Fresno City College Wrestling on a Mission to go for a Three-Peat

Hearing the term “Number one in the state” has a good ring to it, but it sounds even better knowing that its Fresno City College’s own wrestling team.

Lead by 2017 Coach of the Year Paul Keysaw and Assistant Coach of the Year George Moreno, this year’s team sets off to earn a three-peat as state champions after winning it in back to back years. Winning the state title wasn’t the only thing they achieved though. Many other achievements came with the number one spot including eight 2017 All-American honors, winning the Team Dual State Championship, being honored with a proclamation by the City of Fresno, and seeing two wrestlers sign to four-year universities. Dylan Martinez, a two-time state champion, signed with the University of Minnesota and Brandon Bettancourt signed with St. Cloud University, with each university ranking top 10 in wrestling in each of their divisions.

2017 was a perfect season as the team went 11-0 in the season and clinched the California Community College state championship in quick fashion by scoring 184 points in the individual rounds before the final team rounds even began. Winning the CCCAA Team Dual State Championship would be a little more challenging with the Rams facing the #2 team in the state who had defeated them the year before in Cerritos College. The tournament went back and forth in points before FCC eventually came out on top by a final score of 28-11.

Although the expectations may be high and they’re the team to beat, Coach Keysaw sees it as a motivator to push his athletes to greater heights. He explains that, “We know that there’s a lot of teams out there who do not want us to win that and so we’re use to that and we revel in that, we like that”. Along with watching his wrestlers work on their craft to become repeat champs Coach Keysaw also works to grow as he says that, “Part of my job is to get better and challenge myself to get outside of the box and bring new ideas…”

If you want to show your support the Fresno City wrestling team will host their fifth annual Fresno Wrestling Hall of Fame Casino Night on October 27th in the Old Administration Building courtyard. For more information contact the FCC Athletic Department.