By Joseph Ovalle
East Los Angeles College lost a 42-6 quarterfinal round match to Mt. San Antonio College at the Southern California Regional Duals Championships Oct. 17 at Cerritos College.
ELAC lost to Cuesta College 30-18 in the semifinals of the consolation bracket and beat rival Rio Hondo College 39-10.
ELAC had to wrestle a team made of alternate wrestlers from the other teams. They beat the alternate team by criteria, meaning ELAC had more falls and major decisions, after a 24-24 tie.
“I’m happy with their performance. No team is going to take us lightly and will bring their best effort every match,” ELAC Head Coach Ralph Valle said.
ELAC sophomore Adrian Herrera went undefeated in the 165-pound weight class winning all four of his matches. Herrera, ranked No. 8 in the state at 165 pounds, avoided an upset against Jorge Medina of Mt. SAC when Medina was called for stalling at the end of the match.
ELAC freshmen Johnny Robles (125 pounds) and Juan Soto (174 pounds) both went 3-1 for the day.Robles’ only loss came to Richie Taira of Mt. SAC. Taira is currently ranked 8th in the state.
“First I was nervous, but after the first match I felt good. Then, just wrestled at the best of my ability,” Robles said.
Soto wrestled out of his weight class at 184-pounds against Isidoro Arellano of Rio Hondo. Soto beat Arellano by pin. “I feel like I performed well, but there is still room for improvement,” Soto said.
ELAC sophomore Maury Lemons only wrestled one match and beat Jared Garcia of Mt. SAC. In the three other ELAC dual meets of the day, Lemons won by forfeit.
ELAC freshman and non-starter Mariaelena Hernandez (125 pounds) wrestled two exhibition matches against Cuesta’s Kate Nestingen and Savannah Vento. Hernandez won both of her matches by pin.
Sophomore Joseph Magdaleno-Hudson, ranked second in state, had an overall record of 2-2. Magdaleno-Hudson suffered an upset loss against unranked Jaime Jimenez of Mt. SAC.
Mt. SAC, ranked No. 3 in the state upset No.1 Cerritos, 23-21, and will face Fresno City College in the State Duals Championship.
ELAC’s next match will be Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at Cerritos College.