Sending only four entries to the Leader of the Pack Tournament at East Los Angeles College on Saturday, the Cerritos College women's wrestling team had two of them finish in the top five of their respective weights. As a team, the Falcons finished with 31 teams points and finished in ninth place. Next up for the team will be the 3C2A State Championships, which will take place on April 19 at East LA College. Cerritos is the two-time defending state champion.
At 124 pounds, freshman Alexandra Gallardo (Capistrano Valley) received a bye in the first round and then registered a 10-0 victory over Elli Bryant of Fresno City College. A loss by pin to Palomar College's Maleah Ballejos sent her to the consolation bracket, where Gallardo recorded two more wins to secure third place. She started by pinning Lily Brossoletti of Moorpark College and then in the third place match, earned a 12-2 win over Paloa Cruze Andrade of Victor Valley College.
Freshman Valerie Godina (Westminster HS) earned wins in four of her six matches at 131 pounds to lock down fifth place. She opened the day by pinning Crystal Arzate of Santa Ana College in just 55 seconds, but was defeated, 15-4 in her next match by Mt. San Antonio College's Kendall Chapman. Now in the consolation rounds, Godina defeated both Emily Hernandez of Moorpark, 10-0 and Kaylyn Williams of Sacramento City, 14-3. It was a loss by pin in 3:40 against Berenice Chihuahua of Mt. San Antonio that sent her to the fifth place match, where she pinned Danny Hurtado of San Joaquin Delta College in 2:37.
Cerritos had a pair of entries at 160 pounds, with sophomore Karen Sanchez (Warren HS) winning one of three matches, while freshman Irene Abramyan (Burbank HS) dropped both of her matches.