The steady two-year turnaround of the Gilroy High girls
basketball program under the guidance head coach Tim Jones has
perhaps flown under the radar outside of the team’s close
followers.
The steady two-year turnaround of the Gilroy High girls basketball program under the guidance head coach Tim Jones has perhaps flown under the radar outside of the team’s close followers.
Jones withstood unjustified scrutiny during much of the 2009-10 season, patiently riding the waves. He maintained a clear and concise mission. And that diligence, plus a dedicated group of individuals putting the joy of playing ahead of individualistic motives, has translated into a banner year in 2010-11.
Jones said three months ago that he felt the team had a special bond. That tie has yet to be severed.
A 16-game winning streak, season sweeps of both perennial league powers San Benito and North Salinas and a 19-1 overall record and a Tri-County Athletic League championship in sight.
It’s the chemistry in practice and in the heat of a tense fourth quarter among the nine players though that is the most noticeable difference – not to mention one of the craftiest and suffocating defenses around. Over the past five tilts, the Mustangs have held opponents to 14, 33, 29, 35, 39 and 24 points. That’s just mean.
The Mustangs, with a two-game edge on the rest of the TCAL with a pair of contests on the docket, face Alisal tonight at 7 p.m. at Bob Hagen Memorial Gymnasium.
A victory tonight on Senior Night sows up the coveted league crown, the first for the Mustangs since the 2005-06 campaign, no matter what happens in the season finale. What a luxury it is to have that assurance.
GHS is No. 2 in the Central Coast Section Division I rankings, according to maxpreps.com. Gunn High School in Palo Alto is No. 1. The Vikings and Balers are No. 4 and No. 6, respectively.
A lot can be said for the way a team closes out the season.
In the instance of Christopher High’s girls basketball team, three-straight double digit victories is how its regular season concluded, the exclamation point coming in a 46-35 triumph Friday night.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” CHS head coach Heather Stewart said, explaining the Cougars’ late-season resurgence. “They are believing in themselves. They are realizing that the system works if it’s done the right way. We cut our turnovers in half, and they are seeing if you take care of the ball, you get positive results.”
The results have been phenomenal. Victories over Monterey (51-39) and Monte Vista Christian (39-27) – two squads that dispatched the Cougars earlier in the year – preceded Friday’s favorable outcome, which were aided in large part by a defensive unit that has surrendered the fewest points in the seven-team league.
The MBL tournament awaits the Cougars, beginning tonight.
The Cougars’ girls soccer team has also discovered the winning formula as the curtain falls on their first year at the varsity level.
CHS is unbeaten in its last five outings (4-0-1) and has a chance to spoil Watsonville’s undefeated Monterey Bay league season tonight.
The latest state wrestling rankings were released by The California Wrestler and ccsrank.com and the Gilroy High wrestling squad sits in the No. 9 position with just three weeks to go before the CIF State Championships.
Seven Mustangs made the list. Blake Kastl holds the highest ranking at No. 4 in the 140-pound division. Willie Fox (135) and Niko Villarreal (130) each hold down the No. 5 spot in their respective weight classes. Leif Dominguez is No. 8 at 103 pounds, Paul Fox (112) comes in at No. 7, Aaron Gonzalez (1250 is No. 27 and Victor Olmos is listed among the honorable mention category at 119.
Christopher High standout freshman 103-pounder Jimmie Lopez is ranked 11th. A possible state qualifier, Lopez is No. 3 in the newest CCS listing behind Dominguez at No. 2 and Live Oak’s Isaiah Locsin – two foes Lopez has yet to defeat.
Nothing can quite compare to postseason wrestling. The slightest error could dash section championship aspirations and everything little nuance means so much more.
The Mustangs and Cougars enter their league championship tournaments Saturday. Christopher will head to Pajaro Valley, the site of the Monterey Bay League tourney, while GHS hosts the rest of the Tri-County Athletic League.
