Christopher High School

Watsonville, the defending Monterey Bay League boys basketball champion, reached 2-0 in league action Friday by handing the host Christopher High Cougars a 65-53 setback. The Cougars, 0-1 in MBL play and 4-9 overall, visit Seaside Tuesday before hosting Pajaro Valley on Thursday.

Though early in the league season, the Christopher High varsity girls basketball team has asserted itself as a contender for the league title come mid-February.

First-year Christopher High boys soccer head coach Ricardo Espinosa demands unwavering commitment from his players. He has preached the importance since Day 1. So when certain members of the team showed little interest in attending practice on a consistent basis during the two-week winter break, Espinosa re-iterated his stance, benching the offenders for much of the first half in the Cougars' Monterey Bay League opener Wednesday in Gilroy.

The one-two punch of sisters Hanna and Olivia Tabron has been a beneficial combination for the Christopher High girls varsity basketball team during the first half of the season.

On an unassuming summer day, roughly four months before the start of the season, Christopher High wrestling head coach Alecxis Lara jotted down a prospective 14-wrestler lineup for the approaching 2011-12 campaign. The forecast appeared bright and he immediately liked what he saw.

Most of the area’s soccer, basketball and wrestling teams either begin, or jump back into league contests this week. Here is what’s on tap:

The consolation final of the Dons Club Holiday Tournament hosted by Del Mar High School had a little bit of everything. For the Christopher High girls varsity basketball team, though, the only detail it lacked was a victory.

One of the best attributes of this job is watching – game after game, season after season. No two games are alike. With each season comes a fair share of surprises. And every year is filled with memorable moments.

There may have been some lingering frustrations following a disappointing loss to San Mateo the day before as the Christopher High girls basketball team exploded for a 69-21 victory against Overfelt on Day 2 of Dons Club Holiday Tournament hosted by Del Mar High on Wednesday.

The Gilroy High boys basketball team scrapped its way into overtime after Christian Goldstein hit a 3-pointer as time ran out in regulation, however Damonte Ranch scored seven points - all from the free throw line - in the extra session to top the Mustangs 44-40 in the first round of the Sobrato Bulldog Chase Tournament on Tuesday night in Morgan Hill.