West Hills College hosts community college wrestlers in Golden Eagle Arena

When it was all over, West Hill’s cross-valley rival, Fresno City College, crushed the competition, amassing 197 points to outdistance second-place Cerritos College.

West Hills College Lemoore turned in a middle-of-the-road performance, finishing midway through the pack, in 9th place as two of its wrestlers, Jose Paez and Joe Romero, earned second and third place finishes in the 157-pound division.

West Hills wrestler Jose Paez was West Hills top wrestler, finishing second at 157 pounds, only after he had to forfeit due to an injury.

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“It’s the toughest community college tournament in the state,” said Golden Eagle Coach Marcio Botelho, who serves a dual role in Lemoore, coaching the Eagles and nearby Lemoore High School. Botelho is a former state wrestling champion.

“There were 18 out of the 21 schools here,” he continued. “As far as our team we had Jose Paez, who made it to the 157-pound finals but was forced to forfeit due to an injury, and Joe Romero (157) who took third place. We’re very proud of them.”

There were at least two WHC grapplers who fell just short. Noah Collazo, at 165, and Elija Noel, at 149 pounds, came close Saturday but didn’t finish in the top six.

“We’re very proud of them, and I know we will continue to improve, and we will be there when it counts,” said Botelho.

While Fresno City easily took the tourney’s top spot, Cerritos College finished second with 105 points while Mt. Sac checked in at third with 103.5 points. Sacramento City was fourth overall with Bakersfield taking the fifth spot.

The Golden Eagles will face the tourney champ, Fresno City, in a Central Valley Conference match on Wednesday when they travel to Fresno for the Fresno Duals.