El Capitan takes home five individual titles, clinches first CCC team championship.
Spearheaded by five individual champions, the El Capitan High wrestling team captured their first Central California Conference championship on Thursday at the CCC Tournament at Merced High.
Joseph Pia (106 pounds), Josiah Araujo (126), Shane Carl (152), Evan Myrtue (160) and Kevin Fernandez (170) all won individual titles for the Gauchos.
El Capitan finished with 235 points to outdistance second place Golden Valley, which had two individual champions in Willie Ward-Williams (145) and Aristeo Prado (285).
The top four finishers in each division advance to next week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III tournament at Atwater High.
Merced’s David Granados (113) and Atwater’s Dylan McCartney (220) were the other two area wrestlers to win individual titles.
Boys Soccer
Golden Valley 1, Patterson 0 in Merced — Carlos Garcia scored on a penalty kick in the 16th minute for the lone goal in the game. Golden Valley improved to 4-4-2 in the CCC.
Girls Wrestling
Atwater High girls took home six individual titles at the CCC Tournament at Merced High.
Leading the way was Falcons senior Monica Verdugo, who pinned all three of her opponents to win the 101-pound championship. Other Atwater title winners were Yvette Hurtado (111), Natalie Vasquez (126), Ulyette Curiel (137), Ana Ceja (160) and Megan Brock (235).
Atwater finished second to Central Valley in the team standings. The Hawks finished with 198 points and had five individual winners. Atwater finished with 186 points.
El Capitan’s Helen Burgos (106), Jackie Herandez (121) and Buhach Colony’s Laura Gonzalez (189) pounds were the other three area winners.
Girls Basketball
Atwater 81, Merced 34 in Atwater — The Falcons celebrated senior night in style with a big win over the Bears to improve to 20-6 overall and 9-1 in the CCC. Lexi Valencia paced Atwater with 19 points and twin sister Kelsey Valencia added 18 points.
El Capitan 41, Patterson 32 in Merced — Amaya Ervin scored 19 points to help the Gauchos improve to 18-9 overall and 9-2 in the CCC.
Livingston 54, Ripon Christian 39 in Ripon — Annie Winton poured in 31 points to help the Wolves defeat the Knights. Victoria Montes finished with 13 points for Livingston.
This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 9:21 PM.