Sunnyside’s boys wrestling team and boys soccer teams are rated among the top programs in the nation so far in their winter seasons.
The Blue Devil wrestling team, coached by Anthony Leon, is ranked No. 23 nationally and No. 1 in the state by InterMat’s Fab50 rankings.
Sunnyside is one of a few public schools ranked. Many of the others are academies or charter schools.
The Blue Devils finished second to host Arvada (Colo.) Pomona High School in the Battle of the Best event last week.
Sunnyside’s winners in the match won by Pomona 39-31:
126 – Sean Archuleta (Sunnyside) over Marcus Gonzales (Pomona), win by fall, 1:39
132 – Adyn Bostick (Sunnyside) won by forfeit
138 – Sergio Vega (Sunnyside) won by forfeit
150 – Cristian Rivera (Sunnyside) over Tyler Capps (Pomona), major decision, 13-4
285 – Zayne Candelaria (Sunnyside) over Leon Abbott (Pomona), win by fall, 0:57
The Blue Devils’ soccer team is ranked No. 45 in the nation and No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps.
Coach Casey O’Brien’s team is coming off the winning the championship in the Brandon Bean Invitational, hosted by Salpointe at the Kino Sports Complex.
Sunnyside won at Buena 7-1 to improve to 7-0 this season.
Angel Bracamontes Pulido, a junior, leads the Blue Devils with 11 goals and seven assists (29 points total).
Fellow junior Johan Jimenez is next with 23 points — nine goals and five assists.
Vega, a junior with the wrestling program, has committed to continue his education and wrestling at Cornell University of the Ivy League.
He won all seven of his matches at the Battle of the Best last week to improve his record to 84-0 at Sunnyside.
His accolades include being a 4.0 GPA student, a Super 32 finalist, two-time Fargo Freestyle All American, NHCSA All American, Folkstyle Nationals All American.
He has been recruited by some major wrestling powerhouses such as Indiana, Iowa State, Purdue, and Oregon State.
Sunnyside senior Audrey Jimenez and junior Carlos Stanton are both close to choosing where they will continue their education and wrestling careers.
Jimenez, a three-time state champion who has Olympic aspirations, is unfortunately out indefinitely while she rehabs a knee injury suffered during the summer.
Cristian Rivera, a senior, has already committed to wrestling at the United States Air Force Academy next season.
Former Blue Devils are presently wrestling at colleges such as Iowa State, Iowa, Air Force Academy, Arizona State University, and Grand View University.
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