Rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 49F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..
Rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 49F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Updated: February 15, 2026 @ 8:23 pm
Terra Nova junior Sophia Darer, right, starts a hip throw against Alisal sophomore Briana Ochoa in the girls’ 110-pound championship match at the Central Coast Section Masters wrestling tournament Saturday at Independence High School.
SAN JOSE — The first major crowd reaction in the championship round of the Central Coast Section Masters wrestling tournament came less than a minute into the girls’ 110-pound match.
Terra Nova junior Sophia Darer, the defending 110s champion, scored a hip throw against Alisal sophomore Briana Ochoa, flipping her opponent to the mat, as the crowd went wild, before the referee whistled the pin fall at 1 minute, 2 seconds into the first round.
“She got me in a bear hug, and that’s where I like to work all my moves from,” Darer said. “So, I readjusted my hips and threw her off her counter.”
Lauren Aguilar
Darer’s repeat as CCS champion was the first of two Peninsula Athletic League wrestlers to top the podium Saturday at Independence High School. Burlingame senior Lauren Aguilar also claimed her second straight CCS crown at 120s, going 3-0 to advance to the championship round before being awarded the win over Galileo junior Daisy Infante via medical forfeit.
A third San Mateo County wrestler earned a title, as St. Francis-Mountain View sophomore Katherine Love won a 6-4 decision in the finals of the girls’ 125s division. A San Mateo native, the title was the third on the day for St. Francis, and the first in Love’s varsity career.
Serra advanced two wrestlers to the finals of the daylong tournament. In the boys’ 144s bracket, junior Sebastian Garcia took second place, dropping an 8-2 decision to Los Gatos freshman Wesley Hayden in the finals. At 215s, senior Preston Dixon took second place, losing via forfeit in the finals to Gilroy sophomore Brian Haran.
Terra Nova junior Ava Mendoza also advanced to the finals of the girls’ 130s bracket. Mendoza took second place, losing via second-round fall to Los Gatos junior Kaja McCullough.
When Darer won her first CCS championship, she celebrated by receiving the biggest of bear hugs from her younger sister Emily Darer. Now a sophomore, Emily Darer again greeted her big sister with a similar celebration, but but before the elder Darer shared a hug with her opponent, Ochoa, in the middle of the mat.
“We’ve wrestled before,” Sophia Darer said. “She’s a really great opponent. I like her style a lot. She’s really, really technical, and I’m so glad I had a worthy opponent in the finals.”
As for the brevity of the match, Darer was on her toes after wrestling Ochoa earlier this season at the Webber Lawson Tournament in Fremont.
“Last time we wrestled it was a little close, so I had to come in with a different strategy,” Darer said. “I knew it was going to be up to the finals. But the outcome was what I wanted.”
Emily Darer did not wrestle Saturday, going 1-2 the previous week at the CCS Northern Regionals qualifier in the 100s bracket. She was still in action Saturday, though, as her sister’s sparring partner. She was also in Sophia Darer’s corner throughout the day.
“I think Sophia is always capable of doing this well in every match,” Emily Darer said. “Sometimes she gets scared, but she’s just so good. I expect this from her.”
Mendoza was looking for her first CCS championship, but fell short after an efficient road the the finals. The junior earned three pins, two in the first round, before clashing with McCullough in the finals. Mendoza gained the early advantage with a single-arm takedown in the first period, taking a 3-0 lead.
“[McCullough] tried to throw her earlier on and she had a slip, and Ava capitalized,” Terra Nova assistant coach Felipe Flores said.
When McCullough answered back in the second round, she was able to get Mendoza to the mat for the pin.
“A lot of it is good timing on the other girl,” Flores said. “She went with it and she got it.”
With the top four placers in each weight class advancing to the CIF State Wrestling Championships, held Thursday through Saturday at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, Sophia Darer and Mendoza each advance to the season-finale state tournament. It is the second time in three years Terra Nova will send two girls to the state tourney. In 2022-23, Sophia Darer and Maya Morrow both advanced to Bakersfield.
“My goal is to definitely place at state,” Sophia Darer said. “I think I’ve got a good shot this year.”
Last season, Aguilar became the first wrestler in Burlingame history to take home a CCS championship. This year, in repeating at CCS, she has her sights set on becoming the first Burlingame wrestler to claim a state title.
The 4-11 senior made a statement throughout the CCS tourney, recording six tech falls — three in last week’s Northern Regionals and three more Saturday at the Masters.
“It was definitely my mission to not only repeat, but to perform better at state,” Aguilar said. “Wanting to become a state champion, I have to think of this as my stepping stone to that. So, coming into this tournament, I thought about it as my tournament.”
St. Francis earned three CCS championships Saturday, with Love delivering the third. Eva Bhattacharya got the Lancers on the board in the 100s bracket, and April Gao followed with the 115s title.
Love earned a 6-4 victory in the finals over Gilroy’s Jocelynn Mendoza, though she led 6-1 going into the final seconds. The sophomore took third place at CCS last season. She went on to post a 3-2 record at the state tournament, falling just shy of the podium while qualifying for the top 12. The top eight finishers earn medals at the state tourney.
“It’s really exciting,” Love said. “After I saw both of my teammates, they won their CCS championships before me, so I was like: ‘OK, I have to win this. I have to win the third one.’ So, that’s super exciting.”
St. Francis took second place in the girls’ team standings, with Monterey taking the championship. In the boys’ team standings, Gilroy dominated to take the team championship for the 22nd consecutive year. The Serra boys took third place. The Terra Nova girls were the top county placer, taking 10th place.
With the top four finishers in each bracket earning a bid to the state tournament, 16 county wrestlers punched their tickets to Bakersfield, eight boys and eight girls.
Third-place finishers included: boys’ 106s, Ryder Doleschal, Serra; boys’ 175s, Eric Ruiz, Menlo-Atherton; boys’ 190s, Ryder De Asis, South City; girls’ 135s, Evyn Ellis, Woodside.
Fourth-place finishers included: boys’ 106s, Niko Selianitis, El Camino; boys’ 138s, Patrick Turk, Serra; boys’ 215, Andrew Jarrett, Burlingame; girls’ 130s, Katheryne Abramenko, Half Moon Bay; girls’ 140s, Khloe Meisenbach, South City; girls’ 190s, Kelailah Johnson, Mills.
Top six placers at the CCS Masters reached the podium.
Fifth-place finishers included: boys’ 120, Michael Schliewe, El Camino; boys’ 165s, Elliot Schnelker, Serra.
Sixth-place finishers included: boys’ 285s, Trevor Wilson, Serra; girls’ 135s, Catalina Kohler, Hillsdale.
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