SANTA ANA - The Dons won nine of the 10 weight classes as they defeated visiting Rio Hondo College 47-3 in a South West Conference dual in Cook Gym. The win improves the Dons record to 8-6 on the season and 2-1 in conference competition.
Highlights of the match included pins by Christian Hauser, Nathan Mateo and Jacob Blackwell. The win by Blackwell at 165 pounds extends his current winning streak to 10 matches while also keeping him undefeated against Southern California opponents.
Complete match-by-match recaps are below.
125 Pounds – Christian Hauser (SAC) pins Efrain Flores (RHC)
After both wrestlers made several attempts without scoring any points, Christian Hauser (SAC) quickly put the Dons up 6-0 in the match when he pinned Efrain Flores (RHC) just 58 seconds into the first period.
133 Pounds – Julian Castillo (RHC) def. Gustavo Anaya (SAC) 3-1
After Gustavo Anaya (SAC) and Julian Castillo wrestled to a scoreless first period, Anaya scored the first points of the match with an escape to open the second period. Castillo answered with a takedown in the final seconds of the period to take a 2-1 lead into the third.
Castillo extended his lead to 3-1 when Anaya conceded an escape to open the third period. Neither wrestler would score for the remainder of the match, giving Castillo the 3-1 victory while cutting SAC's team lead to 6-3.
141 Pounds – Andrew Schulte (SAC) def. Elias Mercado (RHC) 20-5
Andrew Schulte (SAC) opened the 141-pound match with a quick takedown before Elias Mercado (RHC) escaped for a point. Schulte would score another takedown in the first minute before conceding an escape to make the score 4-2.
Schulte scored another takedown to go up 6-2 but would once again concede an escape to make the score 6-3. Before the first period would end, Schulte would get one more takedown to take an 8-2 lead into the second period.
Just 10 seconds into the second period, Schulte scored an escape to go up 9-3. Less than one minute later, Schulte would score a takedown to go up 11-3, a lead he would take into the third period.
A takedown 30 seconds into the third period would put Schulte up 13-3 before a conceded escape made the score 13-4. Schulte paired a takedown and conceded escape to go up 15-5 before a takedown and near fall, plus riding time, gave him a 20-5 victory.
149 Pounds – Richard Miranda (SAC) def. Anthony Zepeda (RHC) on an injury default
The first points at 149 pounds belonged to Richard Miranda (SAC) who scored a takedown on Anthony Zepeda (RHC) nearly halfway through the first period. Miranda then opened the second period with a reversal to extend his lead to 4-0.
Zepeda would score an escape to make the score 4-1, but would later have to leave the match with an injury, giving Miranda the victory on an injury default.
157 Pounds – Nathan Mateo (SAC) pins Alexis Munoz (RHC)
Nathan Mateo (SAC) wasted little time to score a takedown on Alexis Munoz (RHC) before adding a near fall later in the period to go up 5-0. Munoz escaped moments later to cut the lead to 5-1, with that score remaining through to the second period.
Mateo quickly added to his lead with an escape seconds into the second period, putting him up 6-1. With just under one minute left in the second period, Mateo would score a takedown to go up 8-1 before riding Munoz out to the third period.
After starting the third period with a takedown, Mateo ended the match with a pin at the 5:38 mark, putting the Dons up 23-3 in the match.
165 Pounds – Jacob Blackwell (SAC) pins Felipe Zuniga
Riding a nine-match winning streak, Jacob Blackwell (SAC) opened his match with Felipe Zuniga (RHC) with a quick takedown before later conceding an escape to make the score 2-1. Blackwell would add two more takedowns, with a conceded escape between, to take a 6-2 lead into the second period.
Blackwell extended his lead in the second period with an escape and a takedown to go up 9-2, a lead he would carry into the third period. After conceding an escape to open the third, Blackwell got another takedown to extend his lead to 11-3 before ending the match with a pin at 6:00.
174 Pounds – Jonathan Fraser (SAC) wins by forfeit
184 Pounds – Aaron Dubois (SAC) def. Daniel Anaya (RHC) 2-0
Neither Aaron Dubois (SAC) nor Daniel Anaya (RHC) was able to score in the first period, but Dubois would get on the board in the second period with an escape. However, that would be the only point scored of the period.
Dubois would add another escape in the third period, giving him a 2-0 win over Anaya.
197 Pounds – Juan Hernandez (SAC) wins by forfeit
HWT – Oscar Perez (SAC) def. Nick Auxier (RHC) 3-1
After a slow start, Oscar Perez (SAC) scored a takedown on Nick Auxier (RHC) to take a 2-0 lead in the final seconds of the first period. Perez then escaped quickly in the second period to go up 3-0, a lead he would take into the third period.
Auxier got on the board 30 seconds into the third period with an escape, but that was all he able to manage as Perez held on for the 3-1 victory.
