Latest news with #TajhAriza
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tajh Ariza leaves Westchester High for St. John Bosco
The one-year experiment of Tajh Ariza playing for his father's alm mater, Westchester High, has ended. The 6-foot-9 junior has transferred to St. John Bosco. Ariza led Westchester to the City Section Open Division championship and was named City Section co-player of the year. He previously attended St. Bernard before transferring to Westchester. Advertisement He will rejoin his former St. Bernard teammate, Christian Collins, who went to St. John Bosco last season. The combination of Ariza, Collins and returnee Brandon McCoy would give the Braves an impressive trio. To be eligible immediately, Ariza would have to change residences. His father, Trevor, also led Westchester to a City title before moving on to UCLA and the NBA. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Tajh Ariza leaves Westchester High for St. John Bosco
The one-year experiment of Tajh Ariza playing for his father's alm mater, Westchester High, has ended. The 6-foot-9 junior has transferred to St. John Bosco. Ariza led Westchester to the City Section Open Division championship and was named City Section co-player of the year. He previously attended St. Bernard before transferring to Westchester. He will rejoin his former St. Bernard teammate, Christian Collins, who went to St. John Bosco last season. The combination of Ariza, Collins and returnee Brandon McCoy would give the Braves an impressive trio. To be eligible immediately, Ariza would have to change residences. His father, Trevor, also led Westchester to a City title before moving on to UCLA and the NBA.
Los Angeles Times
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Rematch time in Southern California Regional basketball semifinals
Let's hope coaches saved some plays, fans didn't brag too much and players understand how tough it is trying to beat a team for a second or third time, because it's rematch time in the Southern California Regional semifinals in high school basketball. Saturday's matchups are full of rematches from section tournaments or nonleague games. First up is a rematch of the City Section Open Division championship boys game. Westchester will host Chatsworth on Saturday in a Division II semifinal. It will be the third meeting, with Westchester winning the last one. In Division IV, Sun Valley Poly hosts Granada Hills. Poly won a City Section Division I semifinal over Highlanders. In the Open Division, Harvard-Westlake and Roosevelt finally meet in Eastvale. Last season, en route to winning the Southern Section and state Open Division championships, Harvard-Westlake defeated Roosevelt twice. In Division I, Bay League rivals Mira Costa and Redondo Union play for a third time at Redondo Union. In Open Division girls, both semifinals are rematches from the Southern Section playoffs, with Ontario Christian hosting Sierra Canyon and Etiwanda hosting Mater Dei. In Division I girls, Sage Hill hosts Brentwood after beating the Eagles 60-42 earlier this season. Fairmont Prep hosts Windward, which lost to Fairmont Prep 69-65 on Feb. 22. Alijah Arenas, the star guard at Chatsworth and good friend of Westchester standout Tajh Ariza, had a message after his team's win on Thursday night: 'I've got something for Tajh.' Expect the Westchester gym to be filled to the rafters. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
Los Angeles Times
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep basketball roundup: City Section teams perform well in regional playoff openers
The City Section Open Division champion, Westchester, and the runner-up, Chatsworth, won their opening games on Tuesday night in the Southern California Division II basketball regional. So did Cleveland, a City Section Open Division semifinalist. Tajh Ariza scored 26 points in Westchester's 70-47 win over La Jolla Country Day. Chatsworth received 21 points from Alijah Arenas in an 81-60 win over Knight. Cleveland defeated St. Bonventure 73-62. Westchester will host Cleveland in a rematch in the second round Thursday. Palisades 82, Righetti 50: The Dolphins, seeded No. 1 in Division III, received 18 points form Tommy Pickens. Los Alamitos 84, Cathedral Catholic 72: The Griffins won their Division I opener. Tyler Lopez scored 17 points, Trent Minter 16, Samori Guyness 15, Wes Trevino 11 and Kedric Delaney 10. The Griffins will play at Redondo Union, a 77-54 winner over Pacifica Christian. Mira Costa 61, Crean Lutheran 48: The Mustangs advanced in Division I and will play host to Torrey Pines in the second round. Torrey Pines 66, Santa Margarita 59: The Eagles dropped their first-round Division I game. Sierra Canyon 73, Corona Centennial 48: The No. 1-seeded Trailblazers advanced in Division 1 behind Maximo Adams, who scored 21 points. Bryce James finished with 15 points, on five threes, in his first start. JSerra 80, San Marcos 56: BJ Davis-Ray had 26 points and Dominic Bolton made eight threes to finish with 24 points in a Division I win. Fairfax 80, California 55: Joseph Riggins scored 22 points for the Lions in Division IV. Sun Valley Poly 60, Tri-City Christian 54: The Parrots advanced in Division III. Brentwood 74, La Jolla Country Day 63: Lev Feiman scored 19 points and Logan Scott 16 points for Brentwood. Cantwell-Sacred Heart 63, La Mirada 49: Alica Lara scored 23 points for Cantwell.
