Wrestling: Cougars, Lady Cougars Earn Top Marks

boys wrestling team ranked fifth at the North Coast Section (NCS) Wrestling Championships this weekend.

According to Coach Tim Hess, the Cougars also have three wrestlers who qualified for the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield:

•  Victor Pereira, 1st Place, 152 lbs.
• Jacob Pratt, 3rd Place, 130 lbs.
• Mick McElvogue, 4th Place, 189 lbs.

Hess reports Cougars wrestlers Tung Le placed 6th and Anthony Rubio placed 7th at the NCS tournament hosted by Newark Memorial.

According to the CIF Wrestling website, the State Wrestling Championships start March 4 at Rabobank Arena. 

Feb. 25-26 NCS Wrestling Championship Results from the NCS website:

1. De La Salle

2. Liberty

3. College Park

4. James Logan

5. Newark Memorial

6. Healdsburg

7. Clayton Valley

8. (Tie) Antioch, Freedom

10. Las Lomas

Hess also reports the Newark Memorial Lady Cougars placed 5th at the CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships in Lemoore.

CIF Sports Information Officer Quwan Spears says this marks the first state championships for girls wrestling. 

“A total of 336 female athletes representing 10 CIF sections statewide participated in the two-day event before a crowd of 977 on Friday and 1,032 on Saturday,” Spears said in a news release.

According to Spears, CIF officials want to use this event and others to balance the number of postseason athletic experiences for boys and girls. USA Women’s Wrestling National coach Terry Steiner says this weekend's competition is a major sign of advancement for the sport.

“Having a girls’ only sanctioned tournament in California is huge,” Steiner said in a news release. “It’s a big sign of progress for the sport of girls wrestling.”

Here are the Lady Cougars who earned top marks at this weekend’s championships:

• Katie Burdick, State Champion
• Mikka Anderson, 5th Place
• Lisa Tran, 6th Place

Feb. 25-26 CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships Results from CIF Wrestling website:

1. West Covina

2. Bethel

3. Northview

4. Albany

5. Newark Memorial

“Congratulations to all the Cougar Wrestlers and THANK YOU to all the outstanding volunteers who worked so hard to make the NCS tournament a huge success,” Hess wrote on Newark Patch’s Facebook page.