Cuesta Wrestling triumphed in its first SouthEast Conference (SEC) Dual of the season with a 26-16 victory at East LA.  The Cougars won six of the dual's ten bouts and dominated the lower weights.  Freshmen Gabriel Rivera (125), Jasun Bautista (149), Henry Catalan (157) and Ashkan Dehnaey (167) all picked up wins on the day to provide the early lead, while Reily Lowry (174) and Sherman Barney (285) scored in the upper divisions to close out the Cougars victory over the Beavers.  Cuesta's ten-point gap was built off a 6-4 advantage in victories. 

Dual meets have become increasingly rare in wrestling, but their importance at the conference level has remained.  The Cougars have competed in only one non-SouthEast Conference dual over the past half-decade.  They have averaged only five duals per year over that span, which is down from 15 in in 2014 and the program-high of 19 in 1969.  The popularity of large championship-style tournaments, like Cuesta's 19th Meathead Mover Invitational scheduled for October 22, has revealed the dual to be an inefficient use of limited contest dates.  The Cougars shall spend the rest of their weekend at the Santa Ana Tournament.  In 2021, Cuesta skipped the tournament at the "17th and Bristol" campus, but as a regular participant has not finished out of the event's top ten since 2012.