SANTA ANA COLLEGE COMES AWAY WITH STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

By John Van Gaston for the COA

After a 31-year dry spell, the Santa Ana College wrestling team captured their second state championship in school history on Saturday night in the Commission on Athletics State Wrestling Championships presented by US Bank at Fresno City College. The Dons, who had three finalists, outlasted two-time defending state champion Bakersfield College, 106.5 team points to 102.5 team points. The key to their victory was at 149 pounds, as Mike O'Hara of Santa Ana defeated Bakersfield's Alex Herrera, 5-3 in overtime. It was the only head-to-head match between the two schools in the finals, although both teams had three in the championship round.

Sierra College, who closed out the championship matches with heavyweight Marcus Moore defeating Bakersfield's Josh Marquez,14-5, had a had in the final outcome. A win by Marquez would have put the two teams in a tie for first place. The Wolverines placed third with 100 team points, while Mt. San Antonio College came in fourth with 93 team points and Cerritos College placing fifth with 82.5 team points, with three of the top five teams competing in the South Coast Conference.

Mt. San Antonio was the only school with two individual champions, as Corey Hamabata (133 pounds) and Tim Hawkins (184 pounds) won titles for the Mounties. With the state championship won by Sabi Singh at 125 pounds, Fresno City continues to have the most individual titles in state history with 47, while Cerritos is a close second with 44 after 165-pound Jeff Davis picked up a state championship. The win by Santa Ana overshadowed the loss of 133-pound Rudy Justo, who was injured in the second round and entered the tournament as the #3-seeded wrestler from the South.

Santa Ana's Vince Silva was named the state's Coach of the Year, while Veto Becerra of Santa Ana, was selected the Assistant Coach of the Year. Garnering the Most Valuable Wrestler was 184-pound Tim Hawkins of Mt. San Antonio.

2005 State Championship Results

125 Pounds - Sabi Singh (Fresno City) def. Jimmy Valdivia (Cerritos), 9-3
133 Pounds - Corey Hamabata (Mt. San Antonio) def. Cody Gibson (Bakersfield), 8-3
141 Pounds - Benny Garcia (SJ Delta) def. Bobby Gonzalez (Sierra), 4-3
149 Pounds - Mike O'Hara (Santa Ana) def. Alex Herrera (Bakersfield), 5-3 (ot)
157 Pounds - Zac Taylor (West Valley) def. Sabas Cruz (Santa Ana), 13-4
165 Pounds - Jeff Davis (Cerritos) pinned Ty Sousa (Mt. San Antonio), 1:38
174 Pounds - Konrad Schwartz (Sacramento City) def. Ronnie Hopkins (Cerritos), 16-7 184 Pounds - Tim Hawkins (Mt. San Antonio) def. Brian Judd (Santa Ana), 20-10
197 Pounds - Jacob Starr (Cuesta) pinned Alexcis Lara (Skyline), 6:48
285 Pounds - Marcus Moore (Sierra) def. Josh Marquez (Bakersfield), 14-5

http://www.tmi.150m.com/Results2005-2006/05-JCSF-Fresno-5.pdf

-COA-