No. 18 ELAC wrestling upset No. 12 Santa Ana College 30-15
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — The No. 18-state ranked East Los Angeles College wrestling team upset No. 12 Santa Ana College 30-15 in the South Gym minus a Husky in the 197-pound weight division.
ELAC defeated Santa Ana 42-15 earlier in the season. The two teams meet again at Santa Ana, Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m.
125-pound weight class: Sophomore Martin Gevorkian (Downey High School) lost an 8-4 decision to Santa Ana sophomore Samuel Galdamez-Valle (Santiago HS) despite taking a 2-0 lead from a takedown in the first period. Santa Ana led 3-0 in team scoring.
133-pound sophomore Nate Martinez (South Pasadena HS) won by forfeit. Missing in action tonight in this weight class was Santa Ana sophomore Oliver Rivero (Godinez HS) who is No. 3-statewide ranked in this weight division. ELAC led 6-3.
141-pound freshman Jonathan Flores (Bell HS) lost by fall at 2:37 to No. 2-state ranked (141 pounds) sophomore Joshua Fuentes-Norikiyo (Laguna Hills HS). Santa Ana led 9-6.
149-pound sophomore Ahmad Shalabi (Mendez HS) won by forfeit. ELAC retook the lead and led 12-9.
157-pound freshman Daniel Briseno (Bell HS) won by forfeit. ELAC led 18-9.
165-pound freshman Emmanuel Zepeda (Fremont HS) won by fall in the second period over Santa Ana freshman Christian Hernandez (Fountain Valley HS). His strategy was insane. “I got my leg around his then waited for him to go for my ankle,” said Zepeda. “When he did, I saw an occasion for a scramble so I could position myself higher than him so I could stretch his shoulders out. This gave me the perfect opportunity to move in for the fall.” ELAC led to 24-9.
174-pound sophomore Gabe Rodriguez (Warren HS) ranked No. 6 in this weight class won a hard fought 3-1 decision against Santa Ana sophomore Luis Cervantes (Segerstrom HS). Rodriguez muscled for a takedown and kept control to ride Cervantes out for the rest of the first period. Rodriguez continued with the momentum in the second period and added a point and led 3-0. In the third period, Cervantes added a point from an escape. Rodriguez maintained control with level changes through the end. ELAC led 27-9.
184-pound sophomore Ricky Cortez (Warren HS) who wrestling down a weight class lost by fall to Santa Ana sophomore Luis Vargas (San Jose Willow Glen HS) who is No. 4 state ranked in the 184-pound division. ELAC led 27-15.
197-pound weight class was a double forfeit. No points are scored for either team in a double forfeit match.
285-pound heavyweight sophomore Efren Velez (Schurr HS) won a close decision against freshman Mario Moz (Laguna Hills HS) in an exciting match. Velez responded to an attack in the first period with a takedown. In the second period, Moz got an early escape and followed with unnecessary roughness call that added a point for Velez. Velez got another takedown and led 5-1 entering the final period. Moz opened the third period with an escape. Velez reacted with a quick takedown and led 7-2 with the home crowd responding loudly. Moz responded with two takedowns sandwiched with an escape from Velez who hung on for the 8-6 win. ELAC won 30-15.
UP NEXT
The Huskies travel to Moorpark College for a dual match in the Raider Pavilion Gym that begins at 6 p.m. Moorpark College is located at 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA 93021
Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index or on Facebook at ELAC Huskies Athletics (@elachuskiesathletics).
story submitted by Tadzio Garcia