Falcons post 31-14 win over Santa Ana

By John Van Gaston,
Cerritos SID

Powered by a pair of wins by pin and a forfeit, the Cerritos College wrestling team posted a 31-14 Southwest Conference win over visiting Santa Ana College on Wednesday night. The win by the Falcons, ranked #4 in the state over the #7-ranked Dons improves their dual meet record to 7-2 and 1-0 in conference action. Cerritos will now serve as host of the Southern California Regional Dual Meet Championships on Saturday.

125 Pounds - The night started with freshman 125-pound Ryan Sainz (Norwalk HS) getting pinned early in the third period by #8-ranked Jose Chona. At the time of the pin, Sainz had just fought back from a 4-1 deficit on the strength of a four-point near fall to start the second period. Chona posted a pair of reversals, with Sainz mixing one in for an 8-7 deficit to start the third period.

133 Pounds - Freshman Anthony Vargas (Citrus Hill HS), ranked #2 in the state, opened up an 8-1 lead by the end of the first period, as he registered a takedown and then a four-point near fall as time expired. The two traded escape points the rest of the way, with Vargas posting a takedown with :41 seconds left in the second period. A healthy amount of riding time earned him an extra point in a 12-3 decision.

141 Pounds - Facing #5-ranked Andrew Gomez, freshman Richard Pocock (California HS) trailed early, 2-0, but was able to record an escape point before the end of the first period. A second escape point tied the match, while the #7-ranked Pocock landed a reversal with :12 seconds left in the second period and earned riding time points in the third period for a 5-2 victory.

149 Pounds - It didn't take freshman Benjamin Gonzalez (Loara HS) long to polish off #3-ranked Ronnie Collister. After getting taken down quickly in the match, the #6-ranked Gonzalez followed with a reversal and four-point near fall before pinning Collister in 1:17, which gave the Falcons a 13-6 team score lead.

157 Pounds - It was a tough match for freshman Kody Davis (Chino Valley HS), who entered the night ranked #7 in the state against unranked Tristan Steinman. Davis opened with a takedown in the first period and was on top to start the second period, but was reversed just :20 seconds into the period by Steinman. He was able to escape prior to the second period buzzer for a 3-2 lead with 2:00 minutes left in the match. Both wrestlers were working for position, but an earlier delay warning against Davis hurt him, as he was assessed a penalty point with 1:02 left, which tied the match. However, Davis was able to escape with :12 seconds left in the match and escaped with a 4-3 win.

165 Pounds - Landon Myers of Santa Ana was met with little resistance from #3-ranked Dylan Moreno (Downey HS) in the surprise match of the night. Moreno fell behind 12-2 in the first period, which included a four-point near fall as time expired. Moreno just couldn't turn things around against Myers, who went on for a 21-5 technical fall win.

174 Pounds - Another ranked Falcon wrestler suffered an upset loss on the night. Freshman Joel Villa (Citrus Hill HS), ranked #5 in the state, was defeated by unranked Armand Fayyazi, 8-5. For the first two periods, Villa was in complete control and led, 5-0 with just the third period remaining. First, Villa was penalized a point for locking his hands at the same time Fayyazi escaped, which resulted in two points. Fayyazi followed with a late takedown and then four-point near final in the final seconds to finish with an 8-5 decision.

184 Pounds - The Dons did not have a wrestler, which earned freshman Ryker Coppa (Marina HS) a forfeit win.

197 Pounds - Ranked #1 in the state, sophomore Oscar Martinez (Corona Centennial HS) and Ty Freeman were locked in a match with little action. The two each posted escape points, sending the match into overtime. After a scoreless one-minute overtime, Freeman was penalized a point for stalling just six seconds into the first of two 30-second periods. Martinez was then able to escape with :20 seconds left for a 3-1 lead. In the final 30-second overtime period, Freeman extricated himself from Martinez with :26 seconds left and neither were able to add to their score, with Martinez coming away with a 3-2 win.

285 Pounds - Sophomore Jesse Gomez (Buena Park HS) finished off the night showing why he's ranked #1 in the state. The aggressor from the outset, Gomez needed just 1:36 to pin Abraham Aguilar to end the match.

125 Pounds - Jose Chona (SA) pinned Ryan Sainz (CERR), 5:25
133 Pounds - Anthony Vargas (CERR) def. Gus Anaya (SA), 12-3
141 Pounds - Richard Pocock (CERR) def. Andrew Gomez (SA), 5-2
149 Pounds - Ben Gonzalez (CERR) pinned Ronnie Collister (SA), 1:17
157 Pounds - Kody Davis (CERR) def. Tristan Steinman (SA), 4-3
165 Pounds - Landon Myers (SA) tech. Dylan Moreno (CERR), 21-5
174 Pounds - Armand Fayyazi (SA) def. Joel Villa (CERR), 8-4
184 Pounds - Ryker Coppa (CERR) win by forfeit
197 Pounds - Oscar Martinez (CERR) def. Ty Freeman (SA), 3-2 (ot)
285 Pounds - Jesse Gomez (CERR) pinned Abraham Aguilar (SA), 1:36