Complete Brackets
Team Scores
After the first day of the CCCAA Wrestling State Championships, Cerritos College is locked in a first place tie, while six have advanced to the semifinals. The state championships, which are being held at Victor Valley College, will resume at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, with the championship round to be held later that night.
The Falcons, who won the state championship in 2014 and are ranked #1 in the state, compiled 84 team points after the first day. They are joined at the top of the heap with Fresno City College, who has come in second place at the state championships the last three seasons after winning three state titles in a row. Both schools have six wrestlers in the semifinals.
125 Pounds - Freshman Norberto Buenrostro (Citrus Hill HS), the Southern California champion, had a bye in the first round and then escaped a 15-12 decision against Gilbert Martinez of Sierra College. Ranked #3 in the state, Buenrostro will square off against #2-ranked Landon McBride, also of Sierra, in the semifinals.
133 Pounds - The Falcons don't have any entries at this weight.
141 Pounds - It was a 6-1 win for sophomore Richard Pocock (California HS), who was also the Southern California champion at his weight. The state's #2-ranked wrestler, will take on Mt. San Antonio College's Casper Sherow in the semifinals, who defeated NorCal runner-up Hunter Minton of Sacramento City College.
149 Pounds - The Falcons picked up a pair of bonus team points when freshman Wyatt Gerl (Downey Calvary Chapel HS) pinned Joshua Caro in 2:47 in his lone match of the day. Gerl, ranked #3 in the state, will now face NorCal champion and #2-ranked Dylan Martinez of Fresno City College in the semifinals.
157 Pounds - It was a double-victory day for Cerritos at the weight, as Southern California champion Dylan Moreno (Downey HS) and runner-up Kevin James (Redondo Union HS) each recorded wins in their lone matches. Moreno, ranked #2 in the state, earned an 18-1 technical fall over Apollo Santos of Mt. San Antonio College and will now face Fresno City's Joshua Annis. As for James, he posted an 8-4 win over Daniel Larman of Sacramento City College and will take on top-ranked Noor Kathem of Modesto College in the other semifinal.
167 Pounds - As good as the day was for the Falcons at 157 pounds, they suffered a pair of losses, which dropped freshmen Kennith Kirk (Elsinore HS) and Blake Vasquez (Fountain Valley HS) into the consolation rounds. Kirk, ranked #4 in the state, started his day with a pin in 1:17 against CJ Sanchez of Fresno City, but was pinned in 3:57 by NorCal champion Derek Lee Loy. Kirk concluded his day with a thrilling 7-6 win over Justin Nieves of Modesto College. As for Vasquez, the SoCal runner-up, he had a bye in the first round and was then upset, 5-4 by Arman Fayyazi of Santa Ana College. He received a medical forfeit win in his consolation match and must now take on Kirk, with the winner two victories away from third place.
174 Pounds - Freshman Isaiah Leyva (San Jacinto HS) posted a 9-2 win over Stephen Dixon of San Joaquin Delta College in his opening match of the day, but was defeated, 9-4 by NorCal runner-up Niko Chapman of Sacramento City College. Leyva, ranked #6 in the state, remained alive with his pin in 6:25 over Jesus Quintanas of Sierra.
184 Pounds - Ranked #4 in the state, freshman Blake Vasquez (Fountain Valley HS) was holding a third period lead over Barnabus Yi of Mt. San Antonio College. As the final minute ticked away, Yi was able to score points in bunches and posted a 13-7 decision over Vasquez. Relegated to the consolation round, Vasquez posted a 7-1 win over Rodolfo Castillo of Bakersfield College.
197 Pounds - Undefeated, and ranked #1 in the state, freshman David Van Weems (Corona Centennial HS) was holding a comfortable lead over Zach Mitchell of Bakersfield College in his first match of the day. Van Weems was able to get Mitchell on his back late in the third period and recorded a pin in 6:18. His opponent in the semifinals will be #3-ranked Wes Ruffner of Lassen College.
285 Pounds - Taking on Nate Folsaqa of Lassen College in his first match of the day, freshman David Zavala (Lakewood HS) was able to pin him in 4:52 to advance to the quarterfinals. Leading NorCal champion Tristin Smith of Modesto, 1-0 late in the third period, Zavala was was reversed in the final seconds and dropped a 2-1 decision. He rebounded in the consolation round to pin David Corona of Skyline College in 1:21.