emperors place fifth at annual wrestling event
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Dinuba High wrestler Noah Cortez rolled to yet another Dinuba Invita- tional title as the senior became a 3-time champi- on after a quick pin in the 145-pound final Saturday afternoon in Dinuba.
Cortez was one title shy of joining former DHS standouts Michael Write and Isaiah Perez as 4-time champs of the annual wrestling tourna- ment.
“I would have won it my sophomore year, but I was hurt, said Cortez, who moved down a weight class from 152 to 145.
Cortez, who is 14-0 and No. 1 in the section and No. 3 in the state, pinned Bakersfield’s James Juarez in less than 35 sec- onds to wrap up a great two-day performance as he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weight divi- sions. Cortez opened the tournament with consec- utive pins against Dylan Aubrey Bow of Murietta Valley and Nick Farris of Righetti. He then regis- tered a 16-0 technical fall
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba’s Noah Cortez dominated the 145-pound class at the Dinuba Invitational that included a quick pin in the championship match against James Juarez of Bakersfield.
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley High boys’ week-plus break from a basketball game stretched one quarter longer than expected on Jan. 4, but they man- aged to get untracked in ample time and return to the win column.
The Pirates (12-2) fell into an early 19-point hole and still trailed by 18 after eight minutes of play, but wore down an outmanned Selma High squad to dominate the final three periods on their way to a 72-61 victory over the Bears in the opening game of the Central Valley Show- down at Sanger High School.
Eight days after a lop- sided loss at Kingsburg High in a battle of top- ranked Division 4 teams, Reedley sputtered early against an inspired-but- shorthanded Selma team that had just seven play- ers suited up because of injuries and suspensions. The Bears (5-12) bolted
to a 28-9 lead that was 28- 10 after one quarter, get- ting 11 points from Joey Ramirez. Nick Esparza added eight points and guard Aaron Blancas collected four points and dished off four assists slicing up Reedley’s full- court press in a frenzied pace.
But the Pirates pulled back the press while kicking up the intensity and attacking more on offense. The result was a 24-13 run that shaved the halftime deficit to 41-34. Senior Augie Vil- larreal scored nine of his team-high 22 points in the period.
“Augie definitely is our solid guy,” said RHS head coach Chris Freeman. “When we get down, we work to get the ball into his hands. He took advantage. He was able to draw the fouls in- side.”
In addition, the Pi- rates focused in defen- sively on pressuring Ramirez and Blancas
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against Andrew Reneau of Bakersfield.
DHS Sophomore Ja- vier Martinez won in dramatic fashion against Hanford’s Travone Hous- ton in the heavyweight finale. With less than 10 seconds remaining, Mar- tinez recorded a take
down for a 3-1 win while improving to 15-2 this sea- son. Ranked No. 12 in the state, Martinez’s path to the finale included a 6-3 win over Jake Andrews of Frontier and a hard fought 2-0 win against Ja- cob Casals of Murrieta. In the semifinals, Marti-
nez picked up a 4-0 win against Anthony Valdez of Corcoran.
As a team, Dinuba placed fifth overall with 139.5 points. Bakersfield won the team title with 242 points followed by
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Apaches rebound
after falling to
top ranked team
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The Sanger High varsity boys’ basket- ball team will be going into league play next week with a winning record after splitting their games last weekend.
The Apaches were coming off a championship game loss to Lincoln High of Stockton in the annual Clovis Elks Tournament at Buchanan High School on Dec. 30. After falling behind by seven points to the Trojans last Monday in the first quarter, Sanger was able to rally to cut the lead to just two points at the half. Though the game remained tight in the third quarter, Lincoln was able to out- score Sanger in the fourth quarter 21 to 12 to take the championship with a 67-55 victory.
In the Apaches’ first game of the New Year, the team hosted Div. 1 Clovis West on Friday, Jan. 3 and learned firsthand why the Golden Eagles are the No. 1 ranked team in the Central Section.
Clovis West outscored Sanger by 25 points in just the first quarter. They continued their onslaught in the second quarter behind the sharp shooting of 6’4” Cole Anderson, who scored 15 points in the first half, taking a 30 point lead into the half with the score 45-15.
The Golden Eagles pushed their lead further in the second half and ran off with a 73-33 win.
The leading scorer for the Apaches was senior guard Alejandro Mendibles, who finished the game with 9 points on
three made 3-pointers.
The following night, Sanger hosted
the Central Valley Showdown, where they took on Lemoore in a late game. This time it was the Apaches who earned the lopsided victory.
Sanger took a 43-33 lead into halftime after leading the Tigers by just two points after the first quarter. The Apaches then controlled the second half, outscoring Lemoore in both final quarters to earn an 80-54 win.
Unlike their previous outing, where no Apaches managed to score in double- digits, four Sanger High players scored more than ten points in their game against the Tigers.
Leading the way for the Apaches were Jon and Luke Dillon, who scored 21 and 20 points respectively. J. Dillon also pulleddownninerebounds. L.Dillonalso finished with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The other Apaches to score in dou- ble-digits were Kaleb Cole, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Frankie Piceno, who had 11 points and five rebounds.
Prior to yesterday’s game at Fresno High, the Apaches were 9-6 on the season. They host Hoover High tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. before beginning league play on Tuesday with an away game against Edison High. Tipoff for Tuesday’s game is also scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The Apaches will be on the road again on Friday, Jan. 17, when they take on Madera South.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Though held to only six points against top ranked Clovis West on Jan. 3, Sanger High's Jon Dillon responded the following day by scoring 21 points in the Central Valley Show- down in an 80-54 win over Lemoore.