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Lathrop’s Ceja-Ramirez locks down Gaines invite crown
Rod Gaines Invitational
Lathrop’s Damian Ceja-Ramirez has Samuel Miller of Mountain House locked up in a double armbar during their semifinal match in the Rod Gaines Invitational on Saturday. COURTESY PHOTO

Damian Ceja-Ramirez made it to the title round the hard way Saturday during the 9th annual Rod Gaines Invitational at Tokay High in Lodi.

Then the Lathrop senior dominated to win first place in the 157-pound division.

Ceja-Ramirez was well ahead 13-1 against Calvaeras’ Riley Arias before finishing him off with a pin in 2 minutes, 33 seconds. He was one of nine area grapplers to earn top-six awards.

After a first-round bye, Ceja-Ramirez went 4-0 en route to the championship. In the quarterfinals, he trailed 4-1 in the second round before pinning West’s Hamza Hamid in 2:54. He then faced Mountain House’s Samuel Miller, who led 10-2 after the first period before Ceja-Ramirez rallied for a dramatic decision win, 18-12.

Rod Gaines Invitational
Lathrop’s Avner Faaliga, far right, placed fifth in the heavyweight division during the Rod Gaines Invitational on Saturday. Sierra’s Aaron Sevilla, far left, took fifth. COURTESY PHOTO
Fellow Spartan Avner Faaliga placed fifth at 285 pounds, stopping Sierra’s Aaron Sevilla in 4 minutes after scoring the first seven points.

East Union’s Tyler Bogle went 4-1 in the 150-pound division, ending with a 10-4 decision over West’s Joshua Rodriguez for third place. Brandon Nakham of Manteca took fourth at 138.

Jonathan Morimoto spearheaded five Sierra medalists with a fourth-place finish at 106. Luis Gonzalez (132), Christian Anaya (165) and Jacob Tripp (175) all took sixth.