Preps of the week: Marin Catholic soccer duo dominating - Marin Independent Journal

Local prep basketball, soccer and wrestling teams are starting off the new decade with a bang.

On the court, a San Marin freshman helped the Mustangs stay perfect in league play while a pair of San Rafael guards helped their respective Bulldogs squads pick up their first league wins of the season.

On the pitch, an MCAL Player of the Year contender helped defeat the defending league champions. Plus, a Marin Catholic girls duo linked for a hat trick — twice — and a Redwood striker came up clutch for the Giants.

And on the mats, a Redwood junior made an unexpected run to the semifinals while his senior teammate became the first in program history to reach the finals at the Joe Rios Tournament.

Michael Fitzsimmons and Ben Olsan, Redwood wrestling

Fitzsimmons, a 182-pound senior, became the first Redwood wrestler to make the finals of the Joe Rios Tournament over the weekend before falling to the top seed in his bracket. His junior teammate, Olsan, earned a third-place finish in the 132-pound bracket after taking down the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds. Overall, the Giants placed 13th among more than 50 schools at the meet.

Zoe Shepherd and Taylor Martin, Marin Catholic soccer

Shepherd set up Martin for three goals in the Wildcats’ 3-1 win against Drake (4-3-0, 2-3-0). Martin and Shepherd then repeated their feats on Monday against Terra Linda with Martin scoring three more goals and Shepherd dishing out three more assists. Martin’s scoring binge brought her league-leading total to nine goals in six games.

Grace Bouton, Redwood soccer

Just when it appeared the Giants’ matchup with Terra Linda might end in a scoreless tie, Bouton broke the deadlock with a dagger in the waning minutes. With the win, Redwood (4-1-1, 3-1-1) leapfrogged the Trojans (3-2-1, 3-2-1) in the league standings. Maya Rembrandt registered the assist on Bouton’s game-winning goal.

Ruthwick Challagonda, Terra Linda soccer

Challagonda proved to be the difference-maker once again for the Trojans (5-0-1) against Redwood. After he scored a pair in last year’s 2-0 shutout of the Giants, the senior added two more in Terra Linda’s 4-2 victory over the reigning MCAL champions.

Lailah Carey, San Marin basketball

One of several star underclassmen for the red-hot Mustangs, Carey began the week by hitting four 3-pointers to hand Terra Linda its first league loss of the season. Then on Saturday, the freshman filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals as San Marin improved to 5-0 in MCAL play (12-3 overall) ahead of a showdown with fellow undefeated Redwood next week.

Drew Caveney, San Rafael basketball

Caveney led the Bulldogs to 72-28 rout of Rancho Cotate on Thursday, then paced all scorers with 17 in San Rafael’s first league victory of the season over Novato. The Bulldogs’ guard matched one of the highest-scoring guards in the league, Jason Carpenter (17 points), to secure the 55-49 win against the Hornets. San Rafael (1-3, 6-7) can climb back to the .500 mark with a victory at Branson on Tuesday night.