East Los Angeles College wrestlers show promise in West Hills Tourney
LEMOORE, Calif. &nmdash; Missing key wrestlers, the East Los Angeles College wrestling team took 18th place out of 20 teams at the 2018 Golden Eagle Invitational at West Hills College in Lemoore.
The Huskies did not have any medal winners but can use this experience in preparation for two meets next week, a home dual meet and tournament competition.
125-pound weight class sophomore Martin Gevorkian (Downey High School) was eliminated in the fourth round of the consolation bracket. He opened with a bye, lost by technical fall to 2nd seeded Mario Moreno of Fresno City, won a 13-9 decision over Skyline’s Chris O’Neil then lost a major decision to Owen Jones of Santa Rosa Junior College. Gevorkian drops to 4-6 overall.
133-pound freshman Erik Echeverri (Montclair HS) began with a bye then lost twice by a fall to Bakersfield’s Jared Callison and from a technical fall to Chabot’s Aiden Milligan.
141-pound freshman Jonathan Flores (Bell HS) lost by technical fall to Sierra’s Carlos Perez then was eliminated by a 16-9 decision to Shasta’s Rick Plenson. Flores falls to 3-6 overall.
149-pound sophomore Michael Estrada (John Glenn HS) won a 15-7 decision over Sacramento City’s Brian Galeno. After a loss by fall (2:23) to Fresno City’s Daniel Ruiz, one of the top 149-pound wrestlers in the state, Estrada won by fall (1:50) over Delta’s Steven Watan.Estrada lost a major decision to Cerritos’ Richie Gurule and is 7-4 on the season.
157-pound sophomore Ahmad Shalabi (Mendez HS) won his opening match with his second pin of the season (0:25) over Shasta’s Temi Politi. He followed with an 11-3 major decision loss to Drake De La Cruz of Cerritos. Shalabi was eliminated by a major decision loss to Jesse Pacheco of Cerritos. Shalabi stands at 3-3 overall.
165-pound sophomore Rodrigo Magallon had a bye then showed his strength against Conrad Lopez of Fresno City who is the top ranked in the 165-pound weight class. Magallon lost that championship quarterfinal match 7-4. He followed with a 6-3 decision loss to Josh Wright of Santa Rosa. Magallon drops to 3-6 on the season.
174-pound sophomore Gabe Rodriguez won an 8-6 decision over Mt. SAC’s Ian Velasquez then lost by fall (4:30) to Zach Gonzales of Cerritos. In the 3rd Place Bracket, Rodriguez won two matches, the first with his fourth pin (5:15) of the season over S. Molina of West Hills and followed with another fall (5:12) over Shasta’s Jackson Blankenship. Rodriguez was eliminated from earning a medal with a loss by fall in a third place quarterfinal match to Kenneth Kirk of Cerritos. Rodriguez is 8-4 overall.
184-pound sophomore Ricardo Cortez (Warren HS) wrestled in this lower division for the first time this season. He was eliminated by falls from two Cerritos wrestlers, Angel Jauregui (0:39) and Jarrod Nunez (3:49). Cortez falls to 2-7 for the season.
285-pound heavyweight class sophomore Efren Velez (Schurr HS) opened with a loss by fall (2:53) to Marcel Macias of Fresno City. He then faced Garcia three times, so to speak. In the Third Place Bracket, Velez won by fall (2:44) over Chabot’s Steven Garcia and followed with another fall (1:42) over Ivan Garcia of Cerritos. Velez followed with a 5-3 upset decision win over Daniel Garcia of Victory Valley. An improved Velez got revenge for his opening-season 3-2 loss at the hands of Daniel Garcia.
In a third place fourth round match, Velez lost to one of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the state, Jacob Hall of Bakersfield by fall (1:07). After going 3-2 today, Velez improves to 6-6 on the year.
UP NEXT
The Huskies host Bakersfield College at home next Friday at 6 p.m. On Saturday, ELAC competes in the 24-team Santa Ana Community College Wrestling Tournament.
Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index or on Facebook at ELAC Huskies Athletics (@elachuskiesathletics).
story submitted by Tadzio Garcia