In their two seasons of existence, the Cerritos College women's wrestling team has won every championship available, and capped off their second straight 3C2A State Championship at Sacramento College on Saturday. The Falcons, who won the 3C2A Team Dual State Championship earlier in the season, had three individual state champions on their way to 175 team points. They outdistance second place Mt. San Antonio College by 47.5 team points. For the second straight season, Dustin Kirk was also named the 3C2A Coach of the Year.

The individual state champions for Cerritos (pictured, left) included freshman 102-pound Rebekah Jimenez (Lawndale HS), sophomore 148-pound Natalie Resendiz (El Toro HS) and two-time 180-pound champion Nile Jernigan (Corona HS). The Falcons also had five others advance to the championship match of their respective weight classifications, along with three fifth place finishers and one who came in sixth place.

Jimenez opened the tournament with a bye before she pinned her next three opponents, including a pair of teammates. After needing just 19 seconds to pin Alexis Hazeltom of Sacramento City College, Jimenez pinned freshman Ahome Sordo (Paramount HS), who ended up in fifth place and sophomore Jessica Hong (Western HS) in the finals. Last season, Hong won the state championship. Scoreless for the first 2:20 of the first period, Jimenez recorded a takedown at 2:20 and then pinned Hong seven seconds later.

Also receiving a bye in her first match, Resendiz pinned Vanessa deHaro of Santa Rosa College in 4:23 before earning a 17-1 technical fall win over Genevieve DeLeon of Mt. San Antonio in the semifinals. She almost won the match in the second period, as she registered a pair of four-point near falls. But time ran out and Resendiz went on to post the technical fall a minute into the third period. In the finals, she trailed Elizabeth Carrillo of Mt. SAC after the first period before a quick takedown at the start of the second period was capped off with a four-point nearfall at the end of the period to take a 10-5 lead into the third period. With time running out and leading, 12-9 Resendiz finished off her championship on a takedown with three seconds left on the clock.

Dominating her opposition all season, Jernigan competed for just 1:24 through her first two matches to advance to the finals. She needed just 37 seconds to pin Lily Marrufo of Santa Rosa and 47 seconds to finish off Perla Camacho of San Joaquin Delta. Jernigan needed 4:18 to pin Heyley Huynh of Mt. SAC in the championships. She held a 3-1 lead after the first period, but a quick takedown early in the second period led her to recording the pin and winning her second championship.

Those who reached the finals, but fell one match short of a championship included sophomore 109-pound Lucy Guadarrama (Orange HS), a two-time runner-up, freshman 116-pound Satira Sohal (Cypress HS), freshman 123-pound Denise Figueroa (Mayfair HS) and freshman 160-pound Vida Beckel (Cypress HS). Guadarrama posted a pair of pins to reach the finals, but was pinned by Mt. San Antonio's Tiffany Yanagi in 1:28, with Sohal starting the same way. She pinned her first two opponents, but suffered an injury in her semifinal match over Samira Mason of San Joaquin Delta and had to default in the championship match. Figueroa recorded a pin in her first match and advanced to the finals when her semifinal opponent, Delilah Felix-Lopez of East Los Angeles College was injured in the second period. In the finals. Figueroa was pinned in 2:22 by Jade Morales of Santa Ana. Beckel received a bye in the first round before posting two wins by pin to reach the finals. She was defeated by Palomar College's Sierra Mefford in 1:40.

CERRITOS COLLEGE STATE TOURNAMENT WRESTLERS

102 Pounds - Rebekah Jimenez - State Champion (All-American)
102 Pounds - Jessica Hong - 2nd Place (All-Amerian)
102 Pounds - Ahome Sordo - 5th Place
109 Pounds - Lucy Guadarrama - 2nd Place (All-American)
116 Pounds - Satira Sohal - 2nd Place (All-American)
123 Pounds - Denise Figueroa - 2nd Place (All-American)
128 Pounds - Isabella Sanchez - 6th Place
136 Pounds - Melissa Navarro - Did not place
148 Pounds - Natalie Resendiz - State Champion (All-American)
148 Pounds - Natalie Flores - 5th Place
160 Pounds - Vida Beckel - 2nd Place (All-American)
160 Pounds - Liliana Reyes - Did not place
180 Pounds - Nile Jernigan - State Champion (All-American)
180 Pounds - Andrea Dawson - Did not place
220 Pounds - Nova Gallegos - 5th Place

Photos courtesey of Brian Cable