APTOS—Aptos High sophomore Janie Houser is heading into the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Wrestling Championships more confident than ever.
But first, she had one more warm-up match against Scotts Valley sophomore Danica Kelley, another premier wrestler in the league that’s been having a spectacular season.
Houser, ranked No. 4 in the Central Coast Section girls’ 121-pound division, felt that optimism going up against Kelley, who is ranked No. 5 in the same division.
Houser lost to Kelley in a close 7-3 decision at the teams’ SCCAL finale on Wednesday.
“Danica’s a tough opponent,” Houser said. “She’s ranked right by me in CCS rankings, so we’re pretty close.”
Houser and Kelley will most likely see each other again in the league’s first-ever SCCAL Girls Championships taking place at Aptos High today at 3pm.
“It’s exciting because it’s the first year of an all-girls league [championships] where you don’t have to wrestle guys. It’s cool,” Houser said.
Houser has gone up against some boys this season, which she believes has helped her become stronger and build more stamina. And going up against tough opponents such as Kelley just makes her an all-around better athlete.
“Everyone I’ve been going against is pretty good,” Houser said.
In the CCS rankings, Houser is just behind Anna Younes (No. 3) of Menlo Atherton, Valerie Glen (No. 2) of Gilroy High and the division’s top wrestler Jazibel Vega of Westmont High.
Houser mentioned that girls’ wrestling is becoming more popular around the country and it’s gaining popularity in the Olympics.
“More girls from America are doing better in the Olympics for wrestling,” she said.
Houser competed in the abbreviated 2021 spring season that was filled with plenty of obstacles. She said this season has felt more like a real one, especially without Covid-19 affecting a lot of the matches.
The Mariners had a couple of league meets postponed this season, including Wednesday’s make-up meet against Scotts Valley.
Prior to that, Houser stayed busy by winning the 121-pound division title at the second annual La Manzanita Ladies Classic at Watsonville High on Dec. 6. She also finished with a 2-2 record and took fourth at the 12th annual Lady Royals Tournament at Overfelt High on Dec. 11.
Aptos coach Rudy Guzman, who has been the skipper since 2018 and an assistant since 2003, said the number of girls joining the program has increased. The past two years have dwindled because of Covid-19, but just three years ago they had seven girls on the team.
“The competition of girls, you just see it,” Guzman said. “Sometimes my girls beat the boys and it’s just so awesome to see that grow, especially being here almost 20 years. Having no girls on the team to see them having their own league, CCS and own state [tournaments].”
Mikayla Santaella, a junior, placed third (163 pounds) at La Manzanita and fourth (150) with a 2-2 record at Lady Royals.
She said the most challenging part this season has been dealing with Covid-19 protocols that don’t allow spectators to attend, along with continuous cancellations of league meets and tournaments.
Otherwise, it’s been full force competition despite some teams having lower than usual turnouts for wrestling.
“Everyone’s still bringing it, still working hard,” Santaella said.
Guzman noted that they still have a big team this year with 39 wrestlers, with 10 of those returning from the abbreviated 2021 spring season.
“It’s the same principles we’ve been doing all year: stick together, enjoy the journey and have fun,” Guzman said. “It’s not about winning or losing, winning league was never on our mind … we’re going into [league championships] with that same mentality. As of right now, we’re looking good to win a league title with that attitude.”
On the boys’ side, junior Andrew Acevedo won at the 55th annual Peninsula Invitational by going 5-0 in the 126-pound division during the three-day tournament in December. He also took fourth place at the Webber Lawson Memorial Tournament at Fremont High on Dec. 11.
Other wrestlers to look out for at this weekend’s league championships include Isaiah Navarro, a 285-pound senior, who took fifth place with a 3-2 record at the Peninsula Invitational.
Fellow seniors Ronin Tidd (160) and JJ O’Hara (220), both coming from the football team, will also be looking to make some noise.
Guzman said that this year’s group has been rolling with the punches and the morale is at an all-time high. He added they want to get as many practices in before going into the league championships, but also keep the same attitude they’ve had all year long.
