Poway boys came oh so close to defending their state wrestling title at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield last weekend. Although senior Angelo Posada and sophomore Mario Carini captured individual titles, the Titans came up just short against Clovis Buchanan, which prevailed in the team chase 247.5 to 240.0. That’s a far cry from the record 290.5 points the Titans recorded a year ago. “I never expected us to fight for a state title this year when it started,” coach John Meyers told the Union-Tribune concerning his young team. “For a rebuilding team, I’m really happy with all the kids. “I normally don’t look at those things, but I saw the rankings before coming up here and what we were facing. To win here, I think you have to have six or seven finalists.” Poway had Posada (Stanford) and Carini as well as Edwin Sierra (Stanford) and Billy Townson advance into the championships. Posada improved his season record at 215 pounds to 41-0 and 81-0 over the last two years after winning the title at 175-pounds in 2024. This time he dominated Khale McDonnell of Fountain Valley, 7-0. Carini avenged an earlier-season loss to Bellflower St. John Bosco’s Joseph Antonio in the 157-pound championship, 5-4. Sierra had a chance to reverse his loss in the 2024 state championships to Buchanan’s Rocklin Zinkin at 120 pounds but the junior fell, 7-2. Townson got a little closer at 132 pounds before losing to Gilroy’s Moses Mendoza, 3-1. Poway showed its depth by securing five other spots on the victory stand. Sophomore Daniel Moylan, wrestling up at 285, placed third, fellow 10th-grader Arseni Kikiniou was fifth at 144, freshman Julius Villamil placed seventh at 106, along with sophomores Matthew Orbeta (138) and Bailey Holman (157). Rancho Bernardo’s Dax Curry lost his opening round match but came back to win 11-8 and 6-0 in the consolation round before losing again. On the girls’ front, Rancho Bernardo’s Mary Snider and Poway freshman Ava Fodera also marched into the championship round. Snider, who had not lost a match anywhere since this same meet a year ago, was the No. 1 seed at 140 pounds and she rolled into the finals against Pitman’s Yzabella Austin. The streak came to an end when Austin scored a 7-1 decision. Fodera got stronger as the season progressed and in the 105-pound championship, she took a 7-6 lead before Palo Alto’s Ella Cohen pinned her at 5:20 for the title. Rancho Bernardo’s Maisen Vesco, competing at 145, won 3-0, lost 8-3 and lost 5-1 in the consolation round. BOYS SOCCER Del Norte’s boys were 9 minutes away from winning the Open Division soccer title at Mission Bay High Saturday, holding powerful St. Augustine scoreless. James Hunter put the Nighthawks ahead five minutes into the second half and each team had its chances to win in regulation. St. Augustine, though, a veteran to the post-season, managed to tie the contest and after neither team scored in OT, it came down to penalty kicks. Although Aria Toursavadkouhi planted his 1-on-1 kick in the back of the net, the Saints’ goalie, Archie Gonzalez made three diving saves, allowing St. Augustine to celebrate its third straight championship. “They’re good,” Del Norte coach David O’Rielly said. “They threw everything at us because this was the championship and that’s what you do. We made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage. “We played faced Torrey Pines in the first round and had overtime games the next two rounds. We’ve played well.” The Nighthawks, who are officially 15-0-7, opened the Southern California Regional Division 1 playoffs Tuesday as the No. 8 seed at San Juan Capistrano JSerra and if they upset the No. 1seeds, would play the winner of the No. 4 St. Augustine-Santa Monica game tonight. GIRLS WATER POLO Rancho Bernardo’s girls’ Southern California Division 2 Regional playoffs came to an end when fellow section power Valhalla scored a 20-8 victory in the first round at home. The Broncos finished the season 15-13. BOYS BASKETBALL After advancing to the section Division 3 semifinals, Rancho Bernardo (20-11) fell to San Diego Southwest, 59-56. Down by eight points entering the final quarter, Rancho Bernardo rallied, outscoring the Raiders 13-8, but coming up just short. GIRLS SOCCER It took overtime but the Rancho Bernardo (14-4-3) girls saw their 11-game winning streak and hopes of a section Division 2 title come to end against San Dieguito, 1-0, in the semifinals. The Broncos got five shots on goal but could not convert while freshman goalie Sofia Torano turned aside six attempts before the Mustangs were able to come away with the victory. GIRLS BASKETBALL The Rancho Bernardo girls’ season continued with the Broncos hosting Rosary Academy Tuesday night. Although RB lost to Francis Parker in the first round of the section playoffs, because it was in the Open Division the Broncos were guaranteed a Southern California Regional contest. Should RB win, it would meet the winner of the Mark Keppel-Grossmont game.