Ceres High’s Parker Borges and Central Valley’s Sal Almazan have been named the Courier’s co-Male Athletes of the Year for the winter sports season.

Hawk Alicia Espinoza has been named Female Athlete of the Year.

Espinoza excelled in girls wrestling.

Borges and Almazan both starred in boys wrestling.

Espinoza made program history by becoming just the third Hawk wrestler to medal at the CIF State Championships.

She followed in the footsteps of older sister/two-time medalist Brianna Espinoza (class of 2026) and Nayeli Pelayo (class of 2018).

“We’re very happy for her,” Hawks’ head coach Brandy Cordova said. “Her ultimate goal was to (get on the) podium. That’s what she’s worked for all season.”

Alicia Espinoza won six of eight matches while finishing in seventh place in the 235-pound division at state as a senior.

“I knew it was going to be hard, but I had to remind myself it’s just another tournament, another match,” she said. “I didn’t feel a whole lot of pressure even considering it was my senior year. I had nothing to lose, but more to gain.”

Seeded fifth, Espinoza dropped into the consolation bracket after being upset by 12th-seeded Adelena Martinez of Hemet (pin, 1:46) in the Round of 16.

“Even though I got upset earlier in the tournament, to me it was just another lesson to be learned,” she said. “I still believed in myself. I had been in blood rounds before and I knew I could do it.”

Espinoza collected wins against San Jose’s Alexandra Marquez Armas (pin, 0:38), Cabrillo’s Leilah Carter (pin, 0:58), Hughson’s Annebella Austin (pin, 0:30), Hiram Johnson’s Nancy Hernandez (decision, 8-4) and Chico’s Brianna Reid (pin, 2:08).

She received a bye in the opening round of the tournament.

“Alicia never lost focus,” Cordova said. “She knew what she needed to do. She had been in that position before at other tournaments.”

A newcomer to the heavyweight division this season, Espinoza amassed a career-best 53-7 overall record.

She became Central Valley’s first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament champion.

She took first at South Regionals.

She also matched older sister Brianna’s feat of winning four league titles.

“It’s her best season to date,” Cordova said. 

Espinoza was at least 20 pounds lighter than the majority of her opponents.

“She was using moves that typical heavyweights don’t use,” Cordova said. “She was doing outside single legs. That was one of her biggest advantages.”

Espinoza had a career record of 145-99 with the Hawks.

She’ll be remembered as one of Central Valley’s all-time greatest wrestlers.

“Her place in CV history is set in stone,” Cordova said. “It’s going to be a while before anyone can match that. More and more girls are getting into wrestling. It’s going to be a tough road.”

“CV wrestling has been a huge part of my life,” Espinoza added. “It has opened my eyes to who I am as a person and what I can accomplish. It opened opportunities and so many good people that have impacted my life. It’ll be an honor to be remembered in a good way, but honestly there are so many good wrestlers in this program. I’m more happy to have been part of a loving team. I’m going to miss them.”

Borges enjoyed his best season to date with Ceres High.

The 144-pound senior compiled a 37-9 overall record.

“He was determined to succeed this year,” coach Adam Borges said. “He cut out distractions. He stayed focused on wrestling.”

A two-time Sac-Joaquin Section Masters qualifier, Parker Borges had his most productive showing at this year’s tournament.

He won two of four matches despite being slowed by a Grade 2 left-ankle sprain.

“Our expectation was to try to get on the podium,” Adam Borges said. “He fell a little short. He gave his all on the mat. He has no regrets. He did everything he could. He didn’t quit. It was amazing to see him gut it out. It would have been nice to see what he could have accomplished if he was healthy.”

Parker Borges accomplished a pair of firsts in his prep wrestling career this year by winning Divisional (D4) and WAC titles.

The Bulldogs’ last Divisional champion was in 2019.

He took first at the Ceres Invitational for the second year in a row and second at Oakdale’s James Riddle Classic.

He competed with a left ankle injury during the postseason.

Parker Borges had over 100 career wins.

Almazan had a career-year with Central Valley.

The 285-pound senior amassed a 33-4 overall record.

“I’m really proud of him,” Hawks’ head coach Rob Beckhart said. “He earned a spot in the varsity lineup sophomore year and got a lot better.”

Almazan took first with a perfect 4-0 mark at Divisionals.

“Central Valley has never had a wrestler place first in a 16-man, Division-IV bracket,” Beckhart said. “That was the expectation. Sal stayed focused and did what he needed to do. He had some tough matches. Nothing was easy.”

Almazan won titles at the WAC finals and Ceres Invitational.

He placed second at the Firebaugh Westside and Apple Cider tournaments.

Almazan won two of four matches at Masters. The top five finishers in each weight class advanced to the CIF State Championships.

“Sal had a good shot at going to state,” Beckhart stated. “Unfortunately, it just wasn’t his day. He wrestled really well. He lost to two kids who are state-ranked and qualified for state.”

“Not the result I wanted but huge improvement from last year,” Almazan said in a post on Instagram.

Almazan had a career-record of 87-44 as a member of Central Valley’s boys wrestling program.