Freshman Emmanuel Zepeda of East L.A. College moves in for a takedown that will lead to a pin over Victor Valley's Wilfredo Cholo in the Huskies 44-9 win Sept. 11. (Photo by Tadzio Garcia)

Posted: Sep 11, 2018

East L.A. College Wrestlers Win 44-9 with Five Pins

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — The East Los Angeles College wrestling team recorded a 44-9 victory against the Victor Valley College Rams giving 25-year Husky head coach Ralph Valle, a rare opening season win.

The Huskies recorded five pins in the process in front of a loud home crowd. ELAC competes at the Mt. San Antonio College Duals on Saturday against some of the top teams in the state, at Mt. SAC beginning at 9:00 a.m.

125-pound weight class: Sophomore Nate Martinez (South Pasadena High School) won by fall (3:51) vs. Victor Valley’s Alexandria Perez (East Valley Redlands HS). ELAC led 6-0.

133-pound returning sophomore Martin Gevorkian (Downey HS) won by forfeit. ELAC led 12-0.

141-pounder Edgar Hinojos (Adelanto HS) of Victor Valley recorded a fall (1:41) vs. ELAC freshman Erik Echeverri (Montclair HS). Victory Valley trimmed the Huskies’ lead to 12-6.

149-pound freshman Jonathan Flores (Bell HS) won by fall (1:32) against Victor Valley’s Vino Blanchett (Apple Valley HS). ELAC led 18-6.

157-pound sophomore Michael Estrada (John Glenn HS) won by a fall (2:32) against Victor Valley’s Devin Ray (Lake Havasu HS). Ray was in the process of a takedown over Estrada who reversed his position and recorded a quick pin in front of the screaming crowd. The Huskies led 24-6.

165-pound sophomore Rodrigo Magallon (Bell HS) won a 17-10 decision over Victor Valley’s Raul Benz (Adelanto HS). Magallon led 7-5 after the first period, 10-6 after two. He won with 14 points from seven takedowns, two points from two escapes and a point for riding time. ELAC was up 27-6.

174-pound freshman Emmanuel Zepeda (Fremont HS) won with a technical fall, 18-3, against Victor Valley’s Wilfredo Choto (Sultana HS). ELAC’s lead was increased to 32-6.

184-pound sophomore Gabriel Rodriguez (Warren HS), who was a state finalist during his freshman year, won by fall (1:54) against Victor Valley’s Shane Johnson (Silverado HS). ELAC led 38-6.

197-pound sophomore Ricardo Cortez (Warren HS) won by a fall (0:47) over Victor Valley’s Connor Wynn (Hesperia HS) and ELAC was up 44-6.

285-pound weight class: The heavy weight division had the crowd loudly involved from the start of this close match. The score was 0-0 after the first period. Victor Valley’s Daniel Garcia (Hesperia HS) scored from two escapes and led 2-0 after two. ELAC sophomore Efren Velez (Schurr HS) scored from a takedown with 31 seconds in the match to the loud roar of the home crowd. The score was knotted at 2-2. Garcia scored an escape six seconds later and won the decision 3-2 to end the score, 44-9.

Prior to Martinez’s pin, ELAC sophomore Ahmad Shalabi (Mendez HS) wrestled Victor Valley’s Robert Kossman (Oak Hills HS) in a 157-pound exhibition match. Shalabi won by a fall (3:39) pinning Kossman.

Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index or on Facebook at ELAC Huskies Athletics (>@elachuskiesathletics).

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia