Opening their Southwest Conference schedule on Wednesday night, the Cerritos College wrestling team posted a 35-15 win over visiting Rio Hondo College. The Falcons (4-0, 1-0) will host defending state champion Mt. San Antonio College next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in another conference match.

Although the Falcons knew they'd be getting 12 team points with a pair of forfeit wins, the match wasn't decided officially decided until a technical fall by freshman Abraham Galicia (St. John Bosco HS) at 174 pounds. Cerritos trailed, 15-12 in the team score through the first six weights after freshman Chris Mattar (University HS) suffereed a close 7-6 loss. Down, 7-2 after the first two periods, Mattar registered a four-point near fall with 54 seconds left against Mathew Flores, but could not gain another advantage to post the win.

That was followed by the dominant performance from Galicia, which put Cerritos in front, 17-15 with the three weights remaining. Forfeit victories for sophomores Farzad Hashimi (El Dorado HS) at 184 pounds and Brian Valdespino (Downey HS) at 197 pounds locked up the team win.

In the final match, freshman 285-pound Simon Flores (Paloma Valley HS) thrilled the large crowd with not only a takedown early in the match, but a win by pin in 4:04 against Joseph Chavez.

Also winning for the Falcons on the night were 133-pound Elijah Flores (Santa Fe HS), a 10-8 victor over Edmond Altunyan, as he held on to his opponent's foot for the final 25 seconds. Flores led, 9-4 heading into the final period, but surrendered a stalling penalty point, along with an escape and then a three-point reversal to Altunyan, who tried to cut Flores loose and look for a last-second winning takedown. Freshman Isaac Gonzalez (Western HS) needed just 1:35 to pin Lucas Long at 141 pounds, with sophomore 149-pound Spencer Parry (Yorba Linda HS) outlasting Adam Duong, 18-14.

Making an appearance at the match were former head coaches Jeff Smith and Greg Gascon (far left and second from the right), who each coached the Falcons to state championships during their time. They were joined by recently-retired head coach Donny Garriott and first-year head coach Dustin Kirk. Garriott won multiple state championships during his tenure, while Kirk has led the Falcons women's team to three consecutive state titles.

CERRITOS 35, RIO HONDO 15

125 Pounds - Mason Barros-Santiago (RH) pinned Jesse Hernandez (CERR), 6:00
133 Pounds - Elijah Flores (CERR) def. Edmond Altunyan (RH), 10-8
141 Pounds - Isaac Gonzalez (CERR) pinned Lucas Long (RH), 1:35
149 Pounds - Spencer Parry (CERR) def. Adam Duong (RH), 18-14
157 Pounds - Larry Cruz (RH) pinned Marcel Blake (CERR), 6:07
165 Pounds - Turner Yanigisawa (RH) def. Chris Mattar (CERR), 7-6
174 Pounds - Abraham Galicia (CERR) tech fall over Mathew Flores (RH), 17-2
184 Pounds - Farzad Hashimi (CERR) win by forfeit
197 Pounds - Brian Valdespino (CERR) win by forfeit
285 Pounds - Simon Flores (CERR) pinned Joseph Chavez (RH), 4:04

Photos by Daryl Peterson