Donny Garriott
Donny Garriott
Title: Head Coach
Phone: (562) 860-2451 Ext. 2347
Email: dgarriott@cerritos.edu
Year: 18th Year (157-44-1)
Previous College: Cal State Dominguez Hills ('94)

Starting his 18th season (no season was held in 2020 due to Covid-19) as the Cerritos College wrestling head coach, Donny Garriott guided his team to second place finishes at the CCCAA State Championship in the last two seasons. From 2016-19, the team won four consecutive Southern California Team Dual Championships and faced Fresno City College in each of the four seasons, with their lone win coming in 2016.

In 2021, the Falcons had a pair of state champions – 125-pound Jonathan Prata and 285-pound Jonovan Smith, while the team had a total of seven All-Americans and had 12 state qualifiers for the first time in school history. As for Prata, he became just the seventh Falcon to win state championships as a freshman and sophomore.

In 2016, Garriott and the Falcons added a team dual state championship to the program’s storied history, while in 2014, they won the CCCAA State Championship. In 11 of his 15 seasons, Garriott has led the Falcons to at least a top four placing at the state championships, including the last seven years. He has also led his teams to eight conference championships.

In the 2016 team dual state championship match, Garriott led the Falcons to a 23-16 win over Fresno City College. During his tenure, Garriott has guided his teams to a CCCAA State Championship (2014), CCCAA Team Dual State Championship (2016), seven Southern California Championships (2006-07 & 2014-18), five state championship second place finishes and eight conference championships. He has also coached 20 individual state champions, 65 All-Americans and 38 Southern California champions, while the program ranks second in the state with 69 total state champions.

In 2014, Garriott guided the Falcons to their fourth CCCAA State Championship in school history, and advanced 11 wrestlers to the state tournament. In addition, nine earned All-American honors, with four capturing individual state championships. The finished with 167 team points, edging second place Fresno City College (159) points. He followed the 2014 state championship season with a third place in 2015 and had two individual state champions and six more All-Americans. Garriott also led his team to a second place finish in the state championships in both 2007 and 2010.

A fixture in California wrestling scene for many years, Garriott was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019, while he has also been inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame and El Camino College Hall of Fame.

Familiar with the Falcon’s winning tradition, Garriott faced it firsthand while he was a wrestler at El Camino College from 1986-88. In his two seasons with the Warriors, Garriott was a two-time All-American while wrestling at 126 pounds and also earned 1st Team All-South Coast Conference both seasons. He moved on to California State University, Chico, where he was a two-time Division II All-American at 134 pounds and won the conference championship both seasons.

His wrestling career continued at the national level, where he was a 1996 Olympic Trials Western Regional Runner-up at 125.5 pounds and was a United States Freestyle place winner. While at West Torrance High School, Garriott was a CIF Champion and placed fourth in the State Meet as a senior.

During the first two years of his tenure as the Falcon head wrestling coach, Garriott was also the head wrestling coach at North Torrance High, a position he held from 1991-2008. In his time at North Torrance, Garriott led his team to five CIF championships, six CIF runner-up finishes and 12 league championships. From 1995-98, he served as an assistant coach at Golden West College, where they won the 1996 South Coast Conference championships.

Garriott earned his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1994 and earned his Master’s degree in Special Education from National University. Garriott and his wife of 31 years, Deanne, have two sons - 19-year-old son, Cael, who was a red-shirt with the Falcons last season, and 14-year-old Caden.

Donny Garriott Year-By-Year Record
YEAR CONFERENCE OVERALL STATE PLACING
2006 5-0 9-2-1 4th Place
2007 5-0 8-1 2nd Place
2008 4-1 10-2 4th Place
2009 4-1 10-5 5th Place
2010 4-0 10-2 2nd Place
2011 1-3 6-6 11th Place
2012 1-3 5-6 8th Place
2013 4-1 11-3 8th Place
2014 4-0 14-2 State Champions
2015 3-1 14-6 3rd Place
2016 4-0 18-1 2nd Place
2017 3-1 13-4 4th Place
2018 4-0 10-1 4th Place
2019 4-0 11-1 2nd Place
2020 No Season due to Covid-19
2021 3-1 8-2 2nd Place 
TOTALS 53-12 157-44-1