Three days ago, the Cerritos College wrestling team suffered their first loss of the season in the finals of the Southern California Dual Team Championships. That loss, a 23-21 decision, came at the hands of Southwest Conference rival Mt. San Antonio College. But the Falcons (10-1, 2-0) responded from that loss with a 26-13 conference win over the visiting Mounties on Wednesday night. The team will now host East Los Angeles College in a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

Even with the win, Cerritos had to withstand something that had never happened before. Freshman Antonio McKee (Long Beach Poly HS), ranked #1 in the state at 149 pounds, was defeated by Terrill Sidner, 6-3, who's ranked #1 in the state at 141 pounds. The loss by McKee was the first by a Falcon wrestler with that last name, as his father, Antonio Sr., went 88-0 in his two years with Cerritos during his competitive days.

But even with that upset loss, the Falcons still received a pair of major decisions and win by pin to record the convincing win. At 133 pounds, top-ranked Dustin Kirk (Elsinore HS) posted a 16-1 win before the end of the first period against Jeremy Dizon. As for sophomore 157-pound Keanu Tom (Los Alamitos HS), he came away with a 20-5 major decision to remain undefeated and ranked #1. In the final match of the night, undefeated 285-pound Robert Chism (Downey HS) needed 5:36 to pin Andrew Cruz, and locked the pin within seconds of getting him on his back.

In a scoreless match at 174 pounds heading into the third period, sophomore Dylan Clarke (Burnt Hills, NY HS) registered an escape point with :06 seconds left to pull out a 1-0 win over Kolton Martin. Looking for a huge upset win at 197 pounds, freshman Oscar Martinez (Corona Centennial HS) saw top-ranked KeAndre Johnson break a 1-1 tie that was looking to go into overtime with a lightning quick takedown with just :04 seconds remaining in the match.

Also earning wins on the night for the Falcons were sophomore Gary Howe (Los Alamitos HS), who posted a 10-4 win at 125 pounds, while sophomore Max Kumashiro (Los Alamitos HS) handed Anthony Briones a 12-4 decision at 184 pounds.

125 Pounds - Gary Howe (CERR) def. Ritchie Taira (MSAC), 10-4
133 Pounds - Dustin Kirk (CERR) maj. decision Jeremy Dizon (MSAC), 16-1
141 Pounds - Kevin Kelly (MSAC) def. Jonathan Tanap (CERR), 12-3
149 Pounds - Terrill Sidner (MSAC) def. Antonio McKee (CERR), 6-3
157 Pounds - Keanu Tom (CERR) maj. decision Chimizu Uzowuru (MSAC), 20-5
165 Pounds - Zach Mitchell (MSAC) def. Ruben Avila (CERR), 3-0
174 Pounds - Dylan Clarke (CERR) def. Kolton Martin (MSAC), 1-0
184 Pounds - Max Kumashiro (CERR) def. Anthony Briones (MSAC), 12-4
197 Pounds - KeAndre Johnson (MSAC) def. Oscar Martinez (CERR), 3-1
285 Pounds - Robert Chism (CERR) pinned Andrew Cruz (MSAC), 5:36

Photos by Daryl Peterson