Yes, we picked Pinole Valley to end Alameda’s six-year run as the Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League champion. Alameda always has talent and it should not be counted out. However, longtime coach Linda Brown is no longer there. Neither are most of the players who helped the Hornets win the North Coast Section 2A East Bay title last year.

Pinole Valley brings back almost everyone who led the Spartans to last year’s 2A title game against Alameda. With so much experience there, it’s hard to pick against the Spartans. Janna Dias is the ace of the league now and Danielle Mason is a suitable backup. Mason will play shortstop when Dias pitches, and vice versa. That should help fill the hole left by the graduation of Jontelle Smith. Tiffiny Valdehueza is in her second year as the Spartans coach.

Every coach in the league said that Pinole Valley, Berkeley and Alameda are the top three in the league this year, with Pinole Valley and Berkeley coming out as the landslide favorites to finish in the top two.

Berkeley is also strong with lots of experience under new coach Ron Hunt. Though it’s a senior-laden team, it is anchored by sophomore pitcher Sarah Neuhaus. It should also get defense and hitting from the Kurashige-Elliot twins — shortstop Amelia and first base/second base Darcey.

League coaches agree there is a second tier after the Spartans, Yellow Jackets and Hornets. After that, fourth and fifth place should be decided between Encinal and Hercules. Encinal’s first-year coach Rick Holgerson inherits a pretty experienced team that took fourth last year. The Jets’ only key loss was catcher Ashley Davidson. Hercules was fifth last year and has several players back. Coach Jim Kinnison, in his third season, is the senior member of the league’s coaching fraternity. However, the Titans are plagued with injuries for the second year in a row and have only 10 players on the roster, so there’s not much depth. There is enough talent for Hercules to overtake Encinal for fourth if it can get healthy.

De Anza, El Cerrito and Richmond have struggling softball programs. De Anza has already beaten El Cerrito in a non-league game and Richmond has won just two league games in five years. Because of that, it’s hard not to pick the Oilers last. 

Two state champs and 11 top eight finishes in all. It doesn’t get much better than that.

It was a banner wrestling season for the North Coast Section over the weekend, as it placed 16 wrestlers overall, more than in any other year. In particular, it was a best for wrestlers in the Times region. Eleven locals medaled.

Campolindo’s Nikko Triggas (112 pounds) and Las Lomas’s Jason Welch (154) were the recipients of those state titles. San Ramon Valley’s David Christian (140) took home a CIF championship last year, the first in the Times region to do so in 10 years. Welch, a sophomore, placed second at 145 last year. He still has a chance to be the fifth ever to reach the finals all four years. Stay tuned.

Las Lomas’s Jason Swisher (215) placed third, Freedom’s David Prado (119) and De La Salle’s Nate Spangler (135) fourth, Foothill’s Phil Boyer (125) fifth, Foothill’s Kellen Aura (103), California’s Jason Welsh (140) and Clayton Valley’s Ronnie McCoy (171) seventh and Liberty’s David Klingsheim (103) and Northgate’s Ryan Stirm (130) finished eighth.

Las Lomas was the top local team in the state, placing 10th, despite having just two wrestlers in the tournament.

A total of 19,499 saw the championships at Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena. Friday, the attendance was 5,871, jumped to 6,394 on Saturday, and Saturday’s championship round increased to 7,234. The tournament will continue in that venue for at least three more years.

Ten’s not bad but it could have been better.

I was able to correctly predict 10 of the 14 champions and 20 of the 28 finalists from the North Coast Section wrestling championships this past weekend at Newark Memorial High School.

Eleven No. 1 seeds won titles. The non-No. 1 seeds who won NCS championships were James Logan’s Jacob Gire (No. 3 at 125), De La Salle’s Nick Pica (No. 4 at 189) and Ferndale’s John Thurston (No. 3 at 275).

As expected, 189 and 275 were the most wide open divisions. At 189, the No. 4 seed defeated the No. 2 seed (Antioch’s Jake Bingham) in the final. The heavyweight division was even wilder. The championship match was between the No. 3 and 4 seeds. No. 1 seed Matt Zonfrello of College Park lost in the first round as evidence of how much parity existed.

What results surprised you the most and why?

Today, my North Coast Section wrestling predictions ran in the Times. Readers may wonder how I came up with the picks I made. Here’s a rundown of the process and reasons why I made the predictions I made.

First, No. 1 seeds usually win. Not all of them, but most. The hard part is figuring out which ones I dont’ think will win titles. Foothill’s Kellen Aura (103), Campolindo’s Nikko Triggas (112), Las Lomas’ Jason Welch (152) and Las Lomas’ Jason Swisher (215) were the easiest ones to predict titles for based on how they’ve dominated their respective weight classes, particularly in tough tournaments such as the Mission San Jose Invitational.

Second, I have results from several tournaments and duals I’ve covered throughout the season and have gotten results from events I was not assigned to cover like the Five Counties Invitational on TheCaliforniaWrestler.com. Tournament results and league duals are a good resource to use when comparing wrestlers to each other.

