NCS wrestling championships: De La Salle continues dominance, captures ninth consecutive section title
De La Salle dominates again, winning another team championship, and James Logan girls capture a title, too.
North Coast Section boys
De La Salle dominates across the board
De La Salle made it look easy. The Spartans won their ninth consecutive NCS title and their 14th in the last 15 years on Saturday at James Logan High. De La Salle finished with an overall score of 260 — 98 more than second-place Liberty — and had the most pins with 33. Three Spartan wrestlers won their division and five qualified for the state tournament. “Their brotherhood is real,” first-year De La Salle coach Carlos Sumulong said. “They’ve been together for a long time and have done a great job of living up to the standards set by the Spartans before them.” … Caleb Tatad had the most dominant performance for De La Salle. The senior won the 115-pound division, beating Liberty’s Tanner Bartonico by 17-3 major decision. Tatad came in third place in the NCS championships last season and was motivated to get to state this season. “The championship match meant a lot to me as well because last year, I didn’t have a chance to go to state,” Tatad said. “I came in third in the same weight class. So this one meant a lot to me to get back to state.” … Other De La Salle winners were Manuel Martir, who won the 122-pound division, and Franklin Enkhmandakh, who won at 159. … Two Liberty wrestlers finished first in their respective divisions. Jack Farage won the 152-pound division by upsetting 2023 NCS winner TJ Arvizu of De La Salle in a close 4-2 decision. David Calkins Jr. won the 192-pound title, marking the second consecutive year he has won an NCS crown. Calkins captured his championship match by fall 41 seconds into the second period. “This year was less physical and skill demanding and more mental,” Calkins said about winning back-to-back NCS titles. “It was just a matter of me staying in the moment and staying present.” … Other local winners were Castro Valley’s Connor Jeong (108 pounds) and Kennedy-Fremont’s Casey Jackson (146) and Jayden Tadeo Gosal (217).
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NCS girls
James Logan comes out on top
James Logan won the NCS title by a slim margin, edging second-place Pittsburg 144.5-138. Surprisingly, James Logan only had one wrestler win an individual crown. But the Colts had a wrestler place in the top eight in six of the 14 weight classes. Mikayla Garcia was close to gold in the 120-pound division, but lost a tough 2-0 decision to Shayna Ward of Oakland Tech. … Granada’s Lauren Ngyuen won her second consecutive NCS title, defeating Gracie Caro of Amador Valley in the championship match. Ngyuen won by major decision 12-0. … Other local winner were Castro Valley’s Maya Trujillo (105 pounds), Clayton Valley’s Abbi Cooper (110), Granada’s SJ Martin (115), Monte Vista’s Mason Harsch (125) and Maci Stemmons (135), Dublin’s Lana Nguyen (130), Northgate’s Symone Jewell (155), Arroyo’s Leenah Abushi (170) and Pittsburg’s Jax Saeed (235).
North Coast Section boys
Team scores (top five)
De La Salle 260, Liberty 162, Casa Grande 151.5, Ukiah 148, Del Norte 145
Championship results
108: Connor Jeong (Castro Valley High School) d. Jack Baker (Granada High School) 6-5
115: Caleb Tatad (De La Salle High School) d. Tanner Bartonico (Liberty High School) 17-3
122: Manuel Martir (De La Salle High School ) d. Yousuf Amin (Dublin High School) 9-0
128: Mason Evanow (Fortuna High School) d. Gio Cuevas (De La Salle High School) 8-6
134: Ali Hamzia (Redwood High School) d. Karmine Berndt (Vallejo High School) 6-2
140: Curtis Bartley (Del Norte High School) d. Vicente Rodarte (Benicia High School) 2-0
152: Jack Farage (Liberty High School) d. TJ Arvizu (De La Salle High School ) 4-2
159: Franklin Enkhmandakh (De La Salle High School ) d. Camden Bushey (Casa Grande High School) 12-3
167: Colton Schaad (Del Norte High School) d. Jesse Briggs (Heritage High School) 3-2
177: Logan Bruce (Maria Carrillo High School) d. Jonah Bertoli (Cardinal Newman High School) 9-4
192: David Calkins Jr. (Liberty High School) p. Antonio Correa (Hoopa Valley High School) 3:41
217: Jayden TadeoGosal (John F Kennedy High School) p. Joe Ellis (Vintage High School) 4:10
287: Devon Bertoli (Cardinal Newman High School) p. Edward Berncich (Petaluma High School) 2:45
North Coast Section girls
Top Scores (Top 5)
James Logan 144.5, Pittsburg 138, Castro Valley 132.5, Northgate 113.0, Granada 93
Championship results
100: Lauren Nguyen (Granada) d. Graciela Caro (Amador Valley) 12-0
105: Maya Trujillo (Castro Valley) d. Lynette Legados (Hayward) 4-2
115: SJ Martin (Granada) d. Grace Leach (Alhambra) 12-8
120: Shayna Ward (Oakland Tech Senior H S) d. Mikayla Garcia (James Logan High School) Dec 2-0
125: Mason Harsch (Monte Vista) p. Kameelah Hameed (James Logan High School) 1:14
130: Lana Nguyen (Dublin) d. Yarely Barreto (Albany) 8-3
135: Maci Stemmons (Monte Vista) d. Noelle Alexander (Maria Carrillo) 17-2
140: Luana Stathopoulos (Redwood) p. over Anakarla Hernandez (St Helena) 1:42
145: Alexis Peregrina (Upper Lake) d. Mahlyah Sao (Newark Memorial) 2:41
155: Symone Jewell (Northgate) d. Rosalynn Diaz (Liberty) 5-4
170: Leenah Abushi (Arroyo) p. Kira Bjornson (John F Kennedy) Fall 2:38
190: Rawni Self (Windsor) p. Cecilia Chatman (Pittsburg) 0:37
235: Jax Saeed (Pittsburg) p. Bella Glenn (Willits) 0:51
