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Three former Cerritos College wrestlers were
entered in the Las Vegas/ASICS U.S. National
Championships this past weekend, with all of
them faring very well. The Falcon wrestling
program has a long history of its former
athletes advancing to the national level, and
this past national championship tournament was
no exception.
This past season, heavyweight
Brandon Doran concluded his Cerritos
wrestling career by reaching the finals at the
state championships, but had to settle for
second place and finished the season with a 32-7
record. He was named All-American for his
efforts, as he also won the Southern California
and South Coast Conference championship as a
sophomore. In his first national tournament,
Doran placed seventh in the Senior Greco-Roman
tournament despite not being ranked in the top
eight. Competing for the Future Stars Wrestling
Club, Doran saved his best for last, as he
pinned Jaime Rakevich in :53 seconds to secure
seventh place in the 264.5 weight class in the
tournament.
As for Marco Lara, he came
in sixth place in the 145.5 pound weight
classification. A veteran of national
competition, Lara won a state championship for
the Falcons in 2002 at 149 pounds, which helped
the team to the state championship. He was also
named All-American that season. Just last year,
Lara placed fourth in the national
championships, which earned him All-American
honors. His other national experience includes
placing third in the University Greco-Roman
competition of the U.S. Championships two years
ago, as well as competing for a spot on the
World University Championship team.
The final former Cerritos wrestler who
competed in the national championships only made
a short appearance for the Falcons during the
2005 season. Heavyweight Khoren Papoyan,
who has 11 years of international experience,
captured first place in the Veteran
Greco-Roman competition at 286.5 pounds. He
competed in the 2000 Olympics and was a 10-time
Armenian National Champion. He was only able to
compete for the Falcons in the first few weeks
until he was ruled ineligible.
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