Cuesta Grapplers hosted West Hills-Lemoore for their final SouthEast Conference Dual before the SEC Tournament concludes the regular season.  Cuesta's 2022 Regional Qualifier Andres Cervantes (pict-R) got the evening started on the right foot for the Cougars by earning a pin just over two minutes into the bout.  Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles took the lead for good thanks to a pair of forfeits by the Cougars at the next two weights.  Freshman Ian Rodriguez was the next Cougar on the mat and his pin, in under two-minutes, briefly evened the match, however visiting Golden Eagles blew open the dual with back-to-back pins and a technical fall.  Cuesta trailed 28-12 with three matches left and had already moved their next two wrestlers up a weight.  2022 State Qualifier Reily Lowry moved up to 184 and Freshman Christian Davidson, who is ranked 6th in the State at 184, was bumped to 197.  However, despite giving away some weight, Lowry earned a pin mid-way through the second period, while Davidson barely allowed his seat on the bench to cool when he claimed victory in under 20 seconds.  The back-to-back falls narrowed the Golden Eagles lead to only four points, 28-24, however a pin a heavyweight clinched the match West Hills-Lemoore, 34-24.  

Wrestling returns to action in two weeks for the 2023 SouthEast Conference Tournament.  The tournament is a better format for the Cougars, who have shown more depth than diversity across the ten divisions.  Bakersfield College shall host the SEC Tournament on Veteran's Day- Saturday, November 11.