Grapplers look ahead to CIF
by NOHELI SIGALA
Creating history by being the first girl in the school to compete in the state competition, senior Sidney Valencia took seventh place at Masters and will advance on to the state competition. “I’m so thrilled. I have this unbelievable feeling of accomplishment.
The moment I won the match that put me in, my coach and dad hugged me and picked me up and my mom cried tears of joy. It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before, and I cannot begin to put into words how happy I am,” said Valencia. Accomplishing the feat of making Masters and then State, Valencia hopes to be victorious in her competitions there. “All the friends and family time I give up along with the food and practice is hard. At times I feel like giving up and leaving, but I keep pushing. It has all paid off for something—to be a state qualifier,” said Valencia. As the season draws to an end, qualifying grapplers prepare for CIF Individuals, which will be held today and tomorrow. Juniors Fernando Racine, Pablo Torres and Efren Velez and sophomore Joseph Staley placed first; sophomore Adrian Guevara placed second; and sophomores Bryan Camargo and Kevin Lam placed third. They will go onto CIF Individuals, where they have an opportunity to advance to the state competition. “I felt extremely happy when I won first place. It’s an indescribable feeling and very much deserved for the work that I’ve put in, not only in the season but in the off season as well,” said Torres. For most of the Spartans, the season ended with a meet against the Montebello Oilers Jan. 28. After a defeat by the Oilers, varsity placed fourth in league, while JV took second. “It was upsetting that we lost league, but it was more devastating that we lost to Montebello because we have not lost to the Oilers in about 15 years. We did not wrestle the way we should have,” said Torres.