Wrestling: Schmidt second-place finish leads Rio Hondo at Santa Ana

(Left-Right) Marco Valdivia, James Schmidt, and Ronny Peraza all placed at the Santa Ana College Tournament
(Left-Right) Marco Valdivia, James Schmidt, and Ronny Peraza all placed at the Santa Ana College Tournament

Rio Hondo's James Schmidt took home second place at 157 pounds while Marco Valdivia and Ronny Peraza finished among the top six in their weight classes to lead the Roadrunners at the Santa Ana College Tournament on Saturday. As a squad, Rio Hondo totaled 41 points to finish in eighth place out of 24 teams.

Schmidt picked up three wins on his way to the 157 final. He pinned Tomas Landeros of Sacramento City in his first match, beat Dylan Crawford of Sac City 11-7 in the quarterfinals, and defeated Joseph Valdez 13-5 in the semis to advance to the championship match. But he was edged 3-2 by Cerritos' Wyatt Gerl in the final to earn a silver medal.

Valdivia advance to the heavyweight semifinals with two victories before losing in the consolation semis while Peraza won a pair of matches in the 165-pound consolation bracket before falling in the semifinals as well.

"The team wrestled very well despite missing some of our starters," said Rio Hondo head coach Mike Tellez.

Rio Hondo is back in action on Wednesday (Oct. 4) when its hosts East Los Angeles College in a 7 p.m. dual match in Whittier.