Central Valley’s varsity boys wrestling program staged its first-ever home tournament earlier this month.

The first annual Howie Stevenson Memorial was held on Jan. 1.

The tournament was named in honor of Stevenson, a Ceres Police sergeant shot and killed in the line of duty on Jan. 9, 2005.

“I’ve wanted to do a varsity tournament at Central Valley for quite a while,” Hawks’ head coach Rob Beckhart said. “I talked with a couple people from the Ceres Police Department and they thought it (naming the event after Stevenson) was a great idea. I just wanted to make sure we had their blessing. I knew Howie personally when I worked for the Ceres Fire Department. He used to come by the firehouse and have lunch. He was a great guy.”

“Honoring him was huge,” Ceres High leader Adam Borges stated. “It was really special. It brought back memories. My dad (retired Ceres Deputy Police Chief Mike Borges) and Howie were friends for 20 years. He was a great man. He did a lot for the community. He lost his life way too early.”

The host Hawks totaled 163.5 points while finishing in third place at the 19-team event.

The Bulldogs (54.5) placed 15th overall.

“We did better than expected,” Beckhart said. “Our kids are wrestling really well right now. I’m proud of them.”

“Overall, we did alright,” Borges added. “We had some up and down performances. A lot of our kids were sick all week. It didn’t help our results.”

Eleven of Central Valley’s 19 wrestlers claimed medals, including Angel Melgoza, Sunny Breshears, Sal Almazan, Anthony Diaz, Zack Esparza, Carlos Zepeda, Julian Gonzalez, Rotceh Mendez, Caleb Beckhart, David Alvarado and Noe Lomeli.

Melgoza won the 217-pound title. He was also named the tournament’s outstanding heavyweight wrestler.

Melgoza compiled a 4-0 record.

Breshears took second with a 3-1 record at 146 pounds.

Almazan took third with a 3-1 record at 287 pounds.

Diaz took fourth with a 2-2 record.

Esparza took fourth with a 2-2 record at 167 pounds.

Zepeda took sixth with a 3-2 record at 177 pounds.

Gonzalez took sixth with a 3-2 record at 192 pounds.

He beat Patterson’s David 

Mendez took seventh with a 3-2 record at 134 pounds.

Beckhart took seventh with a 3-2 record at 140 pounds.

Alvarado took eighth with a 2-3 record at 217 pounds.

Lomeli took eighth with a 2-3 record at 287 pounds.

Ceres High had three medalists, including Jaime Torres, Alijah Jackson and Calen Adams.

Torres took third with a 3-1 record at 192 pounds.

Jackson took sixth with a 3-2 record at 108 pounds.

Adams took eighth with a 2-3 record at 115 pounds.

GIRLS HOOPS

Ceres High’s girls basketball team won two of three games during the opening week of Western Athletic Conference play.

The Bulldogs improved to 13-4 overall and 2-1 in the WAC standings after besting visiting Lathrop 53-44 on Thursday at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

Lilly Staggs led the Bulldogs with 15 points.

Sovannary Carter added 10 points.

Ceres High rolled to a 64-19 win over Johansen on Jan. 7 in Modesto.

Carter led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

Staggs added 14 points.

Ceres High dropped its conference opener, 35-31, to Livingston on Jan. 6.

Carter led the Bulldogs with 10 points.

Central Valley’s girls basketball team lost to Beyer, Pacheco and Grace Davis during the opening week of WAC play.

Beyer defeated Central Valley 76-53 on Thursday in Modesto.

Airieana Martinez led the Hawks with 17 points.

Julyanna Valencia added 15 points.

Emily Mariani had 13 points.

Pacheco topped Central Valley 45-28 on Jan. 7 in Ceres.

Martinez led the Hawks with seven points.

Grace Davis cruised to a 62-26 victory against Central Valley on Jan. 6 in Modesto.

Marion Dennison led the Hawks with seven points.

BOYS HOOPS

Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s boys basketball teams both accumulated one win and two losses during the opening week of WAC play.

The Bulldogs dropped to 6-11 overall and 1-2 in the league standings after losing 60-43 at Lathrop on Friday.

Manuel Ortega paced Ceres High with 16 points.

Ceres High lost 62-37 to Johansen on Jan. 8 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

Jaylen Pettigrew paced the Bulldogs with nine points.

Ceres High opened the WAC season with a 61-48 win at Livingston on Jan. 6.

Ortega paced the Bulldogs with 22 points.

Somil Bonsal tallied 12 points, eight steals, five rebounds and one assist.

Almeida totaled 10 points, five rebounds and one steal.

The Hawks dropped to 7-10 overall and 1-2 in the conference standings following Friday’s 58-50 loss to Beyer in Ceres.

Emmanuel Carranza and Silas Rodriguez paced Central Valley with 13 points apiece. 

David Gutierrez totaled 12 points.

Central Valley escaped with a 44-37 victory over Pacheco on Jan. 8 in Los Banos.

Carranza paced the Hawks with 16 points.

Gutierrez tallied 11 points.

Central Valley lost 57-34 to Grace Davis on Jan. 6 in Ceres.

Carranza paced the Hawks with 10 points.

Gutierrez tallied nine points..

BOYS SOCCER

Central Valley’s boys soccer team moved to 8-5-6 overall and 3-0-2 in Western Athletic Conference play after collecting a pair of ties this past week.

Central Valley and Beyer tied 1-1 on Jan. 7 at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.

Ivan Cervantes accounted for the Hawks’ lone goal.

He scored from 25 yards away on a free kick 10 minutes into the second half.

Central Valley and Johansen battled to a 0-0 tie on Thursday in Modesto.

Ceres High’s boys soccer team fell to 5-5-4 overall and 2-3 in the WAC standings after being beaten by Grace Davis and Pacheco.

Ceres High lost 4-1 to visiting Grace Davis on Thursday.

Ceres High lost 3-0 at Pacheco on Jan. 7.

GIRLS SOCCER

Central Valley’s girls soccer team improved to 11-1-1 overall and 4-0-0 in the WAC after notching wins versus Johansen and Livingston last week.

Central Valley shut out Johansen 2-0 on Thursday at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.

Central Valley coasted to a 3-0 victory against host Livingston on Jan. 7.

Ceres High’s girls soccer team moved to 5-5-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the WAC after winning one of two games last week.

Ceres High shut out Pacheco 8-0 on Jan. 7 at Bulldog Stadium.

Jessie Blevins, Mariah Zamora and Melina Castrejon led the Bulldogs with two goals apiece.

Sharryah Cabellos had one goal and two assists.

Ava Montesdeoca had one goal.

Ceres High lost 3-0 at Grace Davis on Jan. 9.