Northview Third at Five Counties

Caleb Flores, Shad Manigault and their Covina Northview wrestling team have some unfinished business.

After a disappointing ending to last season, the Vikings served notice Saturday at the Five Counties wrestling tournament that they are back on the right track when they had two weight-class winners and took third place as a team behind defending state champion Poway and Clovis Buchanan.

In one of the highlights of the tournament, Flores, ranked No. 2 in the state at 119 pounds, scored an escape point with one second remaining in double overtime to defeat top-ranked Filip Novachkov of Sunnyvale Fremont, 5-4.

In the 140-pound final, Manigault, seeded second, pinned top-seeded Anthony Box of Bakersfield in 4 minutes 47 seconds.

The victories were sweet redemption for both wrestlers. Last year, Flores was ranked No. 3 in the state but finished sixth at Five Counties and seventh at state. Manigault did not make it to the second day at Five Counties and did not qualify for the state meet.

“This is a step in the right direction,” Flores said. “We’ll celebrate this for one night and then forget about it. We’re looking good right now, but it doesn’t mean anything until March.”

The top team in the Southern Section in 2003-04, Northview had high expectations last season, but injuries and uninspired performances hampered the Vikings all season. They finished 19th at Five Counties and 18th at state.

Five Counties is generally seen as a precursor to the state championships. The winner is considered the state favorite. Poway had 190 points, Buchanan had 151.5 and Northview had 139.

“This is only a litmus test,” said Northview co-Coach Bobby Bellamy. “We try not to focus on where we finished, but we’re proud of the kids to finish in the top three at a tournament like this.”

Second-seeded Justin Paulsen of Santa Ana Calvary Chapel fought through an injured right shoulder and defeated top-seeded Nikko Triggas of Moraga Campolindo, 5-4, in the 112-pound final. Paulsen, who lost to Triggas, 8-4, earlier this season in the final of the Reno Tournament of Champions, called it his “biggest win of the season.”

Chris Drouin of Temecula Chaparral scored a 5-2 victory over Adin Duenas of Gilroy to win the 135-pound title. Abraham Otrambo of Anaheim Loara defeated Anthony Castillo of Turlock, 2-0, for the 189-pound title.

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Peter Yoon

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Boys’ Basketball

Patrick Christopher is feeling more comfortable in a Compton Dominguez uniform.

Christopher, a senior transfer from Lakewood Mayfair who has signed with California, scored a game-high 17 points as the Dons, ranked No. 5 in the Southland by The Times, defeated No. 4 Westchester, 69-52, in the featured game at the Pangos Dream Classic at Hope International University in Fullerton.

Christopher scored seven points in the second quarter to help the Dons (13-4) outscore Westchester, 18-5, and take a 29-17 lead. The Comets (13-3) did not pull within single digits the remainder of the game.

“It took me a minute to get into the program,” said Christopher, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard. “But once I got going, I felt like myself again.”

Christopher had 18 points and nine rebounds Dec. 10 in a 55-52 loss to the Comets in the championship game of the Westchester tournament, but he missed a game-tying three-point shot at the buzzer.

He had one of his best games of the season 12 days later in a fifth-place game at the Fort Myers (Fla.) tournament, producing 30 points and 16 rebounds in a 91-89 victory over Winter Park (Fla.) Lake Howell, including a game-winning tip-in with 1.7 seconds remaining.

“He fits in,” Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said of Christopher.

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-- Dan Arritt