Posted: Dec 07, 2024
Thanks in part to five place winners, the Cerritos College wrestling team finished in third place at the Southern California Wrestling Championships on Saturday at East Los Angeles College. The Falcons, who finished with 120.5 team points, have qualified eight wrestlers to the 3C2A State Championships, which will take place next weekend at Lemoore College.
The highlight of the day for the Falcons was at 174 pounds, where sophomore Tyler Hanna (South Torrance HS/Cal State Bakersfield), who won the championship at that weight. Placing second for Cerritos were freshman 125-pound Jesse Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) and sophomore 141-pound Yoshiya Funakoshi (Calvary Chapel HS/Cal Baptist University), who was competing for the first time all season. Freshman Farzad Hashimi (El Dorado HS) took third place at 184 pounds, while freshman Nicholas Pham (Westminster HS) came in fourth place at 157 pounds. The final qualifier was freshman 197-pound Nelson Ramirez (Lakewood HS), who came in sixth place.
Hanna entered the tournament as the top-seed and received a bye in the first round. His first match ended in a pin in 2:20, while he recorded a 15-0 technical fall win over Javier Montes of Mt. San Antonio College in the semifinals. The championship was won when Hanna posted a 6-3 win over Jakob Hand, also of Mt. SAC. Hernandez opened with a 14-6 win in his first match and then disposed of Joshua Valdivia of Lemoore College, 21-13. It was a convincing 14-5 win in the semifinals against Santa Ana College's Isaac Antunez, with the day ending on a 9-4 loss at the hands of Jimmy Reyes of Lemoore.
At 141 pounds, Funakoshi needed just 44 seconds to win his opening match and then pinned Aldo Quintero of Mt. SAC in 4:11. In the semifinals, an 8-4 win over Victor Valley College's Chris Guerrero sent Funakoshi to the finals, which resulted in a 13-7 setback against Diego Peraza of Palomar College. Hashimi was pinned in his first match, but found his stride in the consolation rounds. Three straight wins sent him to the third place match, where he defeated Robert Felipe of Lemoore College, 14-5.
Pham started off with a win and after he was pinned by Cuesta College's Grant Eklund in his next match, he ran off three consecutive victories to reach the third place match. He squared off once again against Eklund, but was defeated, 16-0 and settled for fourth place. Although Ramirez lost three of his five matches, he was able to win two in a row in the consolation rounds, which set him up in the fifth place match that ended with a 15-4 loss to Jaremiah Juarez of Rio Hondo College.
The highlight of the day for the Falcons was at 174 pounds, where sophomore Tyler Hanna (South Torrance HS/Cal State Bakersfield), who won the championship at that weight. Placing second for Cerritos were freshman 125-pound Jesse Hernandez (Santa Fe HS) and sophomore 141-pound Yoshiya Funakoshi (Calvary Chapel HS/Cal Baptist University), who was competing for the first time all season. Freshman Farzad Hashimi (El Dorado HS) took third place at 184 pounds, while freshman Nicholas Pham (Westminster HS) came in fourth place at 157 pounds. The final qualifier was freshman 197-pound Nelson Ramirez (Lakewood HS), who came in sixth place.
Hanna entered the tournament as the top-seed and received a bye in the first round. His first match ended in a pin in 2:20, while he recorded a 15-0 technical fall win over Javier Montes of Mt. San Antonio College in the semifinals. The championship was won when Hanna posted a 6-3 win over Jakob Hand, also of Mt. SAC. Hernandez opened with a 14-6 win in his first match and then disposed of Joshua Valdivia of Lemoore College, 21-13. It was a convincing 14-5 win in the semifinals against Santa Ana College's Isaac Antunez, with the day ending on a 9-4 loss at the hands of Jimmy Reyes of Lemoore.
At 141 pounds, Funakoshi needed just 44 seconds to win his opening match and then pinned Aldo Quintero of Mt. SAC in 4:11. In the semifinals, an 8-4 win over Victor Valley College's Chris Guerrero sent Funakoshi to the finals, which resulted in a 13-7 setback against Diego Peraza of Palomar College. Hashimi was pinned in his first match, but found his stride in the consolation rounds. Three straight wins sent him to the third place match, where he defeated Robert Felipe of Lemoore College, 14-5.
Pham started off with a win and after he was pinned by Cuesta College's Grant Eklund in his next match, he ran off three consecutive victories to reach the third place match. He squared off once again against Eklund, but was defeated, 16-0 and settled for fourth place. Although Ramirez lost three of his five matches, he was able to win two in a row in the consolation rounds, which set him up in the fifth place match that ended with a 15-4 loss to Jaremiah Juarez of Rio Hondo College.
CERRITOS COLLEGE WRESTLERS AT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS
125 Pounds - Jesse Hernandez - 2nd Place (State Qualifier)
125 Pounds - Isaiah Cruz - 9th Place (Alternate)
133 Pounds - Elijah Flores - 9th Place (Alternate)
141 Pounds - Yoshiya Funakoshi - 2nd Place (State Qualifier)
149 Pounds - Imanuel Flores - 10th Place
157 Pounds - Nicholas Pham - 4th Place (State Qualifier)
184 Pounds - Farzad Hashimi - 3rd Place (State Qualifier)
184 Pounds - Ben Setum - 7th Place (State Qualifier)
197 Pounds - Nelson Ramirez - 6th Place (State Qualifier)
285 Pounds - Diego Flores - 6th Place (State Qualifier)
285 Pounds - Diego Flores - 6th Place (State Qualifier)
