WATSONVILLE — San Lorenzo Valley High junior Gabriel Attia took first place in his weight division at the Central Coast Section Southern Regional Wrestling Championships at Watsonville High on Saturday.
The top eight placers in each of the 14 weight divisions at both the Northern Regional, held at Gunn High, and Southern Regional advance to the CCS Masters Finals at Watsonville on Saturday.
Santa Cruz County advanced 15 boys to the Masters tournament.
Attia earned a 6-5 decision over Alisal senior Fabian Martinez in the final at 285 pounds to finish with a 4-0 record. It was an otherwise dominant performance for Attia, who pinned all three of his other opponents in the first period.
Aptos juniors Cruz Contreras (132 pounds) and Cole Moules (165), Scotts Valley senior Caleb Mendoza (175), and SLV senior Ollin Bates (215) took third in their respective weight divisions.
Monte Vista Christian senior Jacob Wong (215) took fourth, and Aptos junior Johnny Stoner (144) and Soquel senior Sevryn Salisbury (190) took fifth.
Aptos sophomore Jack Moreno (106) and junior Dominic Cabot (120), Harbor sophomore Mateo Moreno (126), Scotts Valley sophomore Micaiah Trujillo (144), and Santa Cruz junior Max Quale (150) took sixth.
Watsonville junior Mark Flores-Ortiz (150) and Monte Vista Christian senior Thomas Beck (190) took eighth.
Contreras finished 4-1. His only loss came against Everett Alvarez sophomore Joseph Albert via a 10-1 major decision in the semifinals. Contreras crushed his other four opponents, winning three by technical fall — a win of 15 or more points — and pinning his final opponent, Live Oak senior Aaron Saucedo in the first period to secure third place.
Moules also went 4-1. After pinning his first two opponents, he lost to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Kaleo Garcia, a Gilroy senior, in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, he bounced back with two more pins to lock down third.
Mendoza was an ultimate warrior. He lost his opening match by a 4-3 decision to Yerba Buena senior Joseph Lai, and responded with won five straight victories in the consolation bracker, three coming in elimination matches. He earned a 5-4 decision over Willow Glen junior Elias NIxon to secure third.
Bates went 4-1. He won by major decision and tech fall to reach the semifinals, where he dropped a 10-3 decision to Palma junior Bernie Phillips. In the consolation bracket, he posted a pin and followed that win with a 17-0 tech fall over MVC’s Wong.
Wong had pinned three of his other four opponents, two of them in less than a minute. His only other loss came against No. 1 seed and eventual champion Brian Haran, a junior at Gilroy.
Santa Cruz High wrestler Vera Bentley took second and was the highest local female placer at the CCS Southern Regional Championships at Watsonville on Saturday. (Juan Flores – Special to the Sentinel file)
Girls
Santa Cruz sophomore Vera Bentley (130) took second and was the highest local female placer at the CCS Southern Regional Championships at Watsonville on Saturday.
The top eight placers in each of the 14 weight divisions at both the Northern Regional, held at Gunn High, and Sourthern Regional advance to the CCS Masters Finals at Watsonville on Saturday.
Santa Cruz County advanced nine girls to the Masters tournament.
Bentley finished 3-1. She pinned her first two opponents in the first period, and upset the No. 1 seed, North Monterey County junior Jazmine Perez, with a 10-6 decision in the semifinals. But No. 2 seed Tamara Grace, a Gilroy senior, prevailed in the final by earning a pin in 1:36.
Santa Cruz freshman Julia Fodor-Weir (105) took third and sophomore teammate Alyssa Karagiannopolous (155) took fourth.
Fodor-Weir went 5-1 with five wins by pin. She was pinned by Silver Creek senior Christal Sand in the quarterfinals, but responded with four straight wins in the consolation bracket. She pinned Evergreen Valley junior Briana Fagundes in 4:06 to secure third.
Karagiannopolous went 3-2 with three wins by fall, two coming in the first period.
Soquel senior Anika Radich (135) and Harbor senior Julia Carranza (155) took fifth, and SLV senior Jennifer Black (125) took sixth.
Aptos senior Isabella Cruz (105) and MVC junior Megan Merson (115) took seventh, and Santa Cruz junior Onyx Escobar (140) took eighth.
IF YOU GO
CCS Masters Finals
When: Saturday, 9 a.m.
Where: Watsonville High