Lathrop High’s first-year wrestling team split its junior varsity matches to open Valley Oak League action Tuesday, losing to Weston Ranch 55-22 before beating host Manteca, 78-6.

The Spartans were at their best in the lower weights, with Andrew Aquino (112), Barry Bautista (119), Christian Pena (125) and Myles Romo (130) each winning both matches.

Lathrop will next see action in the Junior Varsity Cougar Duals at Weston Ranch Saturday.

“The guys will get five matches (each),” Lathrop coach Dimos Birakos said. “This should be another opportunity to see what we are made of and who can go the distance.”

At Sierra, Alysia Atkins led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points for the host Timberwolves (2-0 VOL, 13-1 overall).
Stephanie Vanni and Alyssa Allen pumped in eight apiece, and Jordan Johnson grabbed seven rebounds.

In Ceres, Brianna Fontenot fired in 22 points to account for nearly half of the Squires scoring.

Brittany LaMar contributed eight points and 14 rebounds, Morgan Hulsebosch fired in seven points, and Milliscent Puahi-Olangca recorded five points to go with six assists.

East Union improved to 7-3 overall with the league-opening victory.

“We played like Christmas vacation last Friday (in a loss) against Armijo,” East Union coach Adrian McDaniel said. “Tonight, we showed a lot more fire and intensity, and it was good to see that.”

In Ceres, Manteca (1-1, 8-4) was led by Emily Owsley’s 11 points — all of which were scored in the second half.

Central Valley did its damage on the defensive end, holding the Buffaloes to just two point sin each of the first two quarters while staking a 21-4 halftime lead.

At Sierra, Allison Armstrong spearheaded the Timberwolves (2-0, 11-3) to victory with 10 points and four rebounds.

Joanna Ortiz added eight points and five steals, and Shelby Shirron pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Kelly Paredes had a solid all-around game, turning in five points, three assists, two steals and a block.

“Kelly did a great job of leading the offense and controlling the game,” Sierra coach Steve Unterholzner said.

In Ceres, the Buffaloes (2-0) shook off some early rust and amassed 24 points alone in the third to sprint ahead after following behind 25-10 by halftime.

Kayla Godfrey collected 17 points — 10 in the third — to lead the charge, and Jessica Reeder added 15.

In Ceres, Klasey Kachalkin led the Pages with 17 points to lead three players in double digits.

Allison Telles and Kristin Piasaki finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

“We really focused on playing aggressively and sticking to fundamentals,” East Union coach Larissa Founts said. “The girls really handled their first league game well, but we know that they still have a lot to work on.”

At Lathrop, Viks Ralmilay drained three 3-pointers and scored 11 points to lead the host Spartans (0-4, 0-11). Gabriel Castellanos and Ricardo Chavez chipped in with seven apiece.