Lemus Shines as Huskies Host Third Annual LoTP Tournament

by Cerwin D Haynes

(thumbnail by Eder Puga)

East LA College Women's Wrestling hosted their third annual Leader of The Pack Tournament, welcoming teams up and down the state for a final regular season tuneup before the State Championships in two weeks (hosted here at ELAC). Freshman Haely Lemus, enjoying a fine season so far, pinned her way to winning the 124lb weight class bracket as the Huskies finished fourth overall in today's tournament (Mt. SAC finished first with an overall score of 84 points).

Lemus earned a bye in the first round before pinning Darlene Galicia (Palomar) in the quarterfinals. Lemus next faced Paola Andrade (Victor Valley) in the semis and pinned her too. In the finals, the Highland Park product once again dominated, securing a pinfall victory over Maleah Ballejos (Palomar). 

"She had a great showing today," said ELAC head coach Angel Solis, "improving on things we've been working on in the wrestling room."

Other Huskies turned in quality performances today as they prep for State:

• Freshman Bella Arredondo nabbed silver in the 145lb bracket. She scored a pinfall in the quarterfinals and a tech fall in the semis before losing to Alexis Jimenez (Mt. San Antonio College) in the finals.
• Freshman Bee (Behnaz) Agahzade finished second in the 235lb bracket. She lost to Itzia Rivera (Santa Ana College) in the Round 2 but beat Paula Gavina (Santa Ana College) by a 9-3 decision in Round 3.
• Sophomore Mollie Jimenez nabbed bronze in the 117lb bracket. She dropped a 11-6 decision to Lailanie Vongnakhone (Fresno City) in Round 1 but scored a pin on Yanissa Sanchez (Victor Valley College) in Round 2. She lost in Round 3 to Andrea Gonzalez (Sacramento City College).
• Freshman Jennifer Contreras finished with bronze in the 180lb bracket. She lost to Shanaria Killebrew (Bakersfield College) in Round 1 but pinned Tiana Dixon (Sacramento City College) and then Blanca Aleman (Fresno City) in Rounds 2 and 3 respectively. She dropped her Round 5 matchup to Paula Aguilar (Sacramento City College). 

HUSKY BITS

• Back to Lemus: with an individual record of 16-7 on the season, she should be looked on as one of the favorites in the 124lb class for State in two weeks. Head Coach Angel Solis was happy with her tournament performance. "She always puts on a show," coach remarked.

UP NEXT:

The final season showdown, the 2025 3C2A State Championships, will be held here at East LA College next Saturday, April 19th. Start time currently scheduled for 9am. Tickets are run via 3C2A and are cashless. We'll have more ticket info on our social media outlets once sales are ready to open.