Tag Archives: Santiago Wrestling

Two Local Wrestlers Take State Title

Courtesy: Kathleen Ray

By Chris Helsinger-Pate

 

Corona – A highly competitive wrestling team from Santiago High School sent three wrestlers to the CIF State Boys’ Wrestling tournament. Brayden Ray, Joshua Kim, and Jesse Vasquez traveled to Bakersfield to represent their team.

Senior Brayden Ray, a competitor in the 220-pound weight class, notes that he has “…had to train hard and stay focused on the right path” to reach the state level. He used the disappointment from last season (falling just short of the CIF title) to catapult him to this season’s success.

Joshua Kim and Jesse Vasquez experienced tremendous hard fought success at the CIF State Championship. Both wrestlers advanced to the finals in their weight classes and came out victorious making them state champs. Sophomore Jesse Vasquez says that “Wrestling continually provides me opportunities to grow and achieve my goals.” Vasquez should be a strong candidate to come out on top in the 132-pound weight class considering his first place finish in the CIF Regional round.

Courtesy: Kathleen Ray

All three wrestlers referenced their faith in God as one of the driving forces behind their success. Joshua Kim, a senior at Santiago, “…believe[s] that my success and failures as a student-athlete are God’s plan.”

While Brayden Ray, Jesse Vasquez, and Joshua Kim have been driving forces behind Santiago’s success it is Jesse Vasquez now a two time state champ, that is likely to have the longest lasting impact. Just a sophomore, he’ll have two more seasons to compete at the high school level. Another offseason of training will leave him a favorite to accomplish more accolades at the CIF level.

Eastvale: High School Happenings

By Reza Moreno

Santiago High School Sports

Eastvale – With the seasons changing, so are the sports. Although fall sports are finally over, the teams did end their year with a bang. On Nov. 7, the football team ended their last game with a win against King with a score of 27-21. Another sport that was on a roll is Cross Country. They made it to CIF and had their prelims on Nov. 16. The seven varsity girls that ran were Jana Warrick, Morgan Tapia, Amber Allen, Jaden Warrick, Liz Unzueta, Crystal Valiente, and Lily Vargas. Although the girls weren’t able to make it to finals they did exceptional as a team and were able to go as far as the prelims and placed 3rd. As for the Varsity Boy runners, Jeremy Beck, Braden Randall, Andrew Graciano, Julio Martinez, Jesse Phipps, Anthony Hinojosa, and Hector Chavez all ran their best as a team. Branden Randall received a time of 15:10 and came in first in the race. He was able to go to finals which were on Nov. 24. He was able to compete at the state championships held in Fresno on Saturday, Nov. 30 and came in 10th with a time of 15:27.

With January approaching quickly, winter sports are preparing for their 2014 season. The boy’s soccer team is ready to increase their chances of going to CIF. The captains are Stephen Rainsbury and Nicholas Martello. Eric Vanderweerd, who has been coaching the boy’s varsity team for years, is excited about what this team will bring. Their first league game takes place on Jan. 15, 2014 at Santiago High School.

As for the girl’s soccer team, the captains Elena Morrison and Riley Brieno, both seniors, are ready to end their final year with a victory to CIF. The team is excited to welcome their new coach of the season, Annie Wilson. Their first game of the season is Jan. 15, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. against their rival Santiago at the ERHS stadium.

Wrestling is another great sport that is ready to make a title for itself. Senior captains, Elijah Castro and Nour Abdullatif, are both excited to finish strong and reach their goals this season. The coach for the team, Michael Cataline, have the wrestlers preparing and training daily in order to be ready for this intense sport.

Varsity Basketball is a major winter sport that is no doubt going to bring hype this year. The captains this year are seniors Taelin Webb, Adam Turner, and Lonnie Hinchen. The head coach, Vonn Webb, and the assistant coaches, Eder Sanchez and Brian Salone, are preparing the team for their games to increase their chances of going to the playoffs. Coach Webb is a very experienced coach and has numerous wins from CIF under his belt. One of the team’s motto is “Building from ground Zero”, and that is exactly what they plan to do.

So be sure to come out and support these extraordinary athletes and represent the Mustang orange and blue.