On Saturday at Palomar College, the Cerritos College wrestling team lived up to their #1 ranking in the state. The Falcons, competing in the Southern California Team Dual Championships, defeated three teams to capture the championship. The Falcons (12-0) opened with a 39-6 win over Bakersfield College, which was followed by a 38-9 victory over Santa Ana College. In the finals, they handed rival Mt. San Antonio a 21-15 defeat.

Earlier in the week, Cerritos defeated Palomar College in a Southwest Conference match, which secured their #1 seed and prevented them from having to take on either #2 Palomar or #3 Mt. San Antonio in the semifinals and then the other in the finals. The Falcons will travel to Fresno City College later this season to take on the Rams for the CCCAA Team Dual State Championship.

Cerritos vs. Bakersfield: The Falcons received three forfeit wins against the Renegades, which aided them in their victory. Also helping them to the lop-sided win were two pins, with freshman Vincent Dehakiz (El Dorado HS) posting a third period fall while leading 9-0 at 141 pounds. Also winning by a pin was freshman Kennith Kirk (Elsinore HS) at 165 pounds, as he needed just 1:25 to end the match. Freshman Joseph Hieber (John Glenn HS) earned a solid 10-3 win at 184 pounds, with freshman heavyweight David Zavala (Lakewood HS) recording a 10-4 victory. Also winning was freshman Alexander Michel (Lakewood HS), who posted a 6-3 decision at 174 pounds.

Cerritos vs. Santa Ana: Where the team received forfeits in their first match to collect six team points at a time, the Falcons earned 24 team points against the Dons with pins, and one more by forfeit. It started with freshman 125-pound Norberto Buenrostro (Citrus Hill HS) getting the pin with :01 second left in the first period. He was leading 6-1 at the time the match ended. Sophomore 133-pound Anthony Vargas (Citrus Hill HS) needed 2:10 for his win, and was ahead 10-1 at the time of his pinfall. As for sophomore 157-pound Dylan Moreno (Downey HS) it took just 1:00 for his match to finish, while Zavala burned just 1:30 off the clock before he pinned his opponent. Freshman 197-pound David Van Weems (Corona Centennial HS) received a win by forfeit. A couple of other big wins closed out the team scoring for Cerritos, with freshman Blake Vasquez (Fountain Valley HS) earning a 16-8 victory at 174 pounds, while 184-pound freshman Isaiah Leyva (San Jacinto HS) used a strong third period to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 17-7 win.

Cerritos vs. Mt. San Antonio: The Southern California Championship match started at 141 pounds, and the Falcons lost the first three weight classifications. They started their comeback with a 16-4 win by Kirk at 165 pounds, but Vasquez was defeated 6-5 at 174 pounds, with Cerritos trailing, 12-4. A trio of wins got the team believing they could pull out the team victory, with freshman Bryant Vasquez (Fountain Valley HS) getting things started with an 8-4 win at 184 pounds. Van Weems earned a five-point technical fall with his 20-4 victory at 197 pounds to tie the match, while Zavala picked up six team points with his pin in :45 seconds at 285 pounds to put the team on top, 18-12. Buenrostro was upset, 7-5 at 125 pounds, which meant that the 133-pound match would decide the Southern California champion. Vargas was up to the challenge and broke a scoreless tie in the second period with a takedown. He added two more in the third period and earned a 7-2 win for the Falcons.