Posted: Oct 14, 2023
Written by John Salzer
The Santa Ana wrestling team saw action once again by competing at the South State Duals this weekend. Like last year, they fought their way back to the 3rd place match of the duals while defeating several top 10 teams along the way. This time however, the Dons were successful in the final battle to claim their first team trophy of the season. The top performing wrestlers for the team were Ezekiel Hueter (157) and Edward Ramirez (165), who both went 4-0 for the day. Joseph Nava (285) and Logan Rubio (125) were also undefeated at 2-0, the latter picking up his first wins of the season.
Cerritos 25, Santa Ana 21
Santa Ana at rank #9 in the state was matched up against #4 Cerritos. Logan Rubio opened the dual with a fall to give the Dons the lead over the Falcons. The Dons would fall behind 16-6 after giving up technical fall and pin losses from 133 to 149 pounds. The Dons would then pick up wins in the next three weight classes with efforts from Zeke Hueter (SV 9-6), Edward Ramirez (tech fall), and Sergio Gutierrez (major decision) to once again give the team the lead at 18-16. Cerritos would then get a decision win at 184 and a fall at 197 to give them the win. The dual would end with an important matchup at heavyweight with #3 Joseph Nava getting an overtime win over #1 ranked Kobe Pablo.
Santa Ana 25, Victor Valley 23
The next dual of the day would be the #7 ranked Rams of Victor Valley. The Rams would claim the first three matches of the dual by way of majority decision, technical fall, and fall. Hueter, Ramirez and Sergio would get their second wins of the day each by adding bonus points with a technical fall and two falls, bringing the score to 17-15 in favor of Santa Ana after six matches. Victor Valley would win at 184 and 197 with two majors to take the lead 23-17. Nava at heavyweight would get a 9-3 decision win to get the Dons trailing 23-20 in the do-or-die match at 125 pounds. Rubio would follow up his performance in the first dual, managing a technical fall win over his opponent to seal the win for Santa Ana and move the team to the consolation semi-finals.
Santa Ana 26, Palomar 20
For the consolation semi-final matchup, #5 Palomar would win the first two matches of the dual at 141 and 149 pounds with a technical fall and fall to lead 11-0. Hueter would win a decision match, while Ramirez continued his technical fall win trend for the day to draw the Dons to within three points for an 11-8 score favoring Palomar. Sergio Gutierrez would lose an 8-4 decision to #5 ranked DJ Weimer, while Andres Carrillo would win at 184 pounds with a majority decision to keep the dual score close at 14-12. A fall for Palomar at 197 would put the Comets up 20-14, leaving Santa Ana no room for error with the last three matches. Dylan Avila would step in at heavyweight to get a 2-0 win, while Rubio at 125 pounds would get a forfeit win to give the Dons the lead for the first time in the dual. Artemis Shmuel at 133 pounds would get the crucial last win by technical fall to send the Dons to the 3rd place match.
Santa Ana 30, Bakersfield 19
To complete the 3rd place run, the team would battle #6 Bakersfield in the final dual of the day. The team started the dual strongly, with Jose Lira, Zeke Hueter, Edward Ramirez, and Sergio Gutierrez all getting wins via fall, technical fall, injury forfeit, and decision. Santa Ana would lead 20-0 before Bakersfield would go on a mid-dual run with two falls and a decision to cut the Dons lead to 20-15. With Bakersfield having no 125-pound wrestler, Logan Rubio would get a forfeit to extend the team lead to 26-15. At 133, Bakersfield would once again cut the lead after winning that weight class with a technical fall, team score 26-20. Makoa Shefte at 141 pounds would ensure the Dons getting on the podium after scoring a majority decision win against his opponent. The Dons would win the 3rd place dual by a score of 30-19 after Bakersfield was deducted one team point for a mat control violation.
Santa Ana will have a rematch this coming Wednesday against Palomar as they open up their conference dual schedule. The Dons will then be at the Cuesta Meathead Movers Invitational on October 21st.
