Conroy and Galicia win weight classes as multiple Comets qualify for state

SANTA ANA, CA (12/6/2019) – Palomar sent 12 wrestlers to the CCCAA SoCal Regionals. Of the 12, six wrestlers qualified for the state championship meet next weekend. As a team, the Comets finished in sixth place with a score of 259.

Juan Diaz wrestled for the Comets in the 125-weight class and finished in sixth place. He had a first-round bye and faced Salvad Alvarez from East LA College and lost in an 8-5 decision. He then faced Nick Gonzalez from Cuesta and won on a technical fall with a score of 18-2. Diaz then faced Keith Estrada and lost 14-7. In the fifth-place match, Diaz faced Alvarez again and lost to take sixth place and qualify for the state tournament.

In the 149-weight class, Lance McNatt finished in fifth place. He had a first-round bye and then faced Josue Aguilar from East LA College. McNatt lost on a technical fall with a score of 19-4. He then faced Justin Jerricoff from Cuesta and won on a technical fall with a score of 17-2. He then lost to Ismael Cruz from Rio Hondo on a pin. In the fifth-place match, he faced James Adams from Mt. SAC and won 14-8.

Taro Harmon wrestled in the 157-weight class and took home sixth place. He faced Larry Rodriguez and lost on a technical fall with a score of 15-0. He then faced Gabe Salcedo from Bakersfield and won. Harmon then wrestled Ian Vasquez from Mt. SAC and lost 10-0. In the fifth-place match, Harmon faced Issac Escareno from Rio Hondo and lost 6-3.

Frank Sanchez wrestles in the 165-weight class. He finished in seventh place but was the true sixth place for the weight class. He faced Hugo Apastillar in the first-round and pinned him 1:54 into the match. Sanchez then faced Jacob Hansen from Moorpark and lost on a technical fall with a score of 16-0. Sanchez then wrestled fellow Comet Doug Gismondi and pinned him 0:38 into the round. Sanchez went on to face Drake De La Cruz from Cerritos. De La Cruz beat Sanchez on a technical fall with a score of 15-0. Sanchez then faced Moorpark's Aaron Noori for the seventh-place match and pinned him 1:30 into the round.

James Rodriguez wrestles in the 174-weight class and he finished in seventh place. In the first round, he faced Jared Latham from Victor Valley and pinned him in five minutes. In the second round, Rodriguez lost to Mt. SAC's Kevin Hope in a 13-6 decision. Rodriguez then faced Kevin Medrano from Victor Valley and pinned him in 4:59. He then faced Santa Ana's Daniel Serrano and lost on a 20-2 technical fall. Rodriguez faced East LA's Carlos Durazo for the seventh-place match and Rodriguez won.  

Joey Conroy won the 184-weight class. After a first-round bye, the wrestled Melad Ayyoub from Mt. SAC and won in a 2-0 decision. He then faced Jordan Annis from Bakersfield and won in a 10-8 decision. In the championship round, Conroy faced Breck Jeffus from Cuesta and won 7-6.

In the 197-weight class, Jesus Hernandez finished in sixth place. He faced Rio Hondo's Andy Voong in the second round and lost on an 8-0 decision. Hernandez then faced East LA's Jacob Duran and won on a 10-2 decision. Hernandez then lost to Mt. SAC's Colby Huynh on a 12-5 decision. In the fifth-place match, Hernandez faced Santa Ana's Joseph Nava and lost 18-4.

In the 285-weight class, Enrique Galicia faced Randy Arriaga after a first-round bye. Galicia defeated Arriaga in a 4-1 decision. In the semifinal round, Galicia faced David Aranda from East LA and won in an 8-2 decision. In the championship round, he faced Juan Camacho from Cuesta and won 3-2 to win the weight class.

The CCCAA State Tournament will be Dec. 13-14 hosted by Fresno City College. For those interested in attending the tournament, information can be found here.