Moorpark College wrestled hard against East Los Angeles College Friday night but lost in the end 20-18.
“We had a couple guys get caught tonight but, look, that’s what happens,” said Lindley Kistler, head coach of Moorpark Wrestling. “The good news is everyone that lost did not do what we asked them to do in the warm-up room and they saw the result, so it’s an easy fix.”
Moorpark College Raiders hosted the East Los Angeles Huskies in their last home dual of the year on Oct. 26, 2018. While 28 people in the stands may sound small it was loud and energetic. The Raiders conference record going into the dual against East Los Angeles was 2-2.
“We had a few injuries this month, tonight we have three guys out that are our starters. We are giving up six points at the 197-lb. division, and we are moving two guys up [in] weight divisions,” said Kistler before the dual started.
Freshman Zaul Diaz came out strong for the first match of the night at the 125 division. Diaz had a four-point near fall and ended up winning 13-7, putting Moorpark up 3-0. Diaz replaced team captain Richie Vaillancourt who was out with a shoulder injury.
Next at 134 lbs. Freshman Andy Rodriquez won via forfeit as East Los Angeles did not have a wrestler to compete. This forfeit gave Moorpark six points, making the score 9-0 in favor of the Raiders.
Moorpark College saw their first loss of the night when Freshman 141-lb. wrestler Isaac Aragon lost via pin. East Los Angeles got six points making the score 9-6.
Next up at 149 lbs. was Sophomore Justin Feldman who was replacing Mina Morkos who was out with an injury. In the match of the night which saw back-and-forth action, Feldman had a 13-11 leading into the final minute but a heartbreaking loss occurred when Feldman was pinned. East Los Angeles went up 12-9.
Sophomore Sergio “Badger” Camacho, another team captain, was up next at 157 lbs. Camacho won the hard-fought match 8-7, tying up the dual 12-12.
“My performance tonight wasn’t my greatest, I still have things to work on. East L.A. was our last dual so as a team we can start fine-tuning everything,” said Camacho. “We are getting ready for conference, regionals and state. The ultimate goal is to get as many people through to those as possible.”
Next at the 165-lb. division, sophomore Devin Top put on a dominant performance securing many take-downs and ended up winning 14-8. Moorpark went up 15-12. During the match a wrestler from East Los Angeles was injured but ended being able to compete after being checked out by staff.
“I felt I was sloppy at times, but a win is a win,” said Top. “I just need to keep improving and keep control over my opponents and focus on the end of the season.” Topp is ranked number seven in California.
Another dominant performance was in the 174-lb. division by sophomore Robert Flores, who is ranked number five in California. Flores was on his way to shut out the other wrestler, but two late take-downs stopped that from happening. Flores ended up winning 10-4, giving Moorpark an 18-12 lead.
“I’m not 100% happy with my performance because of the third period,” said Flores. “I went up really big in the beginning, and I just want to finish stronger because I am preparing for state. The guy I wrestled tonight is ranked one spot higher than me and I wanted to prove something. I am undefeated at home, so I had home field advantage.”
Sophomore Aaron Noofl wrestled next at 184 lbs. and got completely controlled the whole match and ended up losing 13-3, which gave East Los Angeles a four-point swing to come back at within two points.
Next at the 197-lb. weight division there was a double forfeit. Freshman Jesus Mondragon was out injured, and East Los Angeles did not have a wrestler to compete. The score stayed at 18-16.
The last match of the evening was the heavyweight division (285) in which Freshman Erick Colin wrestled. Colin kept the match close but during the last two periods gave up take-downs and reverse take-downs giving the match to East Los Angeles 14-6.
East Los Angeles won the dual 20-18.
“East Los Angeles had a great team and we had our chances,” said Kistler. “We had strategies and our heavyweight could have won but these things happen. I’m still proud our team [that] they fought hard, [and] we will be ready for our regional tournament.”
Next up for the Raiders is the SEWA Conference Tournament, Nov. 10, 2018, at Bakersfield College. The wrestlers will try and qualify for the regional tournament in December.
