Team Scores
Brackets
Placers

On Saturday, the Cerritos College wrestling team won two weight classifications at the West Hills Tournament and went on to finish second in the team scoring. The Falcons finished with 175.5 team points and trailed only defending CCCAA State Champion Fresno City College, who had 242.5 team points. Next up for the team will be the Santa Ana Tournament, which will take place next Saturday.

At 125 pounds, freshman Jonathan Prata (Downey HS) made a name for himself by winning the championship. As the #4-seed, he received a bye in the first round and then pinned Fresno City's Luis Saucedo in 2:25 and followed that with a 3-0 win over #5-seed John Sosa of West Hills-Lemoore to advance to the semifinals. Prata then defeated #1-seeded - and state runner-up - Mario Moreno of Fresno City, 11-7 and then capped the day off with a 10-5 win over #2-seeded Ramiro Castillo of Fresno City. 

Sophomore Larry Rodriguez (Santa Ana Calvary Chapel HS), an All-American at 149 pounds last season, entered as the #1-seed at 157 pounds and defeated four opponents to come in first place. He opened with a 12-3 win over Marcus Rossetto of Modesto College and then ousted #8-seeded Anthony Molina of West Hills-Lemoore. In the quarterfinals, Rodriguez earned a 6-2 win over #7-seeded Hunter Avila of West Hills-Lemoore and then clinched the title when he defeated #10-seeded Adrian Gonzalez of Bakersfield College, 8-5.

The Falcons also had two other wrestlers advance to the finals. At 133 pounds, sophomore Andres Gonzales (Capistrano Valley HS) came in as the #3-seed and opened with a bye in the first round. He got his day started by shutting out Fresno City's Mario Martinez, 13-0 and then handed Alexis Becerra of Bakersfield College a 13-2 decision. In the semifinals, Gonzalez upset #2-seeded Owen Jones of Santa Rosa College, 8-6, but was injured in the match and had to injury default in the finals against upset-minded Jude Miranda of West Hills-Lemoore, who was the #8 seed.

Freshman 285-pound Randy Arriaga (Capistrano Valley HS) was the #3-seed and earned his way into the finals with three wins before dropping a 5-2 decision to #1-seeded Armando Barcenas of Fresno City College. Arriaga pinned his first two opponents, Cameron Victorianao of Sierra College (3:33) and then #6-seeded Daniel Padilla of West Hills-Lemoore in 6:48. In the semifinals, Arriaga upset #2-seeded Jacob Satorio of Fresno City, 3-1.

Several other Falcons did well on the day, as unseeded 125-pounder Jose Lozano (North Torrance HS) went 6-1 on the day, including five straight wins to come in third place, with #5-seeded Isaiah Mora (Esperanza HS) reaching the semifinals before finishing in sixth place at 149 pounds. Freshman Cobe Hatcher (Mayfair HS) advanced to the semifinals at 174 pounds before getting pinned. In the consolation round, he won his first match, but was pinned in the third place match. Seeded #2 at 184 pounds, sophomore Jarrod Nunez (Mayfair HS) pinned two of his first three opponents, but was pinned late in his semifinal match against #3-seeded Daniel Long of Fresno City. He was then defeated in his first consolation match and was forced to injury default in the fifth place match and settled for sixth place.

Photos by John Sachs/www.tech-fall.com