Cerritos
College freshman 133-pound wrestler
Paul Lyon
(Shepherd (MI) HS) entered his championship match at the
California Community College Athletic Association
Wrestling State Championships knowing that his team has
secured second place in the team scoring. However, he
still took the approach that there was some unfinished
business, as he looked to be the second Falcon wrestler
in as many years to win the state title at his weight
classification. Last year, Carlos Alaniz became the 45th
individual state champion in Falcon history, and Lyon
was looking to be the 46th. But, on his way to winning
the title, he came across Norman Richmond of Sierra
College, who posted a 9-4 win over Lyon, while Richmond
went on to be named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the
tournament.
As a team, the Falcons compiled 103.0 team
points, which put them in second place at the state
championships behind Sierra and their 146.0 team points.
The second place finish was the highest for Cerritos
since they won the state championship in 2002.
"I'm
very pleased with our team's performance and I'll take
it (second place)," said second-year head coach
Don
Garriott, who guided the team to a fourth place
finish last season. "We had a few spots where I thought
we might do a little better, but we worked hard all
season long and I have nothing but praise for this
team."
Lyon and Richmond were the top-seeded wrestlers
from their respective regions, and were only one of two
weight classes that had that match up in the finals.
Richmond used his great speed and agility to counter
just about every move Lyon attempted to make and did not
allow Lyon a takedown in the match. Trailing 2-1 at the
end of the first period, Lyon saw Richmond escape from
the down position with 1:20 left in the second period
and then surrendered a takedown with 26 seconds
remaining. In the final minute of the third period,
Richmond posted two takedowns, while Lyon recorded all
of his points on escapes. |
