After falling short in last year’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League wrestling championships, Scotts Valley High senior Caleb Mendoza got himself a bit of redemption this past weekend.
The standout Falcon athlete narrowly defeated Santa Cruz’s Rhodri Griffin in a 2-0 decision to capture the 175-pound weight division title in front of a hefty crowd at Aptos High on Feb. 6.
“It’s definitely the most meaningful because it’s keeping me in the race,” Mendoza said about ranking this victory on his list of accomplishments. “I’m hoping that I can get more wins at Regionals to make it last even longer.”
Next up, the Central Coast Section Southern Regionals tournament at Watsonville High on Feb. 14. The top eight wrestlers in each weight division advance to the Masters Finals, also in Watsonville on Feb. 21.
Scotts Valley freshmen Gio Vignato and Carson Solbes had huge wins in their respective weight divisions. They will join Mendoza at this weekend’s Regionals, which begins at 9am.
Second year head coach Matis Barbier said he’s been extremely dedicated trying to recruit as much as possible, and starting an offseason program to keep the student-athletes busy throughout the year.
“I think it has made a huge difference,” he said. “Now I got these guys wrestling year round, showing the next level of commitment to the sport. And I think it’s really paid off for these younger guys.”
Vignato had the biggest upset of the evening with a stunning victory over Jack Moreno of Aptos in the 106-pound finals. After trailing 13-3 late in the match, Vignato flipped the script and had Moreno on his back for the pin.
“[Vignato] had a tall task wrestling Jack from Aptos,” Barbier said. “It didn’t start the way he wanted it to start, but he’s a guy that can finish a match at any time. He catches people consistently.”
Solbes looked sharp in his 113-pound championship bout victory against Bryson Silva of Aptos, winning in a 6-2 decision.
“Carson, he’s one of the hardest working guys you’ll ever see,” Barbier said. “I had nothing but confidence in him going into that match, and he did exactly what he was supposed to do.”
Mendoza admitted he felt worrisome and not beaming with a lot of confidence going into his championship bout against Griffin, especially after losing to him in the 2025 finals.
“It’s tough to score,” Mendoza said. “This is only my second year, and I’m not really fluent in the whole wrestling thing. I really just go out there and try as hard as I can.”
Mendoza, who was a star football offensive lineman in the fall, scored two points on a reversal in the second period, and held on to the lead until the gas tank emptied on the final buzzer.
“We ended up in a scramble, and it was a matter of who could score,” Mendoza said. “I held on to his leg for dear life until time ran out and I won with two points.”
Aptos captured the team title with a score of 160.5 points, followed by Santa Cruz (125) in second and Scotts Valley (94.5) in third—two places higher than the previous season. Soquel took fourth place with 88.5 points, followed by Harbor (73.5) in fifth and San Lorenzo Valley (67.5) for sixth place.
SLV saw two of its big guys in senior Ollin Bates and Gabriel Attia take home an individual league title in the 215- and 285-pound weight divisions, respectively.
It took just 48 seconds for Attia to win his bout against Tlaloc Mendez of Santa Cruz, while Bates was decisively victorious over Milton Cuellar of Santa Cruz in a 17-5 major decision.
On the girls side, SLV senior Jennifer Black dominated in the 125-pound division finals with a decisive 15-0 victory over Soquel’s Callia Sillas.
Other top finishers for Scotts Valley included senior Micaiah Trujillo and sophomore Coleton La Fontaine, runners-up in the 144- and 157-pound weight divisions, respectively.
“It’s evidence that we are doing the right thing, and that we’ll continue to improve,” Barbier said. “I’m looking to win the league and build off of all the good stuff we’re doing in the middle school, and just having our programs get into sync and start to put out a lot of talent moving forward.”
Mendoza said it was the youngsters who got him fired up after watching them win in their title matches.
“They have been wrestling longer than me, and I almost look up towards them,” Mendoza said. “They kept us riled up into Micaiah’s final and then my final. It was great to watch them win.”
Mendoza and his teammates will have the entire week to prepare for the Regionals, allowing them to get sore and heal in time prior to the huge tourney.
“I’m just gonna try my hardest,” he said. “I’m not going to be disappointed. It is only my second year of wrestling, but whatever comes I’m going to be happy with.”
