The Peninsula Athletic League was one of the first leagues in the Central Coast Section to really embrace girls’ wrestling. Early on, the Terra Nova squad was the best in CCS. That was followed by many years of Half Moon Bay being among the section’s best.
The last several seasons, the Menlo-Atherton girls have not only moved past the Tigers and Cougars as the best in the PAL, the Bears have been among the best in CCS and the state. M-A won four straight CCS titles from 2017 to 2020 and finished second in the state tournament in 2019.
This season, M-A is the No. 2 ranked program in the CCS according to CCSrank.com, so it should come as no surprise that several Bears are favorites for titles at the PAL championships at South City Friday.
No spectators will be allowed in for the event, but the championship matches can be streamed at BAOSN.TV, beginning at 6 p.m.
Leading the way for M-A is Alexia Bensoussan, who is not only ranked No. 1 in the PAL tournament, she is ranked No. 1 in CCS at 133. In 2020, her sophomore season, she captured both the PAL and CCS titles at 121.
In 2021, she was second at the state finals.
This season, she wrestled up a weight class in finishing second at the Roseville West Coast TOC and second at the Kusumoto Klassic. Wrestling at 133, she finished second at the Mid Cals at Gilroy.
In all, M-A has the top seed in five of the 14 weight classes. Gwen Tompkins is ranked fifth in CCS at 113, but in the PAL championships is seeded No. 1 at 103.
Kiely Tabaldo, who is seeded first at 113, has been dominant this season, with four tournament championships on her resume this season. She finished fifth at the state meet her sophomore year in 2020, but sat out the 2021 pandemic season. Despite being the No. 1 ranked CCS wrestler at 108, Tabaldo has wrestled almost exclusively at 113 this season, compiling a record of 17-1.
Lilly Martin is ranked No. 11 in the CCS at 145, one spot below Half Moon Bay’s Jazmin Zilla, but is seeded one spot higher in the PALs. Alex Lujan, the top seed in the 172 class, like Bensoussan, is having a monster senior season. She is ranked third in the CCS, finishing second at Overfelt, Kusumoto and Mid Cals. She won the PAL title in 2020 and finished fifth at CCS that year at 150.
Here is a look at all 14 classes for the PAL girls’ wrestling championships:
103
HMB’s Yessenia Covarrubias is ranked No. 3 in CCS at 103 by CCS.rank and is the No. 2 seed, behind M-A’s Gwen Tompkins.
Covarrubias is going to be a tough out, however, as she had a strong senior campaign wrestling exclusively at 103. She took home the titles at the HMB Peninsula Invitational, Overfelt and Castro Valley Classic. She was third at the Kusumoto Klassic and fourth in the highly regarded Mid-Cals at Gilroy.
108
Half Moon Bay’s Mikaela Sendino, the No. 1 seed in the PAL tournament at ranked fifth in CCS by CCSrank.com, caught a break when M-A’s Kiely Tabaldo, ranked No. 1 at 108 and the 2020 CCS 101-pound champ, decided to bump up to 113.
Sendino was second at the HMB Peninsula, won the consolation final at Overfelt and was third in the Kusumoto Klassic.
One thing is almost certain: a Sendino match has a good chance of ending in a pin. Of her 13 matches, 10 have finished by pin and two others by technical fall.
113
This may be the deepest bracket in the PAL championships, with seven wrestlers earning seeds.
118
Annalese Leung of Mills, seeded No. 1, is the highest ranked PAL wrestler in the CCS rankings, coming in at No. 10. Only three wrestlers are seeded in this bracket.
123
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Another loaded bracket with six seeded wrestlers, Capuchino’s Jayden Kollman is one of three Mustangs to earn No. 1 seeds for the PAL tournament.
128
Cap’s Lauren Aguilar is seeded No. 1 in a bracket that features three wrestlers in the top-15 of CCS rankings. Joining her is M-A’s Kayla Melcher, who is ranked No. 4 in CCS and El Camino’s Aliyah Rivera, who is ranked No. 14.
133
This is Bensoussan’s title to lose.
139
Taylor Micallef leads a Half Moon Bay contingent that is a perennial power in the PAL. Micallef, ranked No. 1 CCS at 139, will be the heavy favorite.
145
This bracket has the chance to have the most competitive championship match if M-A’s Lilly Martin and HMB’s Jazmin Zilla make it the finals. Both are ranked in the top-15 in CCS.
152
Aubrey Button is the third No. 1 seed for Capuchino.
162
Carlmont's Neffeli Tsangaropoulos is the No. 1 seed.
172
This is Alex Lujan’s title to lose.
191
Hillsdale’s Ana Ferrz, ranked No. 1 in CCS, will be the heavy favorite at the PALs. She has seen limited action, but in winning the heavyweight division at the Lynbrook Ladies Challenge, she won all three matches by pin.
237
This should be an interesting class. El Camino’s Micaela Mullan is ranked No. 1 CCS and has a string of tournament championships this season, including the Mid Cal title.
And yet Mullan is only seeded No. 2 for the PAL tournament.
San Mateo’s Zuleyka Granados Angulo, on the other hand, is ranked No. 8 in CCS, but No. 1 for the PALs.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to show Neffeli Tsangaropoulos wrestles for Carlmont.
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