Mt. SAC Secures Fourth Dual Team Championship in Program History with 29-14 Win Against Fresno City

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FRESNO, Calif. - The Mt. San Antonio College Men's Wrestling team secured its fourth dual team championship in program history after defeating the Fresno City Rams 29-14 in the 2023 3C2A Dual Team State Championship on Sunday, November 19th. 

Mt. SAC entered the dual as the favorite, coming in ranked No. 1 throughout the season with an undefeated record of 10-0. The Mounties lived up to that hype as they built an early 12-0 lead and went on to win seven of the 10 matches to overpower the No. 2 ranked Rams. 

125 LBS

Adrian Limon (MSA) set the tone for the Mounties in the opening match with an 18-7 win against his FCC counterpart Tallon Chambers (FCC). Limon recorded three takedowns and a near fall to take a huge lead in the first period. 

Chambers got on the board with four escapes and a takedown throughout the match but it wasn't enough to close the gap, resulting in four team points for Mt. SAC.

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The 133 pound match was closely contested as Chris Calderon (MSA) and Adrian Chavez (FCC) entered the third round tied at 8-8. It was a near fall for Calderon that separated the two in the final round, leading to a 15-10 win and three more points for the Mounties. 

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The 141 pound bout was a matchup between the top two ranked wrestlers in the state as No. 1 Zachary Parker (MSA) faced off against No. 2 Matt Terrence (FCC).

Parker had an impressive performance, scoring five more points for Mt. SAC with a 20-4 win to earn a technical fall.

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Matt Arias (FCC) got the Fresno City Rams on the scoreboard in the 149 pound match with a convincing 13-2 win over Brian Geiger (MSA). 

Arias put the pressure on Greiger in the first round with two takedowns to take the lead. He scored a few more times with a couple stalling calls, an escape and another take down in the last two rounds to cut the Ram deficit to eight, bring the score to 12-4. 

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In the next round, the Mounties regained momentum as Alex Ramirez (MSA) collected five more points with a technical fall against Nick Dehart (FCC). 

Ramirez used a handful of takedowns, reversals and near falls to gain a 19-3 advantage in the win. 

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Caidence Turner (MSA) got the nod to wrestle in the 165 pound match and came up big for the Mounties. The sophomore toughed out a 10-6 win over Ben Montez (FCC) to grab three more points for his team. 

Although he found himself down 6-1 after the first round, there was no quit in Montez as he made up some ground with a takedown and a two point near fall in the ensuing round. 

But Turner was able to seal the deal with an escape and a takedown over the last few minutes. 

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In another matchup of top wrestlers in their weight class, No. 1 Nathan Cruz (MSA) came up on top with a fall against No. 2 Marcos Gamez (FCC). The win put the Mounties up by a score of 26-4. 

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Jesse Herrera (MSA) gave the Mounties their biggest lead of the day as he held off Juan Luquin (FCC) in the 184 pound bout. 

Herrera scored the only takedown of the match in the first round and was careful to stay out of danger on his way to a narrow 4-3 win.

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Marco Silva (FCC) picked up four points down the stretch for the Fresno City Rams as he earned a win over Isaac Lopez (MSA). 

Silva opened the match with a 7-2 lead in the first round to give himself some breathing room. He collected four more points on an escape and a takedown to take a 11-3 victory. 

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Fresno City ended the day with a win from Chris Bayne (FCC), bringing the final score to 29-14. 

Bayne recorded a fall over Jacob Lora (MSA) in the first round to score six points for the Rams. 

"Just come in and compete," said Mt. SAC  Head Coach David Rivera when asked about the key to the win. "Compete, score bonus points and get as many team points as we can up on the board."

The Mounties definitely did just that on their way to the championship. 

Both teams will now prepare for the 3C2A Regionals set to take place on Saturday, December 2nd followed by the 3C2A State Individual Championships on December 8-9th at Cuesta College.

(Cammie Lewis, CCCSIA)