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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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