DOWNEY – Last year was a very good year for the Warren High School boys wrestling team.

In fact, it was one of their best performances in a decade, as they won the last season of the San Gabriel Valley League with a 4-0 record and placed second in the CIF Northern Division tournament where they had five placers, three of those being finalists.

In addition, Warren advanced to the second round of the 2022 CIF-SS Division 2 Team Dual Wrestling Championships in January. The Bears opened the team duals with a narrow 36-33 first-round win over Etiwanda, but fell to eventual D2 Champ Northview, 54-24, in the second round.

The Bears, however, graduated 11 of 14 wrestlers from that team and are currently in a rebuilding year.

“This season will be a new venture for the Bears, as they begin their journey in a new league known as the Suburban Valley Conference”, Warren boys wrestling coach Ryan Medina said.

The Bears will compete in the Gateway League with the other league to be known as the Mid Cities League.

Included in that conference will be defending CIF Champion Mayfair.

“With the addition of Mayfair and the other teams coming from the Suburban league - the league that once included Downey, Paramount, Gahr, and Dominguez - will be one of the toughest conferences around to win,” Medina added. “The Bears are young, but hungry to show why they are one of the top teams around yet again.”

Hungry they are, as they recently (Saturday December 10) won the Camarillo-10 Invitational.

The Bears finished in a three-way tie with a 9-1 record but won the match on total points with 78. Placing second was Chaminade with 75 points and in third was host Camarillo with 70.

In the invite between the three teams, Warren defeated Camarillo and lost to Chaminade, while Camarillo defeated Chaminade.

Featured starters this season will be captains Anthony Peraza, a sophomore who wrestles in the 138 lb. weight class, and junior Gael Delgado (120 Lbs.).

Two other top returners are senior standouts, Matthew Huerta at heavyweight and Brandon Timoteo at 106 lbs.

Timoteo is a returning varsity wrestler and has placed in two tournaments to date, while Delgado is a third-year varsity wrestler and is a returning CIF placer and Masters qualifier.

Peraza is a returning varsity league champion and a CIF qualifier. He is also a finalist in two tournaments this year with wins over returning CIF place winners, while Huerta is a returning CIF placer and also a finalist in two tournaments this year with wins over returning CIF placers.

In the Camarillo-10 victory for the Bears, Timoteo (106 Lbs.) led with 10 wins (4 pins, dec.), followed by Delgado, 120 Lbs. (9-0, 3 pins, major dec.) and Huerta, 285 Lbs. (8-0, 4 pins, dec.) with undefeated records.

Also included was Peraza, 138 lbs. (8-2, 5 pins), Santos Reyes, 126 Lbs. (8-1, 3 pins), Emilio Vela, 182 Lbs. (8-2, 4 pins, M. Dec.), Jose Garcia, 113 Lbs. (8-2, 4 pins, dec.), Miguel Romo, 195 Lbs. (6-2, 3 pins), Adrian Estrada, 220 Lbs. (5-1, 2 pins) and Diego Cajas, 152 Lbs. (6-4, 2 pins, T. Fall).

The Warren Girls Wrestling team also advanced to the CIF-SS D1 Team Duals Championships last season. They opened the championships with a 48-24 win over Valencia of Placencia, but lost in the second round to Canyon Springs, 39-39, in a tiebreaker.

Look for a story on Warren girls wrestling in a future edition.

Warren High wrestling off to solid start