Three members of the Cerritos College wrestling team have signed National Letters of Intent with four-year universities. A CCCAA State Champion at 141 pounds, Josh Brown has signed with Cal State Bakersfield, while 174-pound All-American Zack Gonzalez, who came in second place, has inked with Grand View (IA) University. All-American Kennith Kirk, who placed third at 165 pounds, has signed with Missouri Valley College, while the fourth member, Mayte Villada, has signed with the Colorado Mesa University women's team and will have four years of eligibility.
Brown went undefeated during the 2018 season, which included going 19-0 at 141 pounds and 3-0 at 149 pounds. He captured the championship at the West Hills and Santa Ana Tournaments, while he reached the finals of the Cuesta Tournament. He defaulted out of the finals before facing teammate Nick Camacho. Brown also won the Southern California Championship before posting three wins to capture the state title. He recorded a pair of major decisions, including a 10-2 win over Luis Ramos of Fresno City College, who was the #1 seed from Northern California.
As a freshman, Brown was an All-American at 133 pounds after coming in fourth place at the CCCAA State Championships. He advanced to the semi-final match, but was defeated and then split his last two matches, while ending his season with a win in the third place match. He concluded the season with an 18-6 record at 133 pounds and won his only match at 141 pounds. Brown also took second place at the Southern California Championships and came in third place at the Santa Ana Tournament and fourth place at the Fresno City Tournament.
Cal State Bakersfield finished fourth at the PAC-12 Championships and qualified two wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
Gonzalez (pictured, left), who went 21-7 at 174 pounds, entered the state championships as the #1-seed from Southern California after winning the Southern California Championship. Gonzalez took second place at the Santa Ana, Cuesta and Fresno City Tournament, while he came in fourth place at the West Hills Tournament. In the finals of state championships, Gonzalez was defeated by Fresno City College's Abner Romero, 8-1, who was also the one who defeated him in the Santa Ana and Cuesta Tournament championship match.
In his freshman season, Gonzalez took seventh place at the CCCAA State Championships at 184 pounds after coming in third place at the Southern California Championships. He posted a 23-17 record at 174 pounds, while reaching the finals at the East LA Brawl, while he finished fourth at the Fresno City Tournament.
Gonzalez will be joining a Vikings team that has won the last eight NAIA National Championships and had 12 All-Americans.
Kirk (pictured, right), who missed the 2017 season with an injury, went 11-2 at 165 pounds and was 4-1 at 174 pounds. He reached the finals of the Southern California Championships before getting pinned in the finals. Kirk was the #1 seed at the Southern California Championships and entered the state championships seeded #2. In the state semifinals, Kirk was defeated by eventual champion Augie Garcia of Fresno City College, but rebounded to pin Abel Garcia of Sacramento City College in the third place match.
As a freshman, Kirk went 25-5 on the year, which included coming in seventh place at the CCCAA State Championships at 165 pounds. Two of his three wins at the state championships were by pins, while he also took third place at the Southern California Regional Championships. During the year, Kirk came in third place at the Fresno City Open and Santa Ana Tournament, while he took fourth place at the West Hills Tournament.
Kirk will be joining former Falcon teammate Aaron Negrete, who competed at 157 pounds last season, while former Falcon teammate Jesse Gomez concluded his collecgiate career by finishing third at the NAIA National Championships.
Villada worked out with the team for two seasons but did not enter into a match. She will be joining a Colorado Mesa University women's team that finished eighth at the Women's College Wrestling Association Championships this past season.