In their final Southwest Conference dual of the season, the Cerritos College wrestling team posted a convincing 33-12 win over visiting Palomar College Wednesday night. The Falcons, who finished second in the conference, will travel to the Simpson College Tournament on Saturday.

125 Pounds - Freshman Jacob Valdes (Warren HS) opened the night for the Falcons with a major decision against Zach Moister, 18-3. Valdes nearly missed out on a first period pin, but was rewarded with both a two-point and four-point nearfall in the final seconds of the period. He came close again in the final minute of the second period, where he led 14-1 as a result. One more opportunity came and went in the third period, but Valdes was winning handily and came away with the convincing 18-3 win.

133 Pounds - Ranked #3 in the state, freshman Anthony Vargas (Citrus Hill HS) was trailing 2-1 at the end of the first period, and was able to work his way into a four-point nearfall with 1:38 left in the second period and led, 5-3 heading into the final two minutes. After an escape to start the third period, Vargas registered a takedown with :49 seconds left in the match and went on for his 10-5 victory.

141 Pounds - With less than three hours notice that he would be competing, freshman Jesus Baeza (Santa Fe HS) came out strong against Ernie Chambers and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown less than a minute into the match. A reversal by Chambers tied the match, with Baeza holding his final lead (3-2) after his escape. Chambers scored a takedown and four-point near fall in the final seconds of the first period for an 8-3 advantage, which was 10-3 early in the third period Baeza did record a two-point reversal at the end of the second period and trailed, 10-5. But that would be as close as he'd get in a 12-5 setback.

149 Pounds - Sophomore Voris Meeks (Yucca Valley HS) was all business in his match against Arturo Osario and needed 2:11 to finish him off with a pin. Meeks posted a pair of takedowns and then a reversal before getting Osario on his back and getting the pin and six team points for the Falcons.

157 Pounds - Ranked #1 in the state, freshman Aaron Negrete (Calvary Chapel HS) got an early takedown against Louie De La Torre and worked that into a pin in just 1:00. Negrete's pin gave Cerritos a 20-3 team lead.

165 Pounds - In one of the two upsets on the night, freshman Dylan Moreno (Downey HS), ranked #4 in the state, posted a 12-8 win over #2-ranked Erik Collin. Moreno got in great position against Collin at the outset of the match and earned a takedown and four-point near fall for a quick 6-0 lead. But before the end of the first period, Collin had come back for a 7-6 lead, thanks to his four-point near fall, with Moreno collecting a big escape point at the buzzer for a 7-7 tie. A quick escape by Collin gave him an 8-7 lead, but Moreno was able to get a takedown with :42 seconds left for a 9-8 lead, which he held until the end of the period. Started the third on top, Collin chose to release Moreno, looking for a pin to tie the match. However, Moreno got a hold of Collin's leg and converted it into a reversal with :13 seconds left to lock down the upset win.

174 Pounds - The biggest upset of the match came when freshman Joel Villa (Citrus Hill HS), ranked #4 in the state, was able to register a pin of #2-ranked Alex Gallo in 5:49, which locked down the team win for the Falcons. It was a scoreless first period, with both wrestlers looking for position. Villa picked up the match's lone point with an escape in the second period, while he was able to control Gallo in the third period and finally got him on his back for the pin. On two occasions, it looked like Gallo would break free from Villa, but he regained position until making his finishing move.

184 Pounds - Coming out with a fury, freshman Ryker Coppa (Marina HS) set the tone in his match against #1-ranked Alex Graves. Coppa, ranked #6, got the first move and posted a takedown just :11 seconds into the match and was fighting for a quick pin. But Graves waited for his move and got out of the hold before getting position for a reversal. Running out of gas early on, Coppa was victimized by a takedown and then pinned in 1:27 of the match.

197 Pounds - As the #1 ranked wrestler in the weight category, sophomore Oscar Martinez (Corona Centennial HS) was aware that his opponent was looking to return the favor with an upset. However, Martinez was up to the challenge against Raul Briseno and opened up a 6-1 second period lead and came within seconds of earning a pin, but settled for an 11-3 win.

285 Pounds - With the Falcons already secured the team victory, top-ranked sophomore Jesse Gomez (Buena Park HS) was held out of the match and was replaced by sophomore Barry Gee (Fountain Valley HS/Santa Ana College). He was presented the challenge of facing #2-seeded Seville Hayes and worked hard from start to finish. Although he trailed 5-0 in the second period, Gee was on the offensive with every opportunity, but came up short in an 8-2 score.

125 Pounds - Jacob Valdes (CERR) def. Zack Moister (PAL), 18-3
133 Pounds - Anthony Vargas (CERR) def. Chris Kimball (PAL), 10-5
141 Pounds - Ernie Chambers (PAL) def. Jesus Baeza (CERR), 12-5
149 Pounds - Voris Meeks (CERR) pin Arturo Osario (PAL), 2:11
157 Pounds - Aaron Negrete (CERR) pin Louie De La Torre (PAL), 1:00
165 Pounds - Dylan Moreno (CERR) def. Erik Collin (PAL), 12-8
174 Pounds - Joel Villa (CERR) pin Alex Gallo (PAL), 5:49
184 Pounds - Alex Graves (PAL) pin Ryker Coppa (CERR), 1:27
197 Pounds - Oscar Martinez (CERR) def. Raul Briseno (PAL), 11-3
285 Pounds - Seville Hayes (PAL) def. Barry Gee (CERR), 8-2

Photos by Daryl Peterson