* Aptos High wrestler Cole Moules flips Harbor’s Charlie Shirmer en route to victory at the SCCAL Championships at San Lorenzo Valley High on Friday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel) Escobar was the only wrestler to win by decision. Every other match held was determined by pin. 126: Cruz Contreras (Aptos), So., d. Levi […]
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Aptos High wrestler Cole Moules flips Harbor’s Charlie Shirmer en route to victory at the SCCAL Championships at San Lorenzo Valley High on Friday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Escobar was the only wrestler to win by decision. Every other match held was determined by pin. 126: Cruz Contreras (Aptos), So., d. Levi Larsen (Soquel), Jr., 18-3 tech fall
An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. An offseason rules change by the National Federation of State High School Associations made this the first year that takedowns were worth three points instead of two. The change was made to not only follow suit with college scoring, but to incentivize more offensive action and risk-taking. Tong-Zhou and Harbor senior August Bentley traded takedowns, reversals, and escapes in a tremendous showing of both wrestler’s heart. Tong-Zhou led 17-16 when he registered his pin. Bentley did plenty of damage. Tong-Zhou winced when he hand was lifted by the referee, signaling the victor. * Aptos junior Isabella Cruz (100) also won with a first-period pin, Harbor junior Kira Demma (135) earned a second-period pin, and SLV junior Jennifer Black (115) earned a third-period pin.
285: Gabriel Attia (SLV), So., d. Javier Pinedo-Gonzalez (Soquel), Sr., pin in 2nd Santa Cruz qualified eight of its 11 wrestlers for the finals, and six emerged with titles.
235: Vacant 110: Addie Jones (Harbor), Sr., d. Analyn Magallon (Santa Cruz), So., pin in 1st
Moules, Santa Cruz senior Everest Tong-Zhou (138), and SLV sophomore Gabriel Attia (285) repeated as champions, and Santa Cruz senior Balam Letona (120), also a ’23 champion, won his second title. Attia and Letona both won their respective final with a pin in the second period, and Tong-Zhou earned earned a third-period pin.
Aptos earned 153.5 points to secure the league title. Soquel (134.0) took second. Santa Cruz (129.0) was third and followed in the standings by Harbor (87.0), SLV (85.0), and Scotts Valley (79.5). “It was kinda personal because he beat me last year twice,” Aquino said. “I knew I was better than him, so I knew I had to get that one back.”
Santa Cruz High wrestler Adriana Renau-Demongeot, bottom, gathers herself during her victory over Aptos’ Lilly Bane at the SCCAL Championships at San Lorenzo Valley High on Friday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
* Cardinals sophomore Adriana Renau-Demongeot earned a second-period pin, and classmate Onyx Escobar (140) won with a 14-7 decision. 106 pounds: Dominic Cabot (Aptos), So., d. Nathaniel Marcus (Soquel), So., pin in 1st
“I think we’re ready,” Moules said. “Take it to the next week, that’s our thing. Get one week, take it to the next week. How far do you want to go? And you focus on the match before you, not the matches ahead.” Santa Cruz High wrestler Adriana Renau-Demongeot, bottom, gathers herself during her victory over Aptos’ Lilly Bane at the SCCAL Championships at San Lorenzo Valley High on Friday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel) Aquino is elated to qualify for the section regionals.
155: Gabriella Brasuell (SLV), Sr., bye *
Scotts Valley and Soquel each crowned two champions. Falcons freshman Coleton LaFontaine (175) had his 12-11 decision over Santa Cruz senior Luke Brower decided at the scorers table. Brower was penalized a point for stalling, but the volunteers at the scorers table errored and awarded Brower the point. The blunder was fixed and LaFontaine was given his rightful victory. 170: Heaven Cardenas (Santa Cruz), So., bye *
125: Marlena Gustafson (Santa Cruz), So., d. Callia Sillas (Soquel), Fr., pin in 1st
Gustafson and Escobar repeated as champions, as did Harbor junior Julia Carranza (145), who won with a second-period pin. Santa Cruz, under the direction of coach Pete Gastafson, cruised to the SCCAL Championships title with 140.0 points.
Santa Cruz, under the direction of coach Pete Gastafson, cruised to the SCCAL Championships title with 140.0 points.
190: Cala Bretholtz (Santa Cruz), Sr., d. Amelie Mintun (Aptos), Sr., pin in 1st 145: Julia Carranza (Harbor), Jr., d. Adessa Lewis (SLV), Sr., pin in 2nd 165: Nico Aquino (Harbor), Sr., d. Rhodri Griffin (Santa Cruz), Jr., pin in 3rd “We put in a decent amount of work in the room and it pays off,” Bentley said. “It showed tonight. Everyone got a chance to be great, and it was cool.” Harbor senior Nico Aquino (165) and significantly taller Santa Cruz junior Rhodri Griffin turned in a similar match full of fireworks. Aquino 13-8 before earning a pin in the third period.
© 2025 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.). Visit www.santacruzsentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Girls 105: Adriana Renau-Demongeot (Santa Cruz), So., d. Lilly Bane (Aptos), Sr., pin in 2nd THE FINALS
215: Lucas Zuniga (Aptos), Sr., d. Ollin Bates (SLV), Jr., 1-0 dec. SLV senior Grady Cloyd (190) pinned Soquel junior Marcos Phelps in the second period of their match to earn his third league title. 157: Abran Zubiate (Soquel), Sr., d. Craig Scott (Santa Cruz), So., 12-4 major dec. “I got two concussions not that long ago, like last month, so I had a little bit of anxiety and stuff,” Jones said. “But I think that just cleared me for my matches in CCS. And now it’s, like, actually time to bring it.” *
FELTON — Three high school wrestling teams — Aptos, Soquel, and Santa Cruz — finished the dual-meet season with identical 4-1 records. That meant whoever showed out at the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championships on Friday night would be crowned league champion. Harbor High wrestler Addie Jones wins her match against Santa Cruz’s Analyn Magallon at the SCCAL Championships at San Lorenzo Valley High on Friday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
