Christopher High School

After a three-week layoff and eager to begin defense of their fifth Tri-County Athletic League title, the Gilroy High girls varsity soccer team returned to the pitch for its TCAL opener and hit the ground running. Four different Mustangs registered goals in a 7-0 drubbing of host Alisal on Wednesday in Salinas.

Sara Makanani converted 1-of-2 free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game, and after one final defensive stand, North Salinas defeated Gilroy High 40-39 in a gritty Tri-County Athletic League tilt Tuesday in Gilroy.

The Christopher High wrestling dual meet tonight versus Watsonville at CHS, which was originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. varsity start, will most likely get underway early, head coach Alexcis Lara said.

If last Wednesday's 5-0 loss to Monterey was the wake up call, the Christopher High boys varsity soccer team answered the bell Friday. With 11 players to fill out the roster, and no substitutions available, the Cougars hit the road against Monterey Bay League opponent Monte Vista Christian and salvaged a 0-0 tie.

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: