Jaguars earn first-ever Valley League boys basketball title

Robby Tortes puts up a tough shot against Orange Glen.

With a few high-fives and an absolute lack of fanfare, the Valley Center varsity boys basketball team “celebrated” the first Valley League championship in school history with a 52–34 win at Orange Glen on Friday night.
The Jaguars were clearly happy to get the win, but center Stehly Reden summed up the conflicting emotions behind the stoic victory.
“It feels good to be the league champions, but we’ve got a new goal now,” he said.
That goal is to carry the momentum from an outstanding regular season—the Jags finished 17–8 overall and 7–1 in league, including wins in their last eight games—over into the CIF playoffs, which begin this week.
“This is a great bunch of guys,” head coach Bob Purdy said after the game. “They all practice hard and they all play hard, every week. This was the first time we had enough guys to play summer ball, and that carried over into the season. They like each other, and they play hard for each other. Now we just need to keep playing hard and hope for a good seed.”
Despite the league title and outstanding record, the Jaguars enter the CIF playoffs as the No. 9 seed of 16 teams and will play at No. 8 Santana at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round of the post-season.
To win their first league championship, the Jaguars spoiled Orange Glen’s senior night celebration with solid offense and stifling defense in the 52–34 win.
Valley Center built a good lead with a seven-point run late in the first quarter, but Orange Glen pulled back to within four at the end of the period.
But the Jags started the second quarter with a ten-point run, including six straight points from Reden, and held the Patriots to only three points in the quarter to take a 13-point lead at halftime.
The Jaguars spread the ball around on offense in the third quarter, as six different players scored at least a point in the period, to extend the lead to 15 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, the Jags played patient basketball, milking the clock on offense and limiting the Patriots on defense to seal the big win.
“We knew we were going to have to hustle to beat these guys,” Purdy said. “They’re a small team, so we used our big guys to our advantage. And [James] Siva really hustled out there; he’s the smallest guy on the team but he came up big for us tonight.”
Reden led all scorers with 17 points, while Siva added ten, AJ Broomell and Mike McInerny each had eight, Robby Tortes had six, Brett Henderson had two and Beau Reilly had one.
Valley Center’s opening game in the CIF playoffs is at Santana on Wednesday at 7 p.m. If the Jaguars win, they play again on Saturday night against the winner between El Capitan and No. 1 St. Augustine.

(photos by Gabriel Santana)

AJ Broomell brings the ball up the court:
Mike McInerny gets an open look at this shot:
Broomell looks for a passing lane under the basket:
Stehly Reden (4) grabs a rebound:
James Siva tries to get a pass around his defender:
Reden goes up for another rebound:
Tortes lines up a free throw:
Siva matches up on defense:
Reden gets set for a foul shot:
Broomell keeps a close eye on his man on defense:
McInerny gets a hand on this layup attempt:
McInerny grabs the loose ball...
...and dishes it off on the fast break:
Reden gets his follow-through set for a free throw:
McInerny goes in for the open layup:
Tortes keeps his hands up on defense:
Siva breaks down the court:

Siva and Beau Reilly go after a loose ball:

Broomell leads the fast break:
Reilly squares up for a free throw:
Siva turns to bring the ball into the offensive zone:
Siva gets an open jump shot:
Brett Henderson brings the ball up the court:
Dan Henderson makes a move to get past his defender:

Oros wins section title, Jags finish second in CIF wrestling tournament

Juan Oros shows off his medal and winning bracket from the CIF tournament.

The Jaguars finished second in CIF Division IV this season.

