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| Picture of 184-pound Caleb Gelr in action. |
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After
advancing all the way to the state championship
match as a freshman, Cerritos College 184-pound
wrestler
Caleb Gerl (Calvary Chapel HS)
made it his mission to take care of some
unfinished business. On Saturday at Chabot
College, Gerl accomplished that feat with a 3-2
win over Jesus Chavez of Sierra College at the
California Community College Athletic
Association State Championships. Along with
freshman 285-pound freshman
Jose
Lopez (John Glenn HS), who
posted a 5-2 win over Austin Garza of Fresno
City College, the Falcons finished fifth as a
team with 92.5 team points. South Coast
Conference rival Santa Ana College won the state
title with 158.5 team points.
"Tired," was
the response Gerl gave after being asked how he
feels. "I had it in my mind all year to get back
to this point and finish what I didn't last
year. He (Chavez) prepared really well aainst me
and he was able to shut down my game. I beat him
13-2 the last time I faced him and he did a good
job against me tonight. But I give all the glory
to God and am thankful to have been able to
finish what I started last year."
In a tightly
contested match, Chavez took an early 2-0 lead
with a takedown with 57 seconds left in the
first period. But Gerl was able to escape before
the end of the period for a 2-1 deficit. He rode
Chavez most of the second period and took 1:25
of riding time into the third period. Knowing he
had to get up in less than 25 seconds to earn
the riding time point, Gerl took only four
seconds to get out and although he was unable to
score any more points, received the point to
secure the victory.
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| Picture of 285-pound Jose Lopez in action. |
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"I could feel
that he was tired after the second period, so I
felt I had a good chance to get out for the
escape point in the third period," said Gerl. "I
wanted to take him all seven minutes and put as
much pressure on as I could at the end of each
period. It seemed to work because I was able to
get out early in the third period and win."
The Lopez's
match, he came in with a 1-1 record against
Garza. But being the early aggressor
proved advantageous for Lopez, as his trademark
arm drag trip to the back put Garza down with 10
seconds left in the first period. He was also
able to get a two-point near-fall after getting
him down and rode his 4-0 lead through the next
two periods. Both received escape points, while
Lopez was charged for stalling, which accounted
for the 5-2 score.
Lopez had a
different kind of motivation in reaching the
state finals. After advancing to the high school
state championship match and coming up short
last year, he felt that he wanted to avenge that
loss with a community college state
championship.
"I was getting
real tired if falling short in big matches and I
was on a mission to finish this season off with
a win and not a loss," said Lopez. "I knew I had
to take any opportunity he gave me
and capitalize on it. Now that I won, I'm really
going to cherish this moment. Mission
accomplished."
"This was a
very trying season for me," said Falcon head
coach
Donnie Garriott. "We had some
personnel issues early in the season and once we
resolved those, things started to pick up for me
and the team. It was a roller coaster season,
but in the end, I am proud of each and every one
of my guys who worked hard all season. For
Caleb, he felt like he should have won last
season, so he put pressure on himself to do so
this year. He's the kind of guy who can handle
that pressure and used it to motivate him. As
for Jose, there wasn't as much pressure at this
level, but he took the feelings from last year
and it fueled his fire to do well this year. He
will be in the same situation as any freshman
who wins a state title. But he's a very focused
guy and I know he can handle it."
