High School Sports

GILROY — Friday’s crosstown clash between Christopher and Gilroy looked as if it was going to get ugly real fast.

Though the Christopher High girls volleyball team fell two victories short of qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs, the 2011 season can still be considered a banner year. The Cougars posted a program best 18 wins, including seven in Monterey Bay League play en route to a fourth-place finish in the seven-team league under first-year head coach Tom Schatz.

Wyatt Rocheleau was often the heart of Christopher High’s boys basketball team this season.

Gilroy women’s mixed martial artist Brianna Van Buren lost her strawweight (115-pound) feature bout by unanimous decision against Stephanie Eggink as part of the Xtreme Fighting Championships card XFC 23: Louisville Slugfest on Friday night at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.

GILROY— Pink balloons floated in the Christopher dugout during Tuesday’s game at Gilroy High. The Cougars wore pink socks and eye black and players from both sides donned pink bows in their hair—and did it for Natalia Salcido.

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.

The Gilroy field hockey team was excited up to kickoff the second half of its season, but things didn't go its way. The Mustangs were shutout 6-0 by Archbishop Mitty on the road Friday.  Coach Adam Gemar said he felt the blame should fall on himself, not his team.  "I feel, as the coach, I lost this game for the team," he said. "Every player tried their hardest tonight and every player has a huge heart,  but I haven't prepared them well enough. I haven't given them the proper tools to win games like this. I can't promise we will win time, because I can't, but I can promise we will be better prepared." The Mustangs (7-2-2 overall, 4-2-2 in league) will look to rebound against Leigh at 3:30 p.m. today.  Cougars blank York The Christopher girls field hockey team is on a roll. The Cougars have won their last four straight, most recently topping York 3-0 on the road Friday. Jordan Evanger scored two goals for Christopher, while Kristen Flores scored one. The Cougars are now 9-3 overall and 8-1 in league play. They will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Carmel.  CROSS COUNTRY Mustangs' Ruelas leads girls to fourth place finish, boys 15th There' no stopping Gilroy's Monica Ruelas. Ruelas finished first in the girls varsity race at the Monterey Bay Invitational at Toro Park Saturday with a time of 21:09.  Karla Lozano was fifth in a time of 23 minutes. The team finished fourth overall out of 10 teams.  The boys were 15th out of 17 teams competing. Jacob Una Dia finished in 21st with a time of 19:11 for the Mustangs. Jesus Sanchez finished in a tie of 19:30, just seconds before teammate Jesus Ochoa who finished in 19:35. Gilroy will be back in action at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Center Meet III at Pinto Lake.  VOLLEYBALL Cougars shutdown North Salinas Christopher has won two straight after beating North Salinas 3-0 on the road Thursday.  The Cougars won 25-18, 25-16, 25-14 to get back to a . 500 record on the season (11-11 overall, 4-4 in league).  Oliva Tabron led the way with 14 kills, four blocks and two digs for CHS. Cheyanne Dela Merced had 31 assists, six digs and four kills.  Christopher will take on the Haybalers of San Benito at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home.  BOYS WATER POLO Cougars drop close one to Harbor in OT Christopher and Harbor were evenly matched, but there had to be a winner. The Cougars lost 14-12 in OT to the visitors Thursday at home. The two teams scored three goals in each period to leave the game tied at 12-12 at the end of regulation. Harbor tacked on two more in OT for the win. Stats from this game were not immediately available. The Cougars will host Everett Alvarez at 5 p.m. Tuesday.      GIRLS GOLF Mustangs finish season strong The Gilroy girls golf team celebrated its last game of the season in unique fashion Wednesday.  Wednesday's match at Gavilan Golf Course was the final one for seniors LaTherian Harrision and Cierra Montoya-Valdez, and they went out in style.  The duo sported crowns for their Senior Day to celebrate their accomplishments over the past four seasons with the Mustangs. Montoya-Valdez, who is still limited to putting due to a case of appendicitis, carded a 75 while Harrision finished strong with a 55. Harrison had two one putt bogeys on two par3’s — Holes 6 and 8.  She put her tee shot in the green side bunker on Hole 8, a 92-yard Par 3. Harrison got out of the bunker in one shot and her first putt stopped short of going in for par, she tapped in for her second bogey of the day.  The girls also played Tuesday against Stevenson at Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Harrison carded a 65 in that match while Montoya-Valdez shot an 80.  Coach Daniel Valdez had one final message for his seniors:

Joe Delgado, Nathan Villarreal and John Fox know better than anyone what they are stepping into when they step on the wrestling mats of Gilroy High School.

GILROY — When Emma Leach was in sixth grade, she told her parents that there was one thing she needed for Christmas — a field hockey stick. It wasn’t top of the line or anything fancy, but that stick sparked a dream of playing Division I hockey.

GILROY—Christopher girls tennis swept doubles play on its way to a 5-2 win over Alvarez Thursday on the road.