Prep Roundup: April 20

For the second straight game, Christopher knocked off the league-leading San Benito. 
The Cougars beat the Baylers 3-1 Friday at home behind a stellar performance from Alec Cordova on the mound. 
Cordova went the distance and allowed just one run on three hits while striking out seven and walking two. 
Gordy Papalias was perfect at the plate for the Cougars, going 3 for 3 with an RBI and run scored. Brian Easton also had an RBI for Christopher, while Anthony Rodriguez and Justin Nelson scored a run a piece.
The Cougars struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and Hollister answered right back to cut their lead to 2-1 in the top of the fourth.
Christopher secured its win with a run in the bottom of the sixth. 
The Cougars (9-9 overall, 5-5 in league) will host Monterey at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
GYMNASTICS
Gilroy’s Pace first at Mercy, 3 Cougars in Top 5
Gilroy High gymnast Sloane Pace was near perfect in all her events—and her Cougar counterparts were just as stellar. 
Pace finished first at the season opening meet, hosted by Mercy, April 1 at Gymtowne in South San Francisco. Christopher’s Tiffany Roberts was second, Stacy Gaddis fourth and Kristen Dick was fifth. The top notch performance by the Cougar led to a first place combined finish as a team with 96.2 points.
Pace took first on the vault, uneven bars and balance beam. She scored a 9.0 on the vault, 8.75 on the bars and an 8.6 on the beam. She also took second in the floor with a 8.75 score. 
Roberts finished first on the floor with a 9.0. She tied for second with teammate Gaddies on the vault as both scored an 8.9. Roberts was also second on the bars with an 8.5 and fourth on beam with an 8.2. 
Gaddis finished fourth on the fourth with a score of 8.2. She was fifth on the bars (7.8) and on the beam (7.3). 
Dick took fourth on the bars, with a 7.9 score. She was fifth on the floor (6.7), seventh on the vault (8.4) and eighth on the beam (6.4).
Christopher’s Alea Furushiro took fifth for the JV squad. Her highest finish was on the floor where she scored an 8.7, which was good for fourth. She also took sixth beam (8.2), tied for seventh on the bars (7.8) and tied for ninth on the vault (8.5). Her teammates Christine Sullivan, Brenda Garcia and Stephanie Jennings placed 14th, 17th and 18th, respectively. 
The Cougars and Mustangs will have home meets Friday and Saturday. Friday’s meet kicks off at 5:30 p.m., Saturday’s at noon. Both are at Gilroy High School.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Cougars top Toreadores
The Cougars held off Monterey to win their second straight contest 3-1 Thursday at home. 
Christopher won 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19. Stats from this game were not available. 
Christopher (9-8 overall, 5-3 in league) will host its final two games of the regular season this week, starting with a 6:30 p.m. contest with Palma Tuesday. It closes out the regular season at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Gonzales. 
Mustangs fall to Balers
Gilroy won the first set against San Benito, but unfortunately for the Mustangs they dropped the next three and lost 3-1 Thursday at home.
Gilroy lost 25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 12-25. Stats were not yet available.
The Mustangs (4-12 overall, 1-7 in league) will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Monterey. 
TRACK AND FIELD
Girls top NMC
The Cougars girls team edged out its North Monterey County counterparts to win 71-61 Thursday at Christopher High. The boys team, on the other hand, lost 93.5 to 40.5
Vanessa Koontz and Natalie Gutierrez each had three first place finishes for the Cougars. 
Koontz won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in times of 12.75 and 27.08, respectively. She was also part of the 400m relay team, which took first in 51.97 seconds. Olivia Baxter, Kiana Aquino and Haley Romero were also part of the winning team. 
Gutierrez took home top finishes in the high jump, 400m and 800m races. The senior leaped for a height of 5-foot, 4-inches to take first in the high jump. She finished the 400m in 1:06.39—14 seconds ahead of her NMC counterpart. Gutierrez won the 800m in 2:35.59. Her closest competitor, Destaney Vasquez from NMC, took second in 2:53.84. 
Sienna Cordova and Romero each had two first places finishes. Cordova’s came in the field as she took first in the shot put (31-02) and discus (86-07). 
Romero claimed a first place finish in the long jump, finishing at 16 feet. She was also part of the winning 400m relay team.
On the boys side, Jordan Rodriguez recorded three first place finishes. He won the 100m, 200m and was part of the winning 400m relay team. He finished the 100m in 11.48, just ahead of teammate Tyler Parsley. Rodriguez won the 200 in 23.78 seconds, again just ahead of Parsley who finished in 23.98. He helped the winning 400m relay team—along with Parsley, Victor Guerrero and Isaac McCrimon—finish in a time of 44.78 seconds. 
McCrimon also won the long jump with a distance of 20 feet, 3 inches. He was well ahead of the second place finisher from NMC, who leapt for 18-5. 
Xavier Smith recorded a first place finish for the Cougars in the shot put, throwing for 40 feet, 6 inches. Kyle Ettema won the pole vault with a height of 10-6.
The Cougars will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Salinas.
BOYS TENNIS
Balers blank Cougars
San Benito showed Christopher why its undefeated, beating the Cougars 7-0 Thursday in Hollister. But the boys from the Garlic Capital didn’t go down without a fight. 
No. 3 singles player Geoffrey He took his Balers opponent, Chris Godbout, into a tiebreak set. He won the first set 6-2, but lost the second. Unfortunately for the Cougar, his Baler counterpart stepped on the gas to win the tiebreaker 10-4. 
The No. 1 singles team of Isaiah Rugerio and Sam Fernandez also took San Benito to an extra set. They dropped their first match 6-3 and rebounded with a 6-2 win over San Benito’s Christian Grenados and Andrew Regalado. The Balers edged out the Cougars in OT, however, winning 10-7. 
No. 1 Destin Cockcroft lost to San Benito’s Aaron Francis 6-1, 6-1. The No. 2 singles player, Dominic Nguyen, fell to Marquse Hayes 6-0, 6-0. 
No. 4 Cougar singles player Tom Madruga made things a little tougher on his Baler counterpart, Rafa Alfaro, but still lost 6-4, 6-1. 
In doubles, the No. 2 team of Jesus Velasquez and Michael Davalos fell to San Benito’s Sal Perez and Sean McConnell in straight sets. No. 3s Alfredo Barberena and Ernesto Jimenez also lost to Gilbert Banualos and Esteban Gomez of the Balers 6-1, 6-0. 
Christopher (3-7) will host Alisal at 4 p.m. today. 
Find out when and where your favorite Cougar and Mustang teams are in action this week:
CHRISTOPHER
4.21 — Boys golf at Monterey*, at Del Monte, 3 p.m.; Boys tennis vs. Alisal*, 4 p.m.; Baseball vs. Monterey*, 4 p.m.; Softball at San Benito* at Veteran’s Park, 6 p.m.; Boys volleyball vs. Palma*, 6:30 p.m.; Lacrosse vs. Latino College Preparatory Academy, 7 p.m.
4.22 — Lacrosse at Aptos*, 7 p.m.
4.23 — Track at Salinas*, 3:30 p.m.; Baseball at Monterey*, at Sollecito Baseball Diamond, 4 p.m.; Boys volleyball vs. Gonzales*, regular season and home finale, 6:30 p.m.
4.24 — Swimming vs. Gilroy*, 3:30 p.m.; Baseball vs. Palma*, 4 p.m.; Lacrosse at York*, 4 p.m.; Gymnastics at Gilroy High, 5:30 p.m.
4.25 — Gymnastics at Gilroy High, noon

GILROY
4.21 — Baseball at Salinas*, 4 p.m.; Boys volleyball at Monterey*, 6:30 p.m. 
4.22 — Boys golf at North Monterey County*, at Black Horse Golf Course, 3 p.m.; Badminton at Live Oak, 4 p.m.
4.23 — Track at Monterey*, 3:30 p.m.; Baseball vs. Salinas*, 4 p.m.; Softball vs. North Salinas*, 4:30 p.m.;  Boys volleyball vs. Alisal*, home and regular season finale, 6:30 p.m.
4.24 — Swimming at Christopher*, 3:30 p.m.; Badminton at James Lick, 4 p.m.; Gymnastics, home meet, 5:30 p.m.; Baseball at San Benito*, at Veteran’s Park, 7 p.m.
4.25 — Track at Alisal Invitational, 9:30 a.m.; Gymnastics, home meet, noon
*Denotes league contest