The Cerritos College wrestling team had one individual champion and three others who reached the championship match at the 4th Annual Meathead Movers Invitational, held at Cuesta College this past Saturday. With the team's individual success, the Falcons placed second in the tournament with 95 team points and trailed only Fresno City College, who had 121 team points. South Coast Conference rivals Santa Ana College (81.50 team points) and Mt. San Antonio College (41 points) came in third and fourth place respectively. The Falcons, who are currently rated fifth in the state, will resume conference action when they travel to Victor Valley College for a 7:00 p.m. match on Wednesday.

    Freshman 125-pound Jason Carrillo (Torrance HS) was the team's lone individual champion, as he defeated three opponents to win the title. Rated second in the tournament, he received a bye in the first round and then pinned David Prado of Moorpark in 4:30, followed by an 11-6 victory over Kyle Crouch of Fresno City in the semi-finals. That set up the championship match against Sammy Saunders of East Los Angeles College, where Carrillo came away with a 9-8 win. At 133 pounds, sophomore Carlos Alaniz (La Mirada HS), the top-rated wrestler in the tournament and in the state, advanced to the championship match against Gabe Aguilar of Santa Ana, but had to forfeit the match due to an injury. Prior to the finals, Alaniz kept his season record perfect with two comfortable wins.

    In the 149-pound weight classification, freshman Tony Ruiz (Loara HS) was rated second and posted two big wins before a close 3-2 decision against Palomar's Joe Barajas, who is rated #3 in the state. That win put Ruiz in the finals against Fresno City's Alfonzo Sanchez, who is rated #1 in the state. Ruiz was eventually pinned with just four seconds left in the match. Freshman Al Kinslow (Santa Monica HS) pinned his first opponent in 2:45 and then had two close matches, which propelled him into the championship match at 197 pounds. He went up against top-seeded and third-rated in the state Nail Norman of West Hills, who pinned Kinslow in 2:25.

    Others who did well in the tournament include freshman Emilio Rojas-Chavez (Sunny Hills HS), who went on to place third at 157 pounds after losing his first match. He defeated five consecutive opponents, including Devin Vasquez of Santa Ana for third place. Freshman 165-pound Jack Porter (Desert Vista, AZ HS) reached the quarterfinals before losing, but responded with two wins, including a 9-3 win over Daniel Garay of Mt. San Antonio for third place. Earlier in the week, Garay posted a 7-4 win over Porter in a conference match. Sophomore Louie Audelo (California HS) dropped an 8-4 decision to Mt. San Antonio Tim Hawkins for his second loss to him in a week, but didn't let that slow him down, as he went on to win two more matches to take third place at 184 pounds. He defeated Cory Compton of Sacramento City, 10-2 in the third place match. Sophomore heavyweight Brandon Doran (Yucca Valley HS) recorded pins in his first two matches until a 6-4 loss to eventual champion Tyler Porras of Santa Ana dropped him into the consolation round. Doran responded with two more pins to take third place.