Central Valley’s boys wrestling and girls soccer programs, and Ceres High’s girls basketball squad have been named the Courier’s co-Teams of the Year for the winter sports season.
Central Valley’s boys wrestling team enjoyed one of its most successful years to date.
The Hawks set a program record for dual wins in a season with 21.
Central Valley tied for first place atop the Western Athletic Conference dual standings (6-1) with Grace Davis.
The Hawks also made history by placing first at the WAC Tournament for the second year in a row.
Central Valley qualified for Sac-Joaquin Section Team Duals.
The Hawks finished second at the Division-IV Championships.
Central Valley had 11 wrestlers medal at the WAC finals and seven at the Division-IV tournament.
The Hawks sent five grapplers to Masters.
“I’m proud of them,” Central Valley head coach Rob Beckhart said. “The results are from all the hard work and effort they’re putting in.”
Central Valley’s girls soccer team continued its winning tradition.
The Hawks compiled a 15-5-2 overall record.
Central Valley collected 13 wins, one loss and no ties on its way to claiming its second straight WAC championship.
The Hawks also qualified for the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Central Valley outscored its opponents, 88-23 (76-4 in league).
The Hawks won by shutout 12 times.
Eleventh-seeded Central Valley lot 3-0 to sixth-seeded Lincoln in the first round of the Division-I postseason tournament.
Starters Aaralyn Jauregui, Aaliyah Jauregui, Amirrah Cornielle and Camila Orozco did not play during the Hawks’ matchup against the Trojans.
They were sidelined for various reasons.
“I’m happy for the girls, program and school,” Central Valley head coach Miguel Larranaga said. “We won back-to-back (WAC) titles. The reason we did this is because we have so much talent. All the girls stepped up this year.”
Ceres High’s girls basketball team had another memorable season.
The Bulldogs compiled a 17-12 overall record, placed third in the WAC standings with a 9-5 mark and qualified for the Section playoffs for the third year in a row.
Ceres High won one of two games en route to a top eight finish in the Division-III playoff bracket for the second consecutive season.
The 11th-seeded Bulldogs upset the sixth-seeded Sierra Wolves 36-35 in the first round of the playoffs.
Ceres High avenged a 50-34 regular-season loss.
The Bulldogs put up a fight in losing 60-52 to the third-seeded Lathrop Spartans in the quarterfinals.
Ceres High lost 76-43 and 56-29 to Lathrop during WAC play.
“It’s been great to see Ceres High girls basketball back in the playoffs and competing at a high level,” Bulldogs’ head coach Megan McGill said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great players in the last four years and a strong coaching staff that cares about our girls and encourage them to be the best version of themselves.”