Third, I have a secret source. He is knowedgeable and deeply-involved in the local wrestling scene. I had him break down the contenders in each weight class and he gave me his opinions as to who he thinks will reach the championship round, who will win and which wrestlers not seeded 1 or 2 who are capable of pulling an upset in the semifinals and finals. In the end, I’ll take the credit and the blame for the predictions, but his opinions were heavily considered.

The hardest part of the process was figuring out how the out-of-the-area wrestlers would do. Since the Times does not cover the Redwood Empire, my knowledge of wrestlers from schools like Healdsburg, Analy, Willits and Ferndale (just to name a few) is very limited. A lot of these kids don’t wrestle outside their area so it’s hard to figure out how good they really are. Some wrestle in the Mission San Jose Invitational, but other than that, there’s not much else to go on.

Last year, I was only successful in predicting nine champions out of 14. I tried to pick some upsets but 12 of the 14 No. 1 seeds took home NCS championships. This time, I picked 11 No. 1’s to emerge as champs.

League wrestling champions will be crowned on Friday and Saturday. The Bay Shore Athletic League championships are Friday, while the Bay Valley Athletic League, Diablo Foothill Athletic League and East Bay Athletic League will hold their championships on Saturday.

In the BSAL, Albany easily won the duals title. However, 14 individual titles are on the line at California School for the Deaf in Fremont. The tournament starts at 4 p.m. Albany is the defending team champion. St. Patrick-St. Vincent should contend for second place. The top three wrestlers in each weight class qualify for the North Coast Section championships.

In the BVAL, Liberty is looking to dethrone Antioch as the team champ. The Lions won the league dual title. The championships start Saturday morning at Liberty. De La Salle should give Liberty a run for its money. In this league, the top four placers advance to the NCS championships.

The DFAL tournament is at Dublin all day Saturday. College Park had to get past Mt. Diablo and Miramonte last week to complete an undefeated season in DFAL duals. Expect those three teams to battle it out for the league championship, with College Park the favorite. The Falcons also won the NCS 3A East Bay duals title last week while the Red Devils claimed the 2A championship. Campolindo’s Nikko Triggas (112 pounds) and Las Lomas’s Jason Welch (152) are ranked No. 2 in the state in their weight class by TheCaliforniaWrestler.com. The top three placers in each weight division advance to the NCS.

Foothill is hosting Saturday’s EBAL championships. It starts at 9 a.m. Foothill and Granada have been the top two teams in the league all season, with the Falcons narrowly defeating the Matadors in their league dual and by a slightly wider margin at last weekend’s NCS team 3A duals championship at Granada. Foothill then advance to the final and fell to College Park. The top three in each weight class qualify for NCS. Foothill’s Kellen Aura (103) is ranked No. 2 in the state.

Which teams do you think will emerge as league champs and why?

Not only is the Mission San Jose Invitational a great East Bay wrestling tournament, it proved to be a great tournament for competitors in the Times’ region.

There was at least one wrestler from the region in 13 of the 14 championship matches. Of those 13, eight were champions.

Foothill’s Kellen Aura (103 pounds) and Tommy Wipfli (130), Granada’s Sean Jackson (125) and Daryl Pasut (189), Las Lomas’ Jason Welch (160) and Jason Swisher (215), Alhambra’s Jordan Abed (152) and Campolindo’s Nikko Triggas (112) emerged as champs.

Abed and Pasut’s championships were the least likely considering they were not seeded in the top two in their respective brackets. However, championships are nothing new for Abed. He recently won titles in the Lawrence Miller Memorial and Ygnacio Valley Pride Tournament. That’s three championships in three weeks.

Thursday’s Diablo Foothill Athletic League double duals at Alhambra and Campolindo should feature some great wrestling as well. Team-wise, the dual between College Park and Mt. Diablo at Alhambra is the most highly-anticipated of the season. They finished second and third in the team scores, respectively, in the Lou Bronzan Invitational at Liberty in December and have been considered the favorites this season in the DFAL. The Falcons and Red Devils enter the week as the lone undefeated teams in the DFAL. They are both 7-0. The event starts at 4 p.m.    

Liberty and De La Salle high schools are regarded as two of the better wrestling teams in the North Coast Section this season. They are also considered the favorites in the Bay Valley Athletic League.

We learned a lot about the teams last night. Liberty won nine of 14 matches against De La Salle to win the league dual 40-24. I was impressed with the Lions depth. They also had four freshmen in the starting lineup. All four won their matches. David Klingsheim (103 pounds), Anthony Thurgood (112), Taylor Kuryla (125) and David Rios (140) each had convincing wins against the Spartans.

As for De La Salle, the Pica brothers - Tito and Nick - are monsters. Sophomore Tito Pica (171) is a defending NCS champion. Freshman Nick Pica is already at 189 pounds. Scary. They also have the experience of Nate Spangler (135). His pin of Derek Guzman in just 1 minute was impressive as well.

The Lions are now in the driver’s seat toward winning the league dual championship, but how important do you think league duals are? The league individual championships could result in a different team having the highest team score because they are able to place more wrestlers higher.

Liberty still has Clayton Valley and Deer Valley coming up. Do you think either of them has what it takes to defeat Liberty?

