Triton Report: Three Straight Wins Put Girls Basketball into Playoffs

By Zach Cavanagh

For in-game updates, news and more for all San Clemente High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports.

Three Straight Wins Put Girls Basketball into Playoffs

San Clemente put together its first three-game win streak of the season to push into third place and the South Coast League’s final guaranteed playoff spot.

The Tritons (12-13, 3-4) vaulted into third with a win over then-No. 3 San Juan Hills, 59-57, on Feb. 1. With a win over last-place El Toro, 50-35, on Feb. 5, San Clemente had a one game lead over San Juan Hills (7-17, 2-5) with one game remaining for each team.

On Feb. 7, San Clemente got its third win in a row and surprised second-place Tesoro to clinch third place a playoff berth.

Girls Water Polo Strong at SoCal Championships

San Clemente claimed the consolation title for a respectable ninth-place finish at the Southern California Championships hosted by Irvine High on Feb. 1-3.

The Tritons (17-8, 6-0) went 4-1 in field loaded with CIF-SS Division 1 and 2 teams. The performance vaulted San Clemente up seven spots in the combined Division 1 & 2 poll to No. 9.

The top 10 teams in the poll are considered the Division 1 watchlist with a CIF-SS committee determining the top eight that will make up the Division 1 playoff field. The remaining teams will be slotted into the Division 2 playoffs.

Brooklyn Aguilera led San Clemente with nine goals in the tournament. Alison Echelberger and Caroline Christl each scored seven goals. Grace Pelkey scored five goals and added five assists. Alex Higginson scored four goals and had five assists.

Moreno, Osoria Advance Out of CIF-SS Girls Wrestling Prelims

Carolina Moreno won at 160 lbs., and Evy Osoria finished in the top eight at 126 lbs. at the CIF-SS Southern Division regional qualifying tournament on Feb. 3 at El Toro High.

Moreno and Osoria qualified for the CIF-SS individual championships on Feb. 9 and 10 at Roosevelt High in Eastvale. The top eight will advance to the state championships on Feb. 23 and 24.

Moreno, the No. 1 seed, breezed through her first three matches with wins by fall in 1:16, 1:41 and 1:23. She defeated Gisselle Duarte of Godinez in the final in a 4-2 decision.

Osoria won her first two matches by fall in 1:32 and 1:30 before losing, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Osoria picked up a fall victory in 45 seconds to finish in the top eight.

Signing Day

National Signing Day, a day when student-athletes from football, boys and girls soccer and boys water polo sign letters of intent with a college or university, took place at San Clemente High School on Feb. 7.

For photos, a list of student-athletes signing their letters of intent to colleges and more, check out www.sanclementetimes.com for full coverage of the Signing Day festivities.