Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 2-6-20 E-edition

ursday, February 6, 2020
Emperors rise to top of league standings
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George Armenta / Photo Contributed
Sanger High sophomore Jon Dillon elevates over Edison's Jerrmiah Hannah during a 59-58 loss on Jan. 31. The Apaches will wrap up CMAC play next week before heading into the Central Section's Division 3 playoffs.
Apaches jockey for playoff position
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
With just three games remaining in league play for the Sanger Apaches' varsity boys' basketball team, a league championship may be out of reach, but the top seed in the CIF Central Section's Division 3 playoffs may be up for grabs.
As of Tuesday, the Apaches were the No. 2 ranked team in the division (according to Maxpreps.com), behind Bakersfield Christian and just ahead of Dinuba.
Though both Bakersfield Christian (15-5 overall) and Dinuba (21-5) boast
better records than Sanger (14-10), what may give the Apaches the upper hand is their strength of schedule. That strength was apparent in the Apaches recent outings.
Sanger's four-game win-streak came to an end last week after the team faced off with CMAC top contender San Joa- quin Memorial on Jan. 28, as the team fell to the Panthers in a lopsided 95-52 defeat.
The Panthers, who are last year’s de- fending CMAC co-champions (with Bul-
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George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba High's Elias Flores challenges Immanuel’s Win- ston Williams in the first quarter of a 72-71 setback against the Eagles.
MVT Staff Report
The Dinuba High basketball team picked up a huge win at home Friday night, defeat- ing Kingsburg, 53-51, to take over sole posses- sion of first place in the Central Sequoia League standings.
After suffering their only home court loss of the season two nights earlier to Immanuel, the Emperors bounced back to avenge an earlier set- back to the Vikings. Now the Emperors (21-5, 8-2) will need road wins at Exeter and Central Val- ley Christian to lock up the league crown, but more importantly solid- ify a high-seed for the playoffs.
Josh Magaña scored 12 points and Jesus Lara along with Elias Flores chipped in 10 apiece.
The win was on the heels of the Emperors first loss at home as vis- iting Immanuel held on for a 72-71 win on Jan.
29. Dinuba did not shoot well from the free throw line, converting 6 of 12 attempts in a pivotal 4th quarter.
Immanuel has won seven of its last eight games, including six straight as the Eagles improved to 15-9 overall and 5-4 in league play. The Eagles were led by junior forward Winston Williams who finished the game with 27 points to go along with 14 re- bounds and five blocked
shots. Teammate Shawn Rodgers had 18 and Jo- nah Tolpezninkas had 17, including 5 of 8 shooting from 3-point range.
Dinuba held a 15- 13 advantage after the first quarter and led 32- 28 at the half as Magaña drained a buzzer--beat- ing 3-pointer. The mo- mentum carried over into the third as the Em- perors built a 37-28 lead after a 3 by Bryan Ruiz.
The Eagles coun- tered with a run of their own that included a pair of corner 3’s from Tol-
pezninkas as Williams capped off a 9-0 run converting a three-point play tying the game at 37 all.
Dinuba moved ahead again 47-39 on a pair of free throws by Elias Flores but IHS reeled in the Emps, eventually moving ahead 49-48 on an inside basket by Wil- liams.
In the fourth, Im- manuel never sur- rendered the lead and moved ahead 64-59 on a
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Reedley boys wrestling takes back 'Manning Melee' title
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley High Pirate boys seized back the Manning Melee wrestling per- petual trophy with a vengeance.
Posting four pins and three decision victories and two forfeit wins, the Pirates rolled to a 46-18 triumph over rival Kings Canyon Unified School District school Orange Cove High before a vocal crowd at RHS gym on Jan. 30. It was the 11th annual match between the schools in the series.
It gives Reedley a shot of momentum heading into the North Yosemite League championship tournament at Reedley High on Friday, Feb. 7. Matches begin at 9 a.m., with the championship finals sched- uled to begin sometime around 2 p.m. The Pirates hosted McLane in its Senior Night match and NYL duals finale on Feb. 5.
“We’ve been working really hard this last week, and the hard work has paid off,” coach A.J. Rosas said after the vic- tory over the Titans, a year after OCHS claimed its first win in the Melee series. “It’s really good to see the result.”
The Pirates received pins from sopho- more Phillip Arroyo (moved up to 138 pounds), Quincy Quintana (182), Max Saucedo (195) and heavyweight Nathan Bohlken. Both Arroyo and Quintana scored their falls in the first period.
“That’s one thing I said to them. ‘Win or lose, go out there and give it your all',” Rosas said of his team’s aggressive ap- proach. “Wrestle with your heart. As long as you give it your all. that’s all I can ask.”
Senior Quintana set the tone after the Pirates opened with a pair of decision victories. He put the Titans’ Christopher Aguilar on his back in just over a min- ute, and Saucedo followed with a second- round pin of OC’s Humberto Velasco to make it 18-0. After an RHS forfeit win at 220 pounds, Bohlken scored a third-period pin of Christobal Aguilera to make it 30- 0. The Titans then collected two forfeit wins.
Orange Cove’s Andy Tristen — the de- fending Central Section Division 5 cham- pion at 122 pounds – controlled the Pirates’ Nathanial Galaviz much of the way before posting a third period pin to improve to 19- 8 on the season and make the team score 30-18. Arroyo then finished off the Titans’ Noe Vargas in 1:52 to improve his season mark to 30-14.
Reedley’s Ethan Ortiz followed with a 15-3 major decision over Justin Muro at 145 pounds before another RHS forfeit win closed out the match.
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In the Manning Melee girls dual match, Reedley posted all forfeit victories to a 66- 9 decision. Orange Cove was victorious in the two contested matches, with Carissa Alvarez scoring a second period pin at 172 pounds and Cynthia Ruiz pulling out an 8-6 overtime decision win at 145 pounds.
Reedley High’s girls — who closed out the regular season at home against McLane on Feb. 5 – will try to success- fully defend their NYL championship on Friday, Feb. 7 at RHS gym. Both the girls and boys tournaments will be contested in Reedley.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Reedley High boys wrestling coach A.J. Rosas (in glasses) held the Manning Melee perpetual trophy while celebrating with his team after the Pirates defeated Orange Cove High by a 46-18 score in their annual wrestling dual match on Jan. 30.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Reedley High’s Quincy Quintana applied the finishing touches on grimacing opponent Christopher Aguilar on his way to a first period pin at 184 pounds.