Since the start of women's wrestling in the 3C2A, there has been only one school to win the team championship: Cerritos College. On Saturday, the Falcons had four individual state champions over the 11 weight classes and compile 232 team points to outdistance the rest of the schools. Rival Mt. San Antonio, who won the conference championships and team dual state championship away from Cerritos, finished in second place with 211.5 team points.

By the end of the day, the Falcons had four individual state champions (pictured, left) and 12 All-Americans, which is the most they've had in their three-year history.

Leading through the majority of the championships, the Falcons found themselves trailing in the team scoring after the 138-pound championship match. Sophomore Jaylene Martinez (Whittier HS) picked up wins in her first three matches to advance to the finals against the Mounties Tehya Ledesma. Cerritos held a 206-201.5 points lead before the match, but trailed, 207.5-206 after Martinez was pinned in 3:37. Leading 8-0 after the first period, Martinez needed only one takedown to win the match, but found herself in a precarious position and was pinned by Ledesma.

Another head-to-head match at 145 pounds gave Cerritos a chance to regain the team scoring lead, as freshman Samantha Pina (Porterville HS) squared off against Mt. SAC's Alexis Jimenez in the finals. Although she didn't get pinned, Pina suffered a 9-1 loss and the Mounties extended their team lead to 211.5-206.

The 160-pound championship allowed the Falcons to earn back some of the points they missed out on in the previous two matches, as sophomore Vida Beckel (Cypress HS) squared off against Alejandra Ochoa of San Joaquin Delta College in the finals. Beckel, who came in second place at 160 pounds her freshman season, won her first three matches to reach the finals, and then capped off her Cerritos career with a pin that put the team back in the lead, 212-211.5. It was that win that clinched the state championship for Cerritos, as they had wrestlers in the next three weights, while the Mounties didn't have any more.

At 180 pounds, freshman Kinsey Konrad (Redondo Union HS) pinned teammate Analize Lopez (Downey HS), as she opened a 6-0 first period lead before pinning her in 1:33. Konrad pinned three of her opponents to on the day, while Lopez pinned a pair of opponents on her way to the championships. Freshman 180-pound Raven Ross (Long Beach Poly HS) trailed Isabel Zepeda of San Joaquin Delta College, 1-0 after the first period, but used a four-point near fall with 2:51 to propel her to a 4-2 victory. In the final match of the night, 235-pound Eniekeye Osede (Cypress HS) handed Santa Ana College's Itzia Rivera a 5-0 decision.

After winning his third consecutive championship, Cerritos College head hoach Dustin Kirk was just focused on the continued growth of the sport and giving women an opportunity to do what they love. 

"Women's wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the country right now, and it shows," Kirk said. "The Women's Wrestling Coaches Association is doing a really good job of getting women out there and it's good to see a first year like Skyline, taking third place and growing."

BREAKDOWN OF CERRITOS WRESTLERS AT 3C2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

103 Pounds - Darci Chiu - 5th Place
103 Pounds - Oceanna Yeung - Did not place
110 Pounds - Megan Sognefest - 2nd Place (All-American)
110 Pounds - Sabrina Garcia - Did not place
117 Pounds - Vivian Nguyen - 5th Place
124 Pounds - Alexandra Gallardo - 5th Place
124 Pounds - Denise Figueroa - 6th Place
131 Pounds - Rontaysia Payne - 2nd Place (All-American)
131 Pounds - Valerie Godina - 3rd Place (All-American)
138 Pounds - Jaylene Martinez - 2nd Place (All-American)
145 Pounds - Samantha Pina - 2nd Place (All-American)
145 Pounds - Saquoia Dubuque - 3rd Place (All-American)
145 Pounds - Casey Otero - 6th Place
160 Pounds - Vida Beckel - State Champion (All-American)
160 Pounds - Ximena Romero - 6th Place
160 Pounds - Karen Sanchez - Did not place
160 Pounds - Irene Abramyan - Did not place
160 Pounds - Lesly Lugo - Did not place
180 Pounds - Kinsey Konrad - State Champion (All-American)
180 Pounds - Analize Lopez - 2nd Place (All-American)
180 Pounds - Isabella Pacheco - 5th Place
207 Pounds - Raven Ross - State Champion (All-American)
235 Pounds - Eniekeye Osede - State Champion (All-American)
235 Pounds - Keyscha Rodriguez - 4th Place (All-American)

Photos by Jeff Miera & Daryl Peterson