By Tadzio Garcia and Joseph Ovalle
The East Los Angeles College wrestling team opened the season with four losses in Pool A of the Mt. San Antonio College Duals Sept. 20 in Walnut.
ELAC lost close matches to Bakersfield and Santa Ana colleges, 24-21 and 24-20, respectively.
The Huskies lost to host Mt. SAC 30-12 and also to Palomar College 38-4.
Palomar College won the pool A Duals for the third consecutive year.
Cerritos was the pool B champions.
“Six of the (ELAC) wrestlers had their first college experience and a shock to the system,” 19-year ELAC Head Coach Ralph Valle said.
Freshman Josue Perez was one of the six.
“The atmosphere at Mt. SAC was bigger than I expected. I was 0-2 (overall) today, but it was still exciting,” Perez said.
ELAC sophomore Maury Lemons scored the only points for the Huskies against champion Palomar, a 9-0 major decision against freshman Blake Nash in a heavyweight bout.
Lemons finished the day undefeated with 3-0 record.
“Even with my wins I was not pleased with how I wrestled. All we can do is work on what we learned from our mistakes and move forward,” Lemons said.
ELAC freshman Mariaelena Hernandez began her collegiate wrestling career undefeated at Mt. SAC.
Hernandez recorded two falls in her two 125-pound exhibition matches against wrestlers from Mt. SAC and Cuesta College. Hernandez pinned sophomore Jessica Toledo of Mt. SAC at 4:36.
Other bright spots for ELAC include Anthony Florido compiled a 2-0 overall record for the day in heavyweight bouts and returning 2013 state finalists Adrian Herrera (2-1, 174 pounds) and Joseph Magdaleno-Hudson (2-2. 165 pounds).
Johnny Robles was 2-2 in the 133-pound weight class and Stephan Ovsepian finished with a 1-2 record in the 184-pound weight class.
Joseph Aguila, who returned to the team after a year off to focus on his studies, finished with a winless record. “I was mentally broke because of my conditioning,” Aguila said.
“I am looking forward to major improvement in everything.”
The Huskies will regroup and compete in the Bakersfield Duals on Saturday all day.
Mt. SAC 30 – ELAC 12
125 Giovanni Castillo, Mt. SAC, won by fall at 1:24 Kevin Valdez, ELAC
133 Johnny Robles, ELAC, 12-5 decision, Jeremy Dizon, Mt. SAC
141 Terrill Sidner, Mt. SAC, 15-0 technical fall, Daniel Martinez, ELAC
149 Larry Medina, Mt. SAC, fall 0:49, Jonathan Mandujano, ELAC
157 Jaime Jimenez, Mt. SAC, 6-1 decision, Joseph Aguila, ELAC
165 Zachary Mitchell, Mt. SAC 7-2 decision, Joseph Magdaleno-Hudson, ELAC
174 Adrian Herrera, ELAC, 7-3 decision, Jorge Medina, Mt. SAC
184 Kolton Morton, Mt. SAC, fall 4:42, Stephan Ovsepian, ELAC
197 Keandre Johnson, Mt. SAC, fall 2:34, Jorge Guerrero, ELAC
285 Maury Lemons, ELAC, fall 1:59, Andrew Cruz, Mt. SAC
Santa Ana 25 – ELAC 18
125 Eliseo Medina, Santa Ana, 12-2 major decision, Kevin Valdez, ELAC
133 Michael Nolasco, Santa Ana, 12-3 major decision, Johnny Robles, ELAC
141 Alex Collazo, Santa Ana, 5-2 decision, Daniel Martinez, ELAC
149 Joaquin Collister, Santa Ana, fall 5:49, Josue Perez, ELAC
157 Richard Miranda, Santa Ana, 16-1 technical fall, Joseph Aguila, ELAC
165 Joseph Magdaleno Hudson, ELAC, 8-7 decision, Eric Roberts, Santa Ana
174 Adrian Herrera, ELAC, 6-1 decision, Joseph Caracho, Santa Ana
184 Stephan Ovsepian, ELAC, fall 1:34, Raul Hernandez, Santa Ana
197 Johnathan Fraser, Santa Ana, 4-1 decision, Jorge Guerrero, ELAC
285 Anthony Florido, ELAC, fall 1:49, Abraham Aguilar, Santa Ana
Palomar 38 – ELAC 4
125 Frank Sandoval, Palomar Sandoval, fall 4:33, Kevin Valdez, ELAC
133 Alberto Garcia, Palomar, fall 3:10, Johnny Robles, ELAC
141 Josh Lawson, Palomar, 16-1 techncal fall, Daniel Martinez, ELAC
149 Chris Jones, Palomar, fall 4:14, Josue Perez, ELAC
157 Peter Donchev, 12-5 decision, Joseph Aguila, ELAC
165 Erick Collin, Palomar, 9-3 decision, Joseph Magdaleno Hudson, ELAC
174 Cody Doyle, Palomar, 9-7 decision, Juan Soto, ELAC
184 Alex Graves, Palomar, 11-5 decision, Adrian Hererra, ELAC
197 Dalton du’Casse, Palomar, 3-2 decision, Jorge Guerrero, ELAC
285 Maury Lemons, ELAC, 9-0 major decision, Blake Nash, Palomar
Bakersfield 24 – ELAC 22
125 Marco Velasquez, Bakersfield, fall 1:46, Kevin Valdez, ELAC
133 Johnny Robles, ELAC won by forfeit
141 Daniel Martinez, ELAC won by forfeit
149 Arik Onsurez, Bakersfield, 6-2 decision, Josue Perez, ELAC
157 Gregory Pagela, Bakersfield, 7-3 decision, Joseph Aguila, ELAC
165 Joseph Magdaleno Hudson, ELAC, 4-3 decision, Vincent Gomez, Bakersfield
174 Adrian Herrera, ELAC, 12-2 major decision, Brandon Silva, Bakersfield
184 Cesar Luna, Bakersfield, fall 0:53, Stephan Ovsepian
197 Michael Avila, Bakersfield, fall 4:40, Jorge Guerrero
285 Anthony Florido, ELAC, 5-4 decision, Jacob Hall, Bakersfield