Mt. SAC Takes Home 2023 Men's Wrestling State Title, SAC City Finishes Runner-Up
The Mt. SAC Mounties completed a sweep of men's wrestling titles after winning the dual championship and following that with a first place finish at the individual championships on Saturday, December 9th.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The 2023 3C2A Men's Wrestling State Championships concluded on Saturday night with the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties claiming their second individual championship in program history after scoring 181.5 points as a team.
With four members of their team taking first place and seven others earning podium spots, Mt. SAC outlasted the rest of the state and brought home their second title in the last three seasons.
A couple of Mounties met up in the 125 pound championship bout as Christopher Calderon faced off against Adrian Limon. In a very competitive contest, it was Calderon who took home the title, scoring all four of his points in the third round.
Zachary Parker (141 LBS), Alex Ramirez (157 LBS) and Nathan Cruz (174 LBS) combined for 78 points while becoming state champions as individuals for the Mounties.
Sacramento City College had their best finish as a team since 2018 as they finished runner up with 163.5 points. The Panthers got the majority of their points from the three individual state champions on their roster.
SCC's Ethan Boyd (165 LBS) earned himself a fall in the last round of his finals matchup to take the first title home for the Panthers.
Adrian Chavez-Morales (184 LBS) put on a show with another dominant performance for the Panthers in the final. The sophomore standout also took home Manuel Gorriaran award for the most falls in the least accumulative time after winning by fall in the first round of all of his matches.
Ethan Birch (197 LBS) took home the last title for SAC City with a 9-5 win in the 197 pound bracket.
Despite not seeing any of their 12 wrestlers land at the top of the podium, the Fresno City Rams still found a way to bring home the third place trophy with 122 points.
The Cerritos College Falcons narrowly outscored Bakersfield for the fourth place spot, recording 94 points while the Renegades placed fifth with 89 points as a team.
Devin Martinez (133 LBS) led Rio Hondo to a six place finish as the sophomore outscored his counterpart 15-10 to take the top spot in his division. Martinez was also awarded the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award which is voted on by head coaches.
Palomar (56.5), Santa Ana (51.5) and Skyline (48.5) followed right behind while Chabot (45.5) and Victor Valley (45.5) were led by their state champions Isaiah Perez (285 LBS) and Brandon Bollinger (149 LBS) to round out the top 10 schools.
(Cammie Lewis, CCCSIA)