Poway racked up 343 points to out-distance a field of 18 San Diego CIF Division I schools.
"Just like before, it's always a great feeling," Poway coach Wayne Branstetter told the North County Times. "New faces, new lives. We graduated some real studs last year, but we have a great bunch of kids this year who really stepped up."
Branstetter’s reign has reaped 29 section championships in his 32 seasons.
In his latest endeavor, Branstetter’s Titans secured 10 individual titles en route to winning the team title by more than 100 points for the eighth consecutive year.
Brawley grapplers take 10th straight section title
Since Brawley is somewhat isolated in the CIF-SDS, come playoff time there is a good chance the Wildcats will be on the road. Despite having to clear that hurdle, Brawley hasn’t been denied when the medals are passed out. Brawley sent seven wrestlers to the Division III finals, winning at five weights to register 212.5 team points and capture its 10th straight section title.
"It’ll be a happy drive," Wildcats coach Tony Leon told the San Diego Union-Tribune of the two-hour drive home from Valhalla. "We’ll be screaming all the way home. They’re going to hear us from the top of the mountain all the way down."
Winning is nothing new for Brawley’s wrestlers, who have divided their titles between Division III and Division IV.
Basketball: Ineligible player cancels season for El Cajon Christian
The Christian (El Cajon) Patriots boys basketball team, which only a week ago was riding a 21-game winning streak, was forced to forfeit all 27 games due to eligibility issues.
According to Christian Unified Schools Superintendent Chuck Leslie, once the school became aware of the violation it reported it to the CIF-SDS section office. Thus the Patriots, who had won 23 of 26 games on the court, and figured to be the No. 1 seed in the Division IV playoffs, have been disqualified. Leslie said the violation was unintentional and not the fault of the player involved or his parents.
"It was an oversight on our part," Leslie said. "The bummer about this is when adults make mistakes, kids suffer."
Mighty Mitchell is unsung hero for Spring Valley Mount Miguel
It takes a special mentality to perform in the role that Spring Valley Mount Miguel senior Bryant Mitchell has adopted. The 6-foot-2 Mitchell, who averages 10.8 rebounds per game, collected 21 caroms as the Matadors closed the regular season with a win over El Cajon Valley to secure their first Grossmont League championship in 23 years. Ironically, Mitchell, who averages only three shots per game, remains one of the Matadors' top shooters, netting 41 of 74 attempts from the field (.554).
Komets guard shoots for the sky
Senior point guard Ashleigh King scored 45 points, including five 3-pointers, in Kearny’s 75-22 victory over Clairemont. King, who averages 22.5 on the season, also recorded eight assists and eight steals for the Komets (17-5), who ran the table to claim the Central League crown with a 12-0 mark. King scored 30 or more points in four games.
Other top performances
— Senior guard Elaina White of The Bishop’s School scored 37 points, hitting eight 3-pointers as the Knights clobbered Francis Parker 94-56.
— El Capitan 6-1 senior Mike Overson registered 78 points, 45 rebounds, 11 steals, eight assists and four blocks in the final three games of the regular season for the Vaqueros.
— Senior guard Rafeal Rodriguez rang up 62 points in Army-Navy victories over Santa Fe Christian and San Dieguito Academy.
— Foothills Christian senior guard Kalob Hatcher paced the Knights (27-4) with 26 points and 11 assists in a win over Lakeside’s El Capitan. He also hoisted his career 3-point baskets total to 268 by dropping in six treys.
— La Costa Canyon guard Jen Dumiak scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Mission Hills and followed that with 19 points in a win over Torrey Pines as the Mavericks finished the Avocado League season 10-0.
— Junior Nick Kerr of Torrey Pines netted 36 points as the Falcons swept past San Pasqual and La Costa Canyon to capture the Avocado League title.
— Tanner Clayton, a Rancho Bernardo senior, generated 27 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Rancho Buena Vista, and punched in 23 points in a victory over Poway.
— Poway senior Katie Holiday scored 18 points in a 67-43 win over El Camino and 11 points in a 66-28 win over Rancho Bernardo to become the fifth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
— Escondido Charter’s Natasha Keyser tied her season high with 34 points in a win over UCSD Preuss.
— Junior 5-foot point guard Alissa Campanero contributed 15 points and 13 assists in Bishop’s blowout of Francis Parker.
— Olympian’s Ryan Canlapan tossed in 27 points as the Eagles dumped San Ysidro.
— Santee West Hills’ senior Sherika Miller reached the 1,000 career points plateau this week. Two of her teammates – Kimberly Clark and Marilyn Naderhoff – have also reached the 1,000-point milestone this season.
Coming attractions
The CIF-SDS basketball playoffs begin this week with 144 teams involved. The boys games are slated for Tuesday (Feb. 23) and Saturday (Feb. 27) with the girls playing on Wednesday (Feb. 24) and Friday (Feb. 26). The semifinals for boys are slated for March 2 with the girls completion following a day later. Perhaps the most attractive showdown will be the Division II boys finals where Hoover (23-5) will meet Lincoln (21-2) on March 5 for the championship at the University of San Diego. Also, the Masters wrestling meet will be conducted at El Centro Southwest on Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27)
Dickens dealings
An issue of allegations of coaches recruiting players has been on the hot plate in San Diego over the past decade.
So is what the accused coaches do illegal? That is a matter of interpretation.
The latest method the San Diego CIF has used to net perpetrators is to raise the bar on the first-contact rule. This has created controversy. The intent of the rule is solid in terms of keeping club coaches (many of whom are high school coaches) from wooing players to leave their local school to jump ship and follow their club coaches with the result being creating on-campus all-star teams. This maneuver can be way out of line in terms of CIF guidelines, which stresses "an even playing field" for all participants.
Say a coach has a 10-year-old kid in Little League and his dad attends every game. Naturally the dad will have conversations with his son’s teammates and their parents. Then, five years later, his son and a couple of his Little League teammates decide to enroll at a school out of their attendance boundaries. And you – the dad – are the coach. Is that a violation in terms of first contact because you knew those 10-year-old Little Leaguers?
I question creating such a rule for life. There needs to be a more realistic time frame that such rules apply. What occurs in the "marble leagues" should not have impact at the high school level. This rule smacks of overkill.
In a student’s freshman year there is an opportunity to change schools without penalty. This seems to me like the best time to invoke the first-contact rule.
