CERRITOS RALLIES TO WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday-Saturday December 13-14, 2002
Thorpe House Gymnasium II
Cypress College Cypress, CA 90630

By Alan Lombardi

Cerritos College picked the perfect time to win its first tournament of the season. The Falcons, trailing favorite Palomar College by 10.5 points heading into the championship finals, rallied to defeat the Comets, 128.5-126.0, for the 2002 state title Saturday, Dec. 14 before 1,000 fans at Cypress College.

Palomar came into the competition unbeaten and looking for its first state crown since 1992. The Comets, however, were denied by their South Coast Conference rivals. " I'm so proud of this team. We peaked at the right time, and no one quit," said fourth year Cerritos head man Greg Gascon. "I don't have guys who do that."

The Falcons placed five athletes in the finals, and Damacio Page (133 lbs), Shanon Slack (141), Marco Lara (149) and Chris Lopez (184) came through with state titles. Slack was chosen the tournament's MVP.

In his 12th year at Palomar, Coach Joe Ismay had four wrestlers in the finals. Matt Lambert (157 lbs) was the lone Comet athlete to win. A 6-2 victory over Karras Kalivas of Bakersfied enabled Lambert to complete the year with a 33-0 record.

Defending state champion Fresno City College finished fourth with 80.5 points