LOS ANGELES — Birmingham girls wrestler Avy Perez pinned each of her three of her opponents at the CIF L.A. City Section champions in 36 seconds or less.
“It was exciting because it’s my last City,” the senior said. “I got to have all my family together and all come here. I wanted to put on a little show.”
Perez was one of 10 Birmingham wrestlers between the girls and boys teams to win a City Section title at the championships, which were held at Roybal Learning Center on Saturday night.
All boys wrestlers who placed first in their weight class and all girls wrestlers who were either first or second in their weight class will advance to the CIF State championships, which will be held from Feb. 17 through March 1 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.
The sheer volume of talent at Birmingham makes it easy to train for tournaments like the City Section finals and set sights on even an even bigger prize at the CIF State tournament. One of Perez’s training partners is Henry Aslikyan, who won a City Section title at 113 pounds.
“He beats me up really good,” Perez, who will go on to wrestler at William Penn University, said with a laugh. “He makes my confidence go down a level but it benefits me in a real tournament, a real hard tournament. I’m like, if I could get a take down on him, I could get a takedown on anyone.”
Both wrestlers are highly likely to reach the podium at the state tournament. Perez finished fifth last season and Aslikyan, a Michigan commit, became the City Section’s first state champion by winning the 106-pound weight bracket.
“Making history, that’s the goal,” Aslikyan said.
Aslikyan is the state’s No. 2 wrestler in the 113-pound weight class according to the California Wrestler rankings. He won first place in the Downey 32-Way, Mira Mesa Marauder and Upland Blackwatch tournaments this season and had a productive offseason at the U17 World Championships and U17 US Open Freestyle championships.
Having fun is still important to the junior, and that’s exactly what he did at the City Section championships.
“I love the sport, so I just go out there and enjoy it,” he said. “Whatever I feel in a moment, I just do it. And then it’s just there.”
More City Section champions:
Boys
113 Henry Aslikyan, Birmingham
126 Arno Vardanyan, Birmingham
132 John Alvarez, San Fernando
138 Lincoln McClenahan, Granada Hills
144 Arman Arutiunian, Birmingham
150 Gregory Torosian, Birmingham
157 Chukwuenek Ohiaeri, El Camino Real
165 Slava Shabazyan, Birmingham
190 Daniel Antikyan, Granada Hills
Girls
100 Marlene Garcia, Birmingham
105 Avy Perez, Birmingham
110 Delilah Barragan, Birmingham
125 Chrystal Benavidez, San Fernando
135 Diana Barone, Birmingham
140 Adelaida Fernandez, Birmingham
145 Perla Villegas, San Fernando
155 Maya Magana, Granada Hills