It was a successful weekend for several members of the Dublin High Wrestling team, as they performed well enough at the East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) Championships this weekend to earn berths to the North Coast Section (NCS) Tournament next weekend.
Those who qualified for NCS at the EBAL event that was hosted by Dublin High on February 10-11 include Sabriel Gonzalez, Jordan Resultan, Henry Baalman, Maximilian Lwin, George Yu, and Christopher Halket on the Boys team, while Navjot Waraich, Candice Carandang, Darshini Bhasker, Sanjana Alluri, Marissa Macias, Lana Nguyen, Payton Dehnert, and Lavenda Hafoka from the Girls squad. In total, the 13 wrestlers who qualified for NCS is one of the largest contingents that the Gaels have ever sent to the annual postseason event.
The NCS Boys Wrestling tournament will take place at James Logan High School on February 17-18, while the NCS Girls Wrestling tournament will take place those same dates at Albany High School.
In addition to the Wrestling team, good news was also in the cards for the Dublin High Boys Basketball team as the Gaels were selected by the NCS Seeding committee for a bid into the prestigious Open Division. The Open Division consists of the top 6 teams among all divisions in the entire North Coast Section, and also guarantees a berth for Dublin into the CIF State Basketball Tournament that begins on February 28th.
The Gaels earned the 5th seed and will face a familiar 1st Round opponent as they travel to face #4 Granada on Thursday, February 16th at 7:00 p.m. Dublin and Granada split their two contests this year, with the Gaels defeating the Matadors 67-60 during their regular season encounter on January 28 with Granada bouncing back to prevail 79-69 in their EBAL Tournament matchup on February 8th. If the Gaels win on Thursday, they will travel to face #1 seed and EBAL champion Dougherty Valley on February 22nd.
The Open Division has a unique format in that it also features a Consolation bracket to help guide the seeding for the CIF Tournament. If Dublin were to lose to Granada, it would either host San Ramon Valley or go on the road to play Salesian.
As a sign of the historic strength of EBAL this year, five of the six teams that qualified for the Open Division came from our league (#1 Dougherty Valley, #2 De La Salle, #4 Granada, #5 Dublin, #6 San Ramon Valley). In addition, four other EBAL teams made the NCS Division I Tournament (#3 California, #4 Monte Vista, #10 Foothill, and #15 Amador Valley).
Tickets for Dublin’s NCS Open Division 1st Round contest can be found here. All fans are encouraged to arrive early, as a large crowd is expected.
