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Cerritos College sophomore Jesse Gomez (Buena Park HS) became the first member of the wrestling team to sign with a four-year school when he signed a National Letter of Intent with NCAA Division II Emmanuel (GA) College. A two-time All-American for the Falcons, Gomez came within one match of an undefeated season, as he was defeated in the CCCAA State Championship match by one point, 3-2. It marked the second year in a row Gomez advanced to the finals, as his freshman season ended with a loss to teammate Robert Chism.
But now Gomez will embark on a different championship, and this time it will be with a brand new program. The Lions just completed their first year of existence, but in 2015 they won the Southeast Conference Tournament, and followed that by winning their first NWCA National Championship. Gomez will spend his first season as a red-shirt.
"I'm going from one great program to another," said Gomez, who will major in kinesiology. "I had the greatest time of my life here at Cerritos. I was part of a state championship (2014) and had great coaches and teammates that will be friends for life. My goal is to go and make history there."
Falcons head coach Donny Garriott believes that Gomez might be the best heavyweight wrestler he's had in his eight seasons.
"We don't have an upper weights coach on staff, so to have a guy like Jesse choose to come to Cerritos was a leap of faith on his part," said Garriott. "But his work ethic and approach to practice every day made him a better wrestler. Having (state champion heavyweight) Robert Chism to work out with every day his freshman season really helped both of them get better. That's probably why they faced each other in the state championship match in 2014. Jesse is always in a good mood and everybody always has a good time when he's around. He brought a lot of personality to the team."
Although Gomez didn't take a recruiting trip to the Georgia campus, he did say that he checked them out on Google Earth. That satisfied him enough to help make his decision.
"The school has everything that I was looking for," added Gomez. "It's a small campus (700-800 students) and they have a 15-1 student-to-teacher ratio. I'm going to miss Cerritos, but I'm excited for the new opportunities that are waiting for me at Emmanuel."
April 14, 2016
Wrestling: Jesse Gomes signs NLI with Emmanuel (GA) College
December 12, 2015
Wrestling: Cerritos looking to hold onto third place
December 12, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons finish state championships in third place
December 11, 2015
Wrestling: Six reach semifinals at state championships
December 5, 2015
Wrestling: Team repeats as SoCal Champions
November 21, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons win first tournament of the year
November 14, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons pick up pair of wins at duals
November 11, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons earn conference win
November 7, 2015
Wrestling: Two Falcons win titles at tournament
October 21, 2015
Wrestling: Cerritos posts conference win
October 17, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons win three of four at Team Dual Championships
October 14, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons post 31-14 conference win over Santa Ana
October 3, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons take third place at Santa Ana Tournament
September 26, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons take fourth place at West Hills Tournament
September 19, 2015
Wrestling: Falcons earn three wins at Mt. SAC Duals
September 14, 2015
Wrestling: Team opens season with three wins in four matches