Manteca senior Gael Juarez spearheaded a local contingent in the Ceres Invitational this past Saturday, placing second in the 190-pound division.
He dominated his first three opponents, pinning two of them in 31 seconds or less before his loss to Pitman’s Jack Ceja in the final. East Union’s Erick Cortez ended up fifth in the same division.
Five from the area came in third.
Manteca’s Owen Barringer lost to eventual champion Gabriel Camacho of Pitman in the 113-pound quarterfinal but ended up 4-1 on the day. He stopped Monache’s Elijah Castillo in 1 minute, 59 seconds in the third-place match.
Fellow Buffaloes Caleb Kopp and Rudra Singh also took third. Kopp twice pinned top-seeded Isiah Vasquez of Pitman in the 120-pound division, the second time in the battle for third. Singh dominated Mariposa’s Allen Wilson in the 157-pound third-place bout, rolling to a 15-2 lead before ending it in 4:03.
East Union’s Roman Salcido took third at 132, knocking off sixth-place Brandon Nakham of Manteca in the consolation semifinal. He went on to pin Patterson’s Miguel Cabrales in 1:31.
East Union’s Tyler Bogle squeaked out a 4-3 decision win over Grace Davis’ Jeremiah Sanchez to take third at 150. His lone loss to was to eventual champ Parker Borges of Ceres in the semifinals.
Lorenzo Sereno of Manteca came in fifth at 215.
Moring Star Invitational
It was an all-Lathrop final in the 100-pound girls division at Los Banos.
Lily Corona prevailed with a 1:02 pinning of Jada Rillamas. Ayumi Del Rosario, another Spartan, took fifth in the same bracket. Corona took a tough road to the final, first outlasting Hollister’s Lesly Martinez-Mora 20-18. She then pinned Woodlake Union’s Flora Urue Morales in 4:50.
Ripon 170-pounder Kayley Hernandez also came home with gold, pinning all three of her opponents including Hollister’s Mia Fausto in the 1:42-long finale.
Lathrop’s Timothea Maycon (115), Ripon’s Michell Saucedo (235) and Ripon’s Riya Pearson (135) were all runners-up.
Gabby Hernandez (140) of Ripon earned third. Teammate Natalia Rodriguez (155) placed fourth. Lathrop’s Khloe Middleton and Ripon’s Kiera Bouche finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at 145.
Highlighting male competitors from the area are Ripon’s Ace Dougherty (144) and Lathrop’s Damian Ceja-Ramirez (157), who finished third in their divisions. Lathrop’s Santino Arranaga (132) and Malachi Gonzalez (144) both placed sixth.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Ripon 56, Hoopa Valley 50
Ripon (4-6) has hit its stride after a slow start to the season, winning a third straight game Saturday in the consolation final of the Motherlode Madness Tournament at Amador High.
All-tournament selection Gino Calderara led the way with 34 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The junior guard sparked the Indians in the second quarter, accounting for 19 of their 23 points as they carried a 34-27 lead into halftime. He finished 11-of-16 from the field, including two made 3-pointers, while sinking all 10 of his free-throw attempts.
Cooper Morino contributed 10 rebounds and a block. AJ Vanderwerff, who was named all-tourney, added five points, eight rebounds and a block.
Malakai McCoy found his shooting touch late for the Warriors (8-7), as he knocked down three 3s while scoring 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Ripon heads to East Union tonight.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sierra 79, Stone Ridge Christian 39
The Timberwolves (7-5) took care of business in Livingston’s Leader of the Pack Tournament consolation final on Saturday, blasting off to a 28-7 first-quarter lead and coasting from there.
Sharpshooter Isabella Crabb made six of 12 3s on the way to team-highs 28 points and 12 rebounds. Emalina Latu pitched in 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Freshman Elin Villanueva added eight points, five rebounds and four assists. Felisa Cruz-Olenhouse also had eight points.
GIRLS SOCCER
Manteca 4, Half Moon Bay 1
The Buffaloes (10-1-1) took a trip to the coast on Saturday and returned with a comfortable win.
Kailee Jackson continued her early-season tear on goal contributions. She scored Manteca’s fourth goal of the game but assisted two others. She first connected with Makayla Spencer to help give the Buffs a 2-0 lead, then hit Brooklyn Cornish on a corner kick in the second half. Jackson went into the game ranked second in the state with 13 assists.
Paisley Coenenberg added two assists, including the opening goal from Miah Martinez.
Half Moon Bay (1-3-1) capped the final score late. Manteca had a 15-4 advantage in shot attempts.
Sonora 3, Ripon Christian 1
The host Wildcats (1-0-1, 1-5-2 overall) earned their first win of the season last Friday at Dunlavy Field, scoring the first three goals of the Trans Valley League game.
Although Ripon Christian (0-2, 4-6-1) did well to limit Sonora’s shots in the first half, one long-range attempt got by goalie Kylie Koolhaas (10 saves).
Koolhaas, filling in for injured senior Morgan Schenk between the uprights in recent weeks, was sent to the field in the second half. She wound up scoring the Knights’ lone goal off a through pass from Alanna Blanco.
Savannah Hoekman had four saves in her time as goalkeeper.
Ripon Christian is on a long break game action until hosting Bret Harte on Dec. 30 for a non-league contest.