I am interest in what you think. Please comment. 

In a match between perhaps the two best teams in the East Bay Athletic League, Foothill edged out Granada 30-27 on Tuesday night.

At 125 pounds, two of the best wrestlers in the North Coast Section battled it out, with Granada’s Sean Jackson coming away with a 6-3 win over Foothill’s Phil Boyer. In the California Wrestler’s Newsletter’s latest NCS rankings, Boyer was second and Jackson third at 125. The CWN is currently putting together new NCS rankings. Boyer also placed fourth last weekend in the prestigious Five Counties Invitational.

Two other teams to look out for in the EBAL are California and Livermore. California defeated Amador Valley 55-15 and Livermore topped San Ramon Valley 52-27 on Wednesday.

California, Foothill and Livermore are all 2-0 and Granada 2-1 in the EBAL standings.  Amador Valley and Monte Vista are 0-2 and San Ramon Valley 0-3 in EBAL duals. So who do you think will end up winning the EBAL dual title?

Foothill has three of the top individuals in Kellen Aura (103), Boyer and Tommy Wipfli (130). All three placed at Five Counties. Jackson has led Granada and California’s Jason Welsh is ranked second in the NCS by CWN at 135.  Considering that, who do you think will have the highest team score in the EBAL individual championships?   

A kind reader called the Valley Times yesterday and told me she was concerned about the lack of wrestling coverage in the newspaper. I told her we depend on coaches to call us to report their scores.

"Is that how it works?" she asked.

It’s a fair question, but because of the number of high schools we cover (roughly 50) and the number of sporting events going on on a nightly basis, the high call volume we experience in taking all those results makes it impossible to free writers up to cover most of them. There is also a constant space crunch that limits how much we can write on the events we are able to cover. We have to carefully pick and choose the best ones to cover.

The reason why a sport like basketball seems to dominate the "scoreboard" page is because the basketball coaches are calling their results in more frequently, in general, than wrestling coaches.

For the wrestling coaches who do consistently call in their teams’ results, we thank you. For those who don’t, we want to hear from you so we can better inform our readers who are interested in high school wrestling. Understandably, there are a number of new coaches in every sport who have not been told by their athletic directors how to report results to local newspapers.

At the very least, we need a score or who won, just so we can run complete league standings the following day.

Some coaches may feel it’s an inconvenience or a burden to report their results. We’ll gladly take results from assistant coaches or stat keepers. If you’re not sure what is needed, we’ll walk you through it. It only takes about five minutes.

Being the Times’ wrestling writer, I want to see more wrestling in the newspaper. Because of my other duties, I am only sent out to a few tournaments per season, plus one or two league duals. I also write a column that appears every other Tuesday. The latest one runs next week (cheap plug).

Here are the ways to contact us to report your results:

Contra Costa Times: 925-943-8247; Valley Times/San Ramon Valley Times: 925-847-2166, West County Times: 510-262-2738. Results can also be faxed to 925-930-6150 or e-mailed to prepscores@cctimes.com, but please give us a quick call to let us know you are sending results.

Please call as soon as possible after your match ends. If you call by 10 p.m., we can usually get the result in for the next day’s newspaper.

We do our best but we need your help.

There is no doubt which teams are the top three in the league. After that, flip a coin.

BSAL coaches agree that Piedmont, St. Mary’s and St. Patrick-St. Vincent represent the upper tier of the league. What order to put those teams in is a different story. When asked who they thought would win the league title, coaches split between the Bruins and Highlanders. We decided to go with St. Patrick based on the number of key returners and virtually no losses to a team that went 7-4 in the BSAL last season and started off this season 10-2. That includes all-league second-team selection Alexis Batiste. Despite losing Ashley and Courtney Paris, Piedmont returns Chazny and Casey Morris and has remained a very good team so far this season (9-3). We just felt that the loss of the Parises (who are doing very well at Oklahoma) and the emergence of St. Patrick gives the Bruins the edge. St. Mary’s is always solid and appears to have somewhat closed the gap on Piedmont. Graduating Shantrell Sneed and Natty Fripp are difficult losses to overcome, but the Panthers do return Courtney Dunn, among others.

After that, it gets real interesting. Virtually the rest of the league is in rebuilding mode. Albany was the surprise team last season, but is young now. BSAL coaches said that the Cougars, John Swett, Kennedy, St. Joseph and Salesian all have a shot at fourth place in the league. The top six qualify for the BSAL playoffs, which preceed the NCS playoffs. Holy Names and St. Elizabeth have struggled mightily heading into league play, which starts Tuesday, and may need a year of rebuilding before seriously thinking about the league playoffs.

We decided on Salesian for fourth. The Chieftains were impressive in defeating an improved John Swett squad 56-30 during the nonleague portion of the season. In another nonleague matchup between BSAL teams, St. Joseph beat Kennedy 49-34. Those early head-to-head matchups helped thin out some of the thick gray area surrounding the middle of the league pack. 

Overall, the predictions are based in large part on a consensus of what the coaches think will happen. Sometimes, coaches may underrate or overrate their own teams because they don’t want their players to be overconfident or lose hope.

But we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.