Los Angeles Times
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Column: A high school championship weekend with memories galore
A busy weekend of high school sports championships deserves a look back at some of the excitement and oddities. In celebrating Westchester's 16th City Section basketball championship on Friday night, Tajh Ariza was so full of adrenaline and energy that he appeared to knock over teammate Courtney Hutchins with a chest bump, sending Hutchins rolling over and over on the court like a bowling ball. It turns out Hutchins deserves an Academy Award for acting. 'I wasn't hurt. I was just happy,' Hutchins said Saturday morning. 'I flop at times during practice. I flop during games.' Said coach Dewitt Cotton: 'They are just playing around. I see it every day at practice.' In the City Section Open Division boys' rivalry game between El Camino Real and Birmingham, the Patriots' goalkeeper, Armando Cervantes, tackled El Camino Real's Christopher Montenegro in the penalty box to prevent a goal. A yellow card was issued, a penalty kick was assessed and El Camino Real tied the score to send it into overtime before winning on a golden goal 2-1. The best game of the weekend was Canyon Country Canyon needing triple overtime to defeat St. Bonaventure in the Southern Section Division 2A championship basketball game on a three-point bank shot by Noah Madrigal at the buzzer for an 89-86 win. Before that, Charlie Adams of St. Bonaventure made a three with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into the first overtime. Then there was the three by Canyon's Isaac Yuhico with 21 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the score. Ali Monfared, the 36-year-old head coach for Canyon, said, 'It was the wildest game I've ever seen or been involved in. There was big shot after big shot after big shot.' When Oak Park hired Will Burr from Viewpoint three years ago as girls' basketball coach, it was like hiring Phil Jackson for the Lakers. He won his third consecutive Southern Section title with a win in the 2A final. He's won four straight titles overall. Oak Park's Delaney White is likely to be a player of the year in the third different playoff division. Her father, Larry, played basketball at Cal State Northridge and coached at Burbank Burroughs. Imagine being down 17-0 after the first quarter of a championship game. That was the challenge facing Rolling Hills Prep girls' basketball coach Moniquee Alexander, who had never been shut out in a quarter as a player or coach. 'This coach came up, 'I would have been flipping tables,'' she said. 'I always say it's not the situation. It's how you choose to react. I chose to remain calm.' Rolling Hills Prep rallied to defeat Rosary 51-49 to win the 2A championship after Regan Enright made two free throws with one second left. At the state wrestling championships in Bakersfield, Henry Aslikyan of Birmingham won the 113-pound division to become the 85th wrestler in state history to be a two-time champion. He's a three-time City champion with one more year to go. In 2023, when I first met him as a freshman, he was 5 feet 2 and 102 pounds. He has grown to 5-6. 'I'm already getting taller every day,' he said then. 'I'm trying to gain weight. I don't have much fat.' He's a true Mighty Mouse. He's the first-ever two-time state champion from the City Section.
