With a superb senior class—including four starters—graduating last spring, the question for Christopher boys basketball was what would come next. The graduates left a legacy of winning, including the school’s first Central Coast Section title.
There was no big step backward in 2025-26.
The new group quickly jelled and kept the high standards. That is particularly hard to do in the highest Blossom Valley Athletic League Hamilton Division.
But the Cougars did it.
Christopher followed up third and first-place finishes with a second-place finish in league play. They reached the CCS Division II semifinals before falling to a West Catholic Athletic League squad, and advanced again into the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal playoffs.
The campaign marked the fifth straight year in NorCal competition.
“We had a great year,” Christopher head coach Adam Sax said. “We won 19, finished second in league and finished fourth in the CCS playoffs. We had some new pieces and the chemistry was really good.”
Graduations included Tyler Green, Sam Guenther, Teja Gaines, Jaxen Robinson, Ebuka Okeke, Matthew Bass and others. That was a lot of talent. A very different lineup took the floor in 2025-26.
A few familiar faces returned. Anton Mendezona and Trey Caragio were in the backcourt and Quinn Ledesma-Old Elk was again in the forecourt. Vidal Nzoyem transferred to Christopher to provide a tall, strong inside presence. Riley Gonzaga, Dom Valentine, Isaac Castaneda were major contributors. New blood included sophomore Dylan Robinson.
“We did better than what we and people thought,” Mendezona said.
Christopher finished 19-8, 9-3 and placed second in BVAL Hamilton standings. They beat Aragon in the D-II playoffs, before falling to St. Francis of Mountain View.
The Cougars received a bid to the NorCal D-III playoffs. The first game was quite a test—a visit to Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division champion Palma.
The Chieftains, who entered the match with a 24-2 overall record and clinched the league’s top division undefeated at 14-0, beat the Cougars 73-59.
Christopher began the pre-season 3-3 and then hit a winning streak. They defeated Chico 60-49, Atwater 59-58 in overtime, Leland 58-53, Santa Cruz 55-28 and Woodside 59-35.
In league play, the Cougars took down Evergreen Valley 47-35, Santa Teresa 75-44 and Pioneer 58-42. A stumble followed, as Leigh prevailed on their home court 73-72 in overtime.
The Cougars responded positively, edging Santa Rosa 59-57 in a non-league game, and then defeated Westmont 61-58 in a home thriller. Christopher traveled to Willow Glen on Jan. 24 to close out the first half of the double round-robin but fell 63-53. Mendezona scored an amazing 28 points and Nzoyem added nine points and six rebounds.
In the second half of the league slate, Christopher went 5-1. They downed EV 58-48, won at Santa Teresa 59-39, edged Pioneer 56-53 on the road and outscored Leigh 70-66.
A rematch with Willow Glen was a tight one. The visiting Rams led 27-26 at half and 39-36 after three, on their way to a 55-49 win. Mendezona led the Cougars with 20 and Ledesma-Old Elk scored 12. The Cougars regrouped and beat Westmont 65-58.
Willow Glen captured the title at 11-1, with CHS and Westmont both at 9-3. Evergreen Valley was back at 6-6, with Pioneer and Leigh 3-9 and Santa Teresa in the cellar at 1-11. Head-to-head results between the two second-place teams found Christopher beating the Warriors in both matchups.
Christopher opened the CCS D-II playoffs at home against Aragon. Everything was working. The Cougars led by six at halftime, then rolled the Dons out of the gym with a 25-12 third quarter on the way to a 78-58 win.
“We came out with great energy,” Ledesma-Old Elk said. “We played with high intensity. We stopped the wide open 3s and stopped the penetration.”
Nzoyem led the point parade with 19, Mendezona added 16, Ledesma-Old Elk scored 13 and Caragio tallied 12.
“We pushed it in transition and we passed the ball well,” Mendezona said. “We ran a 2-3 zone and also a man-to-man. We stepped up the pressure and got in the passing lanes. Offensively, we dished to our bigs and we got points off layups.”
A 10-2 run opened the third period. Nzoyem led Christopher’s inside domination. In the surge, Ledesma-Old Elk sank two buckets and Mendezona cashed in a pretty reverse layup that brought the home crowd to its feet.
“We played with energy and passion today,” Sax said. “When we move the ball, execute and share, we get better results. And our defense was connected.”
Sax credited the bench players, along with the starters. He cited Nzoyem’s positive energy, hustle plays from everyone and superb free throw shooting, highlighted by Caragio’s 10-for-10 night.
In the semifinal, the Cougars hosted St. Francis. The Lancers roared ahead 31-17 by halftime and held off a late Christopher charge, 63-58. Nzoyem scored 15, Mendezona contributed 13 and Ledesma-Old Elk had 12.
In the NorCal game in Salinas, Palma jumped ahead 19-7 lead it was 24-11 after a quarter. In the second period, Castaneda, Caragio, Mendezona and Nzoyem led a comeback and the deficit was just 32-26 at halftime.
“They drive well and they kick out to the 3s,” Mendezona said. “They’re hard to defend. We started to ‘up’ the pressure and attack more.”
Palma, with 6-foot-8 JT Harreld and athletic guards, pulled away in the second half. Harreld scored 27 and Tai Suich scored 20. One last Cougar flurry narrowed the score to 69-59 in the final minutes but they could get no closer.
Mendezona led the way with 20 points, Castaneda added 13 and Nzoyem scored 12 points.
“They’re very quick,” Sax said. “We knew they run in transition and they got layups. We got back in it when we started hitting shots. We started to take better care of the ball and get easier shots.”
The loss ended the season but it was a successful year, with a 9-3 mark and second place in league, along with CCS and NorCal playoff competition. The new group exceeded expectations and maintained the high standards and performances of recent Cougar teams.
