Located a half hour southwest of Los Angeles, when the Warriors of El Camino College dropped their wrestling team after the 1990-1991 season, CCCAA wrestling lost one of its finest programs. The Warriors won CCCAA titles in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1976 & 1977. Between the 1958-1959 & the 1990-1991 seasons, the Warriors put place-winners on the award stand at the CCCAA championships every year. That's 32 straight years of producing place-winners.
Even more impressive is that within those thirty-two seasons, 19 of them saw CCCAA champions crowned. In the years where the Warriors didn't produce at least one CCCAA champion, they had at least one finalist in six more seasons. In thirty-two seasons there were only eight seasons where the Warriors did have a finalist.
Dale Deffner 115 lbs |
Deffner made the CCCAA finals in 1959, winning a CCCAA title in 1960. He went on to compete at Long Beach State after graduation where he place fourth at the 1963 NCAA championships. Post his own collegiate career, Deffner went on to coach at Golden West. There he produced 9 CCCAA champions & 25 CCCAA place-winners.
Foster Jones 130 lbs |
Don Holt 147 lbs |
Holt won back to back CCCAA titles in 1962 & 1963
Tom McCann 123 lbs |
John Snowden |
Bob Anderson |
Winning is what Bob Anderson did throughout his entire wrestling career. Competing for South High School, he was third in the state championships his junior year before winning a state title as a senior. Competing for the Warriors, Anderson won back to back CCCAA titles in 1963 & 1964, moving on to Adams State where he won back to back NAIA titles.
Post his collegiate career, Anderson had a successful career on the international level, winning a Silver Medal at the 1971 Pan-American championships, followed up with gold medals in 1977 & 1979.
He later got into helping others achieve their goals in international competition, among those he coached, Rulon Gardner.
Dean Albright |
Paul Steinel 137 lbs |
Rich Tambel 115 lbs |
Tambel won a CCCAA title for the Warriors in 1964. He then transferred to Adams State where he made the NAIA finals in 1968. Later that summer he qualified for the Olympic team.
Kent Wyatt 147, 145 lbs |
A graduate of Mira Costa High school, Kent Wyatt's greatest accomplishment was winning a section title. He was meant for bigger and better things on the collegiate scene, winning CCCAA titles in 1965 & 1966. He went on to compete for Cal Poly where he earned a sixth place finish at the NCAA Division II championships in 1967. He went on to win a NCAA Division II title in 1968, finishing in third place at the NCAA Division I tournament in 1968.
Post his collegiate career, Wyatt coached at West Torrace High School where he lead his team to ten league titles & a third place finish at the 1976 state championships.
Norman Dean |
Curtis Alder 152 lbs |
Steve Warren 134 lbs |
Warren won a CCCAA titel in 1967
Dan Felix |
John Norris 130 lbs |
Norris won a CCCAA title for the Warriors in 1969. He continued his collegiate career at Chico State where he earned NCAA Division II All American honors twice. He was third in 1970 & fifth in 1971.
Nick Carollo HWT |
Carollo won CCCAA titles in 1965 & 1966 being named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament in 1966. The Redondo Beach high school graduate then went on to continue his career at Adams State where he won an NAIA title in 1967, making the NCAA Division I finals. He repeated at NAIA champion in 1968, going on to a successful international career that included a gold medal at the 1971 Pan-American championships.
Tom Hazell |
Hazell was a CCCAA runner-up in 1971, wining a CCCAA title in 1972. He then traveled all the way down to Oklahoma State to compete for the cowboys in his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility. He took back to back sixth place All American finishes at the NCAA Division I championships in 1973 & 1974.
He went on to a successful career on the international scene, earning a silver medal at the prestigious Tblisi tournament & a gold medal at the Pan-American championships.
His son David wrestled at Oklahoma State.
Gordon Cox 150 lbs |
Bob Martinez 126 lbs |
After finishing in fifth place in 1976, Martinez won a CCCAA title in 1977
Bill Cripps |
Cripps won back to back CCCAA titles in 1976 & 1977, being named the outstanding wrestler in 1977. He went on to compete for the sun devils of Arizona State where he was seventh in 1979 & third in 1980.
Pinto Para 158 |
Para was third in 1977 before winning a CCCAA title in 1978.
Jim Thornton 167 |
Thornton was a CCCAA runner up in 1978, winning a CCCAA title in 1979
Nelson Imamura 150 lbs |
Also a member of the Warrior football team, Imamura was third in 1979.
Dan Hatano 142 lbs |
A graduate of Palos Verdes High, Hatano was fourth in 1982, winning a CCCAA title in 1983. He then wrestled one season at Cal State Fullerton & one season as San Diego State. Switching gears to Judo, Hatano won a gold medal at the 1991 Pan-American championships.
Kelvin Colvin 177 lbs |
Darren Uyetmatsu |
Uyetmatsu won a CCCAA title in 1987. Today he runs "Out Cold" a clothing line that makes apparel & gear for MMA fighters and fans.
Josh Gormley |
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