Dons Complete Perfect Season with State Title
HAYWARD, CA - The Santa Ana College (SAC) wrestling team won its third team state championship in school history and first since the 2005 season, with a convincing 32.5-point winning edge at the 2009 California Community College Athletic Association Wrestling State Championships at Chabot College on Saturday.
The Dons led second-place Sierra College 146-116 heading into the finals with Sierra sending six wrestlers to the finals compared to only three for SAC.
Jaime Martinez was the first individual state champion for the Dons and his victory sealed the team championship. Martinez defeated Sierra's Brandon Benvenuti at 125-pounds by a score of 6-2.
Bobby Scofield defeated Sierra's Mike Vassar 4-3 to claim the 141-pounds state championship. Both Scofield and Martinez finished second in the state championships last season as freshmen.
The Dons third, and final, state champion was Jose Navarro who finished his season undefeated with a 7-2 victory over Sierra's Vlad Dombrowsky at 149-pounds.
SAC finished with 158.5 team points ahead of Sierra with 122 team points. Last season's state champion, Fresno City College, finished third with 115 team points.
All 10 of the Dons wrestlers medaled in the state championships with three champions, three third-place finishers, three fourth-place finishers and one fifth-place finisher. Nine of the 10 wrestlers were named All-Americans.
Ted Bristol (157-pounds), Daniel Kennedy (184-pounds) and Jimmy Botheras (197-pounds) each took third place while Jason Arreola (133-pounds), RJ Pilkington (165-pounds) and Luis Onofre (174-pounds) took fourth place. Brian Klevias rounded out the Dons medalists as he pinned his opponent in his final match to take fifth place.
Head Coach Vince Silva was named Coach of the Year following the championships and his assistant coach, Vito Becerra, was named Assistant Coach of the Year.
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