Last year, the Mariners had a shortened six-week season. Plus, the program lost half of its team because they competed with other sports such as baseball.
“This year it’s just let’s finish the season,” Guzman said. “Get them a league title, get them league matches, take them to CCS and potentially State. Just having a season is very critical for these kids.”
The CCS Championships take place on Feb. 18 and 19 at Watsonville High. Houser said she had set some goals going into the season and those changed throughout the year. As of now, she currently has her mindset on placing fourth at CCS and earning a trip to the CIF State Championship.
“That’d be huge, I’m so excited trying to get to state in basically my first season,” she said.
Guzman mentioned that it’s almost become custom to have girls place high at CCS and advance into the State tournament.
“At this point, it’s just a tradition, we gotta keep it alive,” he said. “And working with Mikayla and Janie all summer, and just seeing them grow to the point where they might keep that tradition alive, it’s no pressure on them but they’re just working hard and succeeding.”
PCAL girls
Watsonville High junior Danisha Nunez became the first athlete to capture a title at the Pacific Coast Athletic League Girls Wrestling Championships at Alvarez High on Feb. 5.
Nunez was victorious against Alvarez High senior Mirna Ramirez in the championship round at 106 pounds, vaulting her into next week’s CCS Championships at her own gym.
Nunez finished 3-0 in the 14-school tournament and improved to 15-3 this season.
Beatriz Lucas (101), a freshman, took fourth to help the Wildcatz place 11th with 15 points in the team standings.
PCAL boys
Watsonville senior Vicente Mosqueda (128 pounds) and senior Andy Patino (162) won their respective weight divisions Wednesday evening. Both qualified for a trip to the CCS Championships.
Monte Vista Christian School freshman Rykin Resurreccion (134) and senior Ibbie Peters (147) also won their respective weight divisions.
The champions in each of the 14 weight classes at the Mission and Cypress Division Championships automatically qualify for CCS.
MVC’s Ian Goodwin (154) placed second, which means he’ll have to attend the Gabilan Division Championships and wait to compete in wrestle-offs against fifth- and sixth-place finishers in an effort to qualify for a CCS postseason berth.
The PCAL Gabilan Division Championships take place Saturday at Gilroy High, beginning at 9am.
MVC’s Connor Pallot (140) and Watsonville’s Jacob Saiz (172) and Matthew Flores (222) took third place.
The Mustangs’ Braden Cason (115), Andrew Thornburg (122), Josh Tepoorten (162) and Shane Steckler (222), as well as Watsonville’s Ruben Mora (134) finished in fourth place.
MVC’s Tyler Comerford (184) took fifth place.
The Mustangs finished third at the eight-team meet with 116.0 points. Soledad (165.0) won the team title and Christopher (134.0) took second. Watsonville (78.0) took seventh.
Cypress Division
St. Francis High senior wrestlers Adam Martinez and Zachary Paz won titles in their respective weight divisions at the PCAL Cypress Division Championships at King City High on Tuesday.
Both Martinez and Paz, who were linemen on the Sharks’ football team wrestlers, qualified for the CCS Championships.
Martinez went 2-0 at 197 pounds to win the title and improve to 9-4 on the season. He pinned Pajaro Valley’s Eduardo Mendoza in the first period in his first match.
Martinez then earned a 9-4 decision over Pacific Grove’s Tony Macias in the championship round.
Paz, the runner-up in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championships in 2021, went 2-0 to claim the Cypress division title at 222 pounds.
Pajaro Valley’s Matthew Martinez (180) took second, Mendoza (195) took third, and Edgar Martinez (160) took fourth.
Sharks freshman John Croghan (14-9) took fourth at 147 pounds.
Greenfield (139 points) won the team title and Pacific Grove took second. St Francis took sixth and Pajaro Valley was seventh.
Pajaro Valley’s Martinez, Mendoza and Martinez, as well as St. Francis’ Croghan, will attend the Gabilan Championship hoping to compete in wrestle-offs against fifth- and sixth-place finishers from the Gabilan in an effort to qualify for a CCS berth.
