Girls team prepping for upcoming dual meets, while boys wrestlers look to this weekend’s Pirate Invitational
As the new year, and the winter sports season, is upon us, one of Santa Ynez High School’s newest athletic programs, girls wrestling, is continuing to grow, which is satisfying to head coach Chantalle Castellanos.
“We are in our fourth year now; we started in 2021,” she said. “We were just coming back from COVID, and the next year it really opened up, it was the first year we didn’t have to deal with testing and all that crazy stuff.”
It was also a chance for the girls to wrestle other girls, Castellanos said.
“This [a girls program] has really brought it to the forefront,” she said. “Before, you had girls talking about doing this, but kind of off to the side. Now you see many of them come in, and culturally, not expect them to be doing something like this. But they do, and it really empowers them.”
One example of that is senior wrestler Malia Ortiz, who is coming off a junior year in which she won a CIF Central Section division title.
“Malia was our captain last year, and she is the ideal lead-by-example person,” Castellanos said. “She doesn’t lead verbally so much, she’s very quiet. But, by example, if I need something, I don’t have to tell her ‘Hey, could you …’ She knows what needs to be done.”
Ortiz will be a top competitor on a team that has 12 girls this year, a bigger team than the program has had, according to Castellanos. Another wrestler the coach is high on is Ariella Contreras.
“Ariella is a junior this year, and this year or next year, I really see it happening for her,” Castellanos said. “She has three brothers who were in this program, and she’s very technical, but also an emotional competitor, which has its ups and downs. Sometimes it’s the timing for athletes, but I think it’s going to work out for her.”
The Pirate girls just finished competing in the California Invitational in Morro Bay on Jan. 4, and will travel to San Luis Obispo High on Wednesday, Jan. 8, for it first dual match of the season against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, the Santa Ynez boys wrestling program has gotten its season in gear. The Pirates defeated St. Joseph 55-23 in their first dual match of the season on Dec. 18.
Coach Raul-Omar Sandoval feels positive about his overall squad this year (“They’re a great group”) and is gearing up for the annual Pirate Invitational this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11, at SYHS.
Sandoval said Ben Flores, Joey Duarte, and Andrew Badger are the individuals he expects to excel this year. All three had win in the dual meet, Flores and Duarte by pinfall.
Boys basketball squad places third in the Carpinteria Tournament
During the holiday break, the Pirates boys basketball team traveled south to take part in the Carpinteria Tournament Dec. 20-23. There, SYHS defeated Channel Islands 74-35, lost to Arroyo Grande 60-37, and then beat Foothill Tech 56-44 to earn third place in the tourney.
Mason Skidmore and Jude Pritchard led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points each in the final game against Foothill Tech, while Pritchard (23) and Lucas Ollenberger (21) topped the 20-point mark in the first game against Channel Islands.
The Pirates went back to Carpinteria on Jan. 4 for their second non-conference game against the Warriors, and won again 80-65. Skidmore and Pritchard again led the way with a team-high 17 points each, while Jayden Mendoza added 15, and Ikenna Ofiaeli has 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Santa Ynez (8-6) had a game against Bishop Diego on Monday night (Jan. 6) and closes out its non-conference schedule at home vs. Mission Prep on Tuesday, Jan. 7, before starting its Sunset League season at Nipomo on Jan. 14.
Girls basketball takes Silver Bracket title at Arvin tournament
Right after Christmas, the Santa Ynez High girls basketball team traveled north for the Arvin Holiday Showcase and went 3-0 to capture the Silver Bracket championship, ending with a 45-26 win over Bakersfield. The Lady Pirates’ first two wins were against Hanford (59-36) and Lindsay (68-28).
Helina Pecile was named the tournament MVP for the Silver Bracket, scoring in double figures for each game. She had 12 points and 9 rebounds in the game against Bakersfield, and had 16 points in the game against Hanford. Kylie LaPointe had 8 points and 8 steals in the title game, and scored 17 against Lindsay.
Santa Ynez returns to action Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Mission Prep, and then will start Sunset League play at Cabrillo on Friday, Jan. 10.
Boys soccer hits the win column
After a rough start to the season, the Pirates boys soccer fashioned a little winning streak before going on the holiday break.
Santa Ynez earned its first win of the season on Dec. 17, beating Morro Bay 3-1. Austin Willis scored twice on penalty kicks (Evan Eliason and Luis Garcia drew the fouls) and Eliason scored off an assist from Marco Rivera to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead at halftime. Jack Peterschick was named the man of the match by coach Hector Garcia for his strong defensive play.
Two days later, the Pirates went to Mission Prep and beat the Royals 6-0. Rivera and Jackson Elliott had two goals apiece, with Eliason and Cristian Sandoval (the man of the match) adding a goal apiece. Goalkeeper Diego Medina earned his first shutout.
Santa Ynez (2-8-1) is back in action Tuesday, Jan. 7, at home against Templeton.