Senior wrestler Juan Oros won the 105-pound division to lead the Valley Center varsity wrestling team to a second place finish in the CIF Division IV wrestling tournament at Olympian High School on Saturday.
The Jaguars tallied 179.5 points to finish just behind tournament winner Clairemont with 190 points, and will send eight wrestlers to the Masters meet on Saturday. The Jags beat out the rest of the top five: La Jolla in third with 170.5, Imperial in fourth with 164.5 and Olympian in fifth with 145.5.
Oros came back late in the match to pull out a 6–4 decision over Tirso Lara of Imperial in the championship round, after rolling through the first three matches of the day with lightning-fast pins.
Meanwhile, Dylan Smith finished second in the 162-pound division after falling to Matt Vasquez of La Jolla in a 4–3 decision that went to four overtime periods before a champion was crowned.
In the third place matches, both Dustin Miller at 114 pounds and Lorenzo Gomez at 287 pounds won to secure a top-three spot for the Jaguars. Miller won a 5–0 decision over Jerrick Ello of Olympian, while Gomez won a 3–1 decision over Lance Angulo of Holtville.
Four of Valley Center’s wrestlers made it to the third place matches, only to suffer losses because of the five-match rule. Those four Jaguars were Manny Boyle at 121 pounds, Daquota Avila at 137 pounds, Kyle Glennie at 191 pounds and Travis Weddington at 217 pounds.
Those eight wrestlers—Oros, Smith, Miller, Gomez, Boyle, Avila, Glennie and Weddington—will represent Valley Center in the CIF San Diego Section Masters Tournament this Friday and Saturday at Canyon Crest Academy.

(photos by Gabriel Santana)

Another big win earns share of Valley League basketball title for Lady Jags

The Valley Center varsity girls basketball team finished off the regular season with an impressive win, earned a share of the Valley League championship and advanced to the CIF playoffs this week.
The Lady Jaguars polished off Orange Glen in the season finale, earning them the league co-championship with Del Norte and the No. 7 seed in CIF Division III, which gave them a home game against Santana at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the first round of the post-season.
To get to the playoffs, the Lady Jags have been on a roll since mid-January, winning five of their last six games and eight of their last ten.
Finishing off the season at Orange Glen on Friday night, the Lady Jaguars dominated the first half and cruised down the stretch to take a 69–47 victory.
Lauren Gilster showed up in a big way for Valley Center, scoring the first 11 points of the game and leading the Lady Jaguars to a 13–9 lead after the first quarter.
Miriam Zabinsky took over for the Lady Jags in the second quarter, scoring 11 of Valley Center’s 28 points in the period, which extended the lead to 25 at halftime.
The Lady Jaguars pushed the lead out even further in the third quarter, even with the bench getting plenty of playing time, to put the Lady Patriots down by 28 heading into the fourth quarter.
Orange Glen played outstanding offense down the stretch, racking up 22 points in the final period, but the Lady Jags were solid inside and from the free throw line to hold on for the 22-point win.
Zabinsky’s 19 points led all scorers in the game, while Gilster added 18, Andie Wagner had 16, Sidney Reilly had seven, Vinessa Perryman had four, Kelli Imgrund had three and Darin Gilmore had two.
Valley Center finished the season with a 15–12 overall record and a 6–2 league mark. The Lady Jaguars will have played at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Santana in the CIF playoffs. The winner of that game will play again on Saturday against the winner of the game between Mt. Miguel and No. 2 La Jolla.
Be sure to check out the Valley Roadrunner’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/valleycenter for all the latest sports updates throughout the week.

Lady Jaguars win soccer season finale, host first round CIF playoff game

Valley Center’s varsity girls soccer team polished off an outstanding season with another win, making it four wins in the last six games for the Lady Jaguars, and earned a home game in the first round of the CIF playoffs this week.
With the win in the season finale, the Lady Jags earned the No. 6 seed in the CIF Division IV bracket, which means they will host No. 11 Mountain Empire (8–6–3, 4–3–2) on Wednesday night at 5 p.m.
The final game of the regular season was a home game against Orange Glen on Thursday, and a combination of consistent offense and solid defense led the Lady Jaguars to a 2–0 win.
Hannah Sanders scored in the first half on an assist from Michelle Nido to put the Lady Jags in front, then Amanda Nealis scored in the second half to put the game away. In goal, Taylor Yates made two key saves to get the shutout and the victory.
Valley Center posted a 10–6–2 overall record and a 4–3–1 league mark this season. The Lady Jaguars play at home against Santana on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the CIF playoffs. The winner of that game will advance to play at No. 3 Francis Parker on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Season ends in quarterfinals for Lady Jags water polo team

