Notebook: “We’re always competitive.” Golden Valley coach picks up milestone win.
.JPG "Golden Valley coach Chopper Mello looks on during a wrestling match in 2016. Mello recently picked up his 100th career Central California Conference victory as coach of the Cougars.")
Golden Valley High wrestling coach Chopper Mello hit a major milestone last week with his 100th career Central California Conference victory.
The Cougars finished the regular season with a win over Merced to give Mello 101 career CCC victories and 343 career wins.
“It’s certainly a benchmark, but it just means I’ve been doing it a long time,” Mello said. “It’s a longevity kind of thing.”
During Mello’s 22 years leading the Cougars wrestling program, GV has finished in the top two of the CCC standings 15 times, including three conference titles.
Golden Valley was again in the mix for a league championship this year with a 17-3 record overall and 5-1 in the CCC, finishing second to El Capitan.
.JPG "AK CCC Wrestling Tournament (2).JPG")
Both Golden Valley and El Capitan will head to Stockton’s Lincoln High on Saturday to compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III dual championships.
Mello takes pride that year in and year out, his teams compete for championships.
“We’re always competitive,” Mello said. “It’s our consistency. We’re always able to put a competitive team on the mat. We don’t have too many forfeits. I go out and find kids.
“Our goal every year is to wrestle for the league title. We want to give ourselves a chance. We’re never at the bottom and that’s what I’m proud of.”
Football honors
Merced High senior Dhameer Warren was named to the all-Sac-Joaquin Section first team by MaxPreps as a defensive back.
Warren was named the CCC Most Valuable Player and Sun-Star Football Player of the Year after helping lead the Bears to an 11-1 record and a CCC championship.
Warren just recently announced on Twitter that he received his first scholarship offer from Montana State University. Other schools like Fresno State and the University of Arizona have offered him a chance to walk-on.
Buhach Colony linebacker Noah Perez and Hilmar linebacker Justin Rentfro were named to the second team. Perez was named the CCC Defensive Player of the Year after helping lead the Thunder to the playoffs.
Rentfro led the Yellowjackets with 131 tackles and played a big role in Hilmar winning a Sac-Joaquin Section championship and state title.
Livingston boys pitch perfect in TVL
The Wolves boys soccer team look like they are are section championship contenders. Livingston fell just short of the blue banner last year with a 3-2 overtime loss to Galt.
Livingston (17-1-2) more than held its own against a rigorous nonleague schedule that included games against larger schools, including a 1-1 draw with Turlock, which is ranked No. 1 in the Sac-Joaquin Section and No. 10 in the state by MaxPreps.
The Wolves are demolishing its new league this year in the Trans-Valley League. Not only is Livingston 8-0 in the TVL, but the Wolves are outscoring their opponents 46 to 5 in the eight league games.
Livingston has two 20-goal scorers in seniors Julian Cabrera (25 goals and 17 assists) and Jose Balderas (21 goals).
This story was originally published January 24, 2019 at 5:05 PM.