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Sophomore 285-pound Jose Lopez (John Glenn HS) concluded his Falcon career with back-to-back state championships, marking just the fourth time in school history that feat has been accomplished. He joins Ron Kenworthy (1967-69), Antonio McKee (1988-89) and Hossin Oushani (1999-2000) who were two-time state champions. Freshman Steven Cabanas (Canyon Springs HS) posted a 10-6 win at 125 pounds to win the state championship. The third Cerritos wrestler to reach the finals, freshman Cody Bollinger (Sultana HS), dropped a 10-2 decision to Eric Lopez of Victor Valley College.
Lopez, who finished the season with a 33-1 record, defeated Luis Contreras of Fresno City College, 4-0 in the final match of the tournament. It was only a month ago that Lopez, who will be competing for Dickinson State (ND) University next season, pinned Contreras in the State Team Duals.
"I wanted to stay aggressive against him because I knew I would wear him down," said Lopez, whose only loss this season was an overtime setback against Levi Cooper of Arizona State University at the Embry Riddle Tournament. "My goal this season was to not lose to a single community college wrestler and I was able to accomplish that."
Falcon head coach Don Garriott knew how tough it would be to repeat as a state champion, so he said they focused a lot this year on "training for the state championships." Added Garriott, "Jose put good pressure on Contreras in the match. His whole goal from the beginning of the season was to dominate the field and except for an overtime loss to the guy from Arizona State, he did just that."
Without anyone to push him in practice, Garriott turned to a former wrestler and good friend, Mixed Martial Arts superstar Tito Ortiz. Over the last month, Ortiz, who came out to see Lopez in his championship match, worked with Lopez and pushed him to get in shape for the grueling final two weeks of the season. Garriott coached Ortiz at Golden West College in 1995-96 when he was a two-time state champion.
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"This championship is for my dad, who passed away after my senior year of high school," said Cabanas. "He always told me that when you start something, you'd better finish it. I can't think of a better way to honor my dad than with this championship."
Garriott acknowledged the effort of Cabanas all season, stating "Steven wrestled a clean match in the finals. he stayed on his feet and wrestled very well and didn't make any mistakes. He was also very strong on top and showed that he is the best wrestler at that weight."
One of the most emotional seasons of the year had to go to Bollinger, who was defeated, 10-2 in the finals against high school rival Eric Lopez of Victor Valley College. The two competed against each other when Bollinger attended Sultana High and Lopez was at Hesperia High. But the start of Bollinger's collegiate career was much more emotional, as he was the wrestler who was competing against Rio Hondo College's Jesse Cruz in the first dual tournament of the season when Cruz was injured during their match and passed away.
The traumatic experience affected Bollinger deeply, but he received support from his coaches, teammates and even opponents. He was a sentimental favorite in his championship match against Lopez, who was from host Victor Valley College. But despite the up and down season, Bollinger still remained positive in defeat.
"This was really a roller-coaster year for me," said Bollinger, who ended the year with an 18-5 record. "Wrestling-wise, this was by far my best season ever. The coaching staff and my teammates are all great and I got to wrestle a friend of mine in the state finals. I wish I had won, but it was a season I'll never forget."
In addition to Lopez, Cabanas and Bollinger, sophomores Jesse Ponce (Mesa, AZ HS) and Eric Sauvageau (Loara HS), who came in third place at 149 pounds and 165 pounds, respectively, were also named All-American.
In addition to Lopez, Cabanas and Bollinger, sophomores Jesse Ponce (Mesa, AZ HS) and Eric Sauvageau (Loara HS), who came in third place at 149 pounds and 165 pounds, respectively, were also named All-American.