Locked up in 10 separate battles in their dual on Wednesday night, the Cerritos College wrestling team was unable to overcome visiting Mt. San Antonio College and suffered a 21-13 loss. The Falcons, who are ranked #3 in the state, will now compete in the Southern California Duals, which will take place at Mt. SAC on Saturday. The Mounties are ranked #1 in the state.

In seven of the 10 matches that were held, the score was within a takedown of a tie or the result going the other way. The entire match kept the estimated 600 fans engaged and cheering every match.

After falling behind in the team score, 6-0 after the 125-pound match, the Falcons came back to earn a pair of wins and pull ahead in the team score, 7-6. At 133 pounds, sophomore Elijah Flores (Santa Fe HS) recorded a 9-0 major decison, which included opening a 7-0 lead after the first period. The first stanza ended with Flores earning a four-point near-fall to jump out to the big lead. He added a reversal in the second period, while there was no scoring in the third period.

In one of the most exciting matches of the night, freshman 141-pound Isaac Gonzalez (Western HS) took on defending state champion Jason Saenz, and the match was so close it had to extend to sudden victory. It was scoreless after the first period, although Gonzalez was the aggressor and made several solid moves, but could not lock down any points. He held a 4-0 lead through the first five minutes of the match, but eventually fell behind, 5-4 in the final minute. However, Saenz was called for stalling a second time, which resulted in a penalty point for Gonzalez with 29 seconds remaining. Saenz earned a bonus point for riding time, which tied the match and 5-5 and went to sudden victory. It took Gonzalez 22 seconds to record a reversal and picked up a huge win.

Cerritos led early, 3-0 in the 149-pound match with sophomore Spencer Parry (Yorba Linda HS), but was outscored, 7-2 the remainder of the way and suffered a loss, which put Mt. SAC in front in the team score, 9-7. After a 9-2 loss for 157-pound Sean Otero (Norwalk HS), 165-pound freshman Nathan Castellanos (Trabuco Hills HS) came out with a great deal of energy in the first period of his match. Although he trailed, 6-2 after two periods, Castellanos appeared to have Veysel Pekince locked in with a takedown as the seconds ran out, which would have tied the score, but was not awarded the points and absorbed a 6-3 setback.

Appearing to be on the path for an early pin at 174 pounds, freshman Abraham Galicia (St. John Bosco HS) jumped out to an 8-2 lead through the first period. The rest of the match was a different story, as he had to hang on and eventually fell behind, 12-11 to Jacob Longcrier with less than a minute remaining. Completely out of gas, Galicia was able to secure a takedown with three seconds remaining for a 14-12 win and shaved three points off the Mt. SAC lead, which was now 15-10.

Knowing they needed to win at least two of the final three matches, sophomore 184-pound Farzad Hashimi (El Dorado HS) was unable to solve Mitchel Semaan, who scored the only takedown in the match, which took place in the first period. Trailing 4-2 heading into the second period, Hashimi scored an escape point, but could not generate any offense and dropped a two-point decision. It was the same for freshman Brian Valdespino (Downey HS) at 197 pounds, as he could only score a pair of escape points in a 4-2 loss to Roman Loya.

The match ended with freshman 285-pound Simon Flores (Paloma Valley HS) scoring a takedown at the buzzer to post a 4-1 win over Dib Sawaya.

125 Pounds - Camilo Ramirez (MSAC) pinned Jesse Hernandez (CERR), 4:42
133 Pounds - Elijah Flores (CERR) major decision over Ryland Madrid (MSAC), 9-0
141 Pounds - Isaac Gonzalez (CERR) sudden victory over Jason Saenz (MSAC), 7-5
149 Pounds - Michael Williams (MSAC) def. Spencer Parry (CERR), 7-5
157 Pounds - Maxximus Martinez (MSAC) def. Sean Otero (CERR), 9-2
165 Pounds - Veysel Pekince (MSAC) def. Nathan Castellanos (CERR), 6-3
174 Pounds - Abraham Galicia (CERR) def. Jacob Longcrier (MSAC), 14-12
184 Pounds - Mitchell Semaan (MSAC) def. Farzad Hashimi (CERR), 5-3
197 Pounds - Roman Loya (MSAC) def. Brian Valdespino (CERR), 4-2
285 Pounds - Simon Flores (CERR) def. Dib Sawaya (MSAC), 4-1

Photos by Daryl Peterson