Grapplers mat success
The University City High wrestling team has pinned down some early success this season. Head coach Jeret Needham and the Centurions look to continue a strong tradition of mat excellence at the school.
Earlier this month, UC competed in four tournaments.
The varsity went to Mira Mesa, where Carl Pasquale, Casey Nakamura and Mansoor Paghmani all placed (medals). The junior varsity (JV) went to Vallhalla and had top performances by Steven Esquivel, Billy Cafcules and Patrick O’Hara. The freshman squad went up to Rancho Bueno Vista and brought home wins and two medals, as James Madden and Andrew Altomare looked impressive.
UC’s new Kids Club competed in its first tournament of the year at Vista High School. There were 150 kids from all over Southern California, and UC brought seven kids, with six making it to the finals. In all, UC won two golds and four silvers. UC’s last student, a seventh-grader from Standley, earned bronze. Gold medals went to Adam Barton and Lake Needham. Silver medal-winners were Zackery Barnhill, Austin Medina and Jacob and Mathew Goddard.
The following weekend, UC’s girls team got its first tourney up in Ramona, where Alane Tighe wrestled and earned a bronze medal.
Needham has been helped to date by coaches Scott Barnhill, Guy Smith, Jeremy Spry, and Gershan Horowitz.
“We are real proud of our accomplishments so far, but know that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Needham noted. “In order to compete at a championship level, it takes hard work and dedication. Our team is young and our future is bright.”
LJCD cagers fall at Nike
The La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School girls basketball team tried to pull all the tricks out of the bag in their 61-49 loss to Highlands Ranch of Colorado at the recent Nike Tournament of Champions. The game was for fifth place in the Tournament of Champions.
Janae Fulcher did not play due to a knee injury from the previous night. Without Fulcher, LJCD was forced to play a few players at positions unfamiliar to them, and they almost pulled off a victory. With six minutes left to play and down by eight points, Highlands Ranch committed several turnovers, giving LJCD a chance to win, but the comeback came up short.
Dominique Conners led all scorers with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
LJCD is off for the holidays and will resume play on Jan. 5, 2007, with games in the Bay Area against Sacred Heart Cathedral and Pinewood on Jan. 6. The Lady Torreys will begin league play on Jan. 12 against The Bishop’s School.
Cagers rack up wins
At La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School, the Torreys entered play last week with a record of 3-1. LJCD took second place in the San Diego Small Schools Tournament with wins over Cornerstone Christian, L.A. Windward and Coronado. LJCD’s lone loss came at the hands of crosstown rival Bishop’s. Kevin Ings and Kyle Reese were selected to the All-Tournament team.
“I am really pleased with the team’s progress thus far,” LJCD Head Coach Ryan Meier said. “We are still far from what we are capable of. We haven’t had a full team or a consistent period of practices yet. As soon as we get our basketball legs under us, we should be able to get a better picture of what level we are as a team. We need to clean up some things, like turnovers and free-throw shooting, but I guess it’s a good sign that we won a couple games in spite of those things.”
In other pre-holiday break action, UC High placed four players in double figures en route to a 65-40 win over Patrick Henry.