The 2011 season came to an end this week for the Valley Center varsity girls water polo team after the Lady Jaguars advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs before suffering a loss.
The Lady Jags beat Santa Fe Christian in the opening round of the Division III playoffs on Thursday, but couldn’t get past No. 3-ranked Cathedral Catholic in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Valley Center played well against Santa Fe Christian, taking an early lead and holding on late in the game for a 9–4 win.
After having beaten the Lady Eagles by only one goal earlier in the season, the Lady Jags knew the rematch would be a tough game.
The Lady Jaguars to put away three goals in the first, while allowing two for the Lady Eagles. Both teams scored one in the second, giving Valley Center a 4–3 advantage at half.
The Lady Jags were able to score three in the third, while only allowing only one, to lead 7–4 going into the fourth. In the final period, Valley Center was able to put away two more goals allowing none to take the win.
“The girls did a good job of battling for four quarters,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “Carina Favela had two solid shots at two meters right away, causing Santa Fe Christian to double team her for the remainder of the game. This opened up some opportunities for other players to score from the perimeter. Maddy Daugherty was able to put away three in the third and one in the fourth on penalty shots and from the outside. Nikki Paredes had two solid shots from a six-on-five situation and Makayla Markey had a solid goal from a cross-cage pass. This game was close all the way into the fourth quarter and the girls held their composure and pulled off the win.”
Maddy Daugherty had four goals, four steals, and earned one exclusion. Carina Favela had a solid game with two goals, two assists, two steals, two blocks, earned two exclusions, and earned two penalty shots. Nikki Paredes had two goals, and one steal. Makayla Markey had one goal, three assists, three steals, and earned one penalty shot. Nicole Marler had two assists, and one steal. Danielle Moran played great in the first half with five goal saves and one steal. Melissa Persichetti played great in the second half with eight goal saves and one steal.
This win advanced the Lady Jags to the quarterfinals against Cathedral Catholic on Saturday, and the No. 3 team in the playoffs proved they belonged there with a 14–2 win over Valley Center.
The Lady Jaguars didn’t score until the fourth quarter when the game was all but decided. Meanwhile, Cathedral Catholic racked up five goals in the first, four in the second, three in the third and two more for good measure in the fourth.
For Valley Center, Daugherty and Morrison each scored a goal, while Favela had an assist and Persichetti made eight saves in goal.
The Lady Jaguars finish the season with a 19–10 record.

CIF San Diego Section seeks nominations for inaugural Hall of Fame class

The CIF San Diego Section is seeking nominations for the inaugural class of the CIFSDS Hall of Fame in honor of 50 years of teaching sportsmanship.
This year the CIFSDS will induct its inaugural class into the CIFSDS Hall of Fame to recognize the athletic achievement of its scholar athletes. Selected athletes will be honored at a special event to recognize their achievement. Schools, coaches and the community are invited to nominate individuals and be a part of the process.
Log on to the CIFSDS web site at cifsds.org and click on the prompt to submit your nominations through March 4.
A person can be nominated once; multiple nominations will not affect the selection. Nominate current seniors, graduated athletes, coaches, officials, or community volunteers with significant participation to improving the sport. Provide the name, school, reason for your nomination and any contact information for the nominee. All nominations will be maintained for future consideration. A distinguished media panel representing every decade of high school competition will review nominations and select individuals to be inducted as the Class of 2011, based on their high school careers.
There have been glorious moments of athletic achievement and demonstrated sportsmanship during the past 50 years; it is time for the CIFSDS to celebrate its own and their accomplishments. The San Diego Section community is committed to the values of educational high school athletics and must honor those who have honored their schools and community.