Author’s Note: This is the fifth article in an ongoing series highlighting the wrestling history of the community where I grew up. Over the course of this project, I have covered the area’s state-level impact decade by decade, breaking down the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 2010s, and 2020s.

If the 2000s were about quiet rumblings and deep-rooted resilience, the 2010s were an absolute seismic explosion for Southeast Los Angeles and Gateway Cities wrestling. This decade didn’t just maintain the region’s blue-collar pedigree—it launched local athletes onto the national and international stage on a scale never before seen.

The story of the 2010s is defined by two massive narratives: Santa Fe’s legendary final hurrahs anchored by an all-time great, and the full, terrifying awakening of the St. John Bosco juggernaut, which evolved from a sleeping giant into a perennial state and national powerhouse.

The Dawn of the Decade and Santa Fe’s Last Lion

The decade opened with the echoes of Chief supremacy still ringing across the section. In 2010, Santa Fe’s Joey Davis planted his flag with a stellar 2nd-place finish at 135 pounds, alongside Alhambra’s Abel Avila taking 7th at 140 pounds.

The following year, in 2011, Davis returned to conquer the mountain, capturing the state title at 152 pounds. But Davis wasn’t done writing history. In 2012, he cemented his legendary status by capturing his second consecutive state crown, taking 1st at 160 pounds. That same historic weekend, Downey’s Robert Chism muscled his way to a 5th-place finish at 285 pounds—becoming the Vikings’ first state placer since Dave Katzenmeyer all the way back in 1975.

The Bosco Blitzkrieg Begins

While Santa Fe proudly carried the torch of the old guard into the early 2010s, a storm was gathering in Bellflower. St. John Bosco had shaken off decades of postseason quietness, and by 2012, the Braves served notice to the entire state.

In 2012, a pair of freshman phenoms named Zahid and Anthony Valencia announced their arrival. Zahid captured the 106-pound state title, while Anthony took gold at 126 pounds. Combined with Joey Davis’s swan song, the region felt a shifting of tectonic plates. Powered by the Valencia brothers, St. John Bosco crashed the state team standings, finishing 7th overall.

The momentum turned into an avalanche in 2013. Zahid Valencia fought to 3rd at 113 pounds, Aaron Pico captured gold at 132 pounds, and Anthony Valencia took 2nd at 145 pounds, propelling the Braves to a stellar 4th-place team finish in the state.

In 2014, the machine kept rolling. Zahid Valencia claimed another state title at 132 pounds, Joseph Dominguez took 6th at 138 pounds, and Anthony Valencia climbed back to the top of the podium with a gold at 170 pounds, lifting the Braves to 6th place as a team.

Dynastic Dominance: The 2015 Peak

If there was a single year that encapsulated the terrifying depth of the Bosco room, it was 2015. The Braves put on a masterclass that left the California wrestling community in awe.

Cade Oliva kicked things off by claiming the 106-pound state title as a freshman, finishing the season undefeated. (It remains a legendary “what-if” in local lore that injuries derailed what looked like a guaranteed four-time state championship trajectory; notably, the opponent Oliva defeated in that freshman final went on to become an All-American at the University of Nebraska).

To cap it off, Anthony Valencia won gold at 170 pounds, Zahid Valencia dominated his way to a state title at 182 pounds, and Danny Salas added a 7th-place finish at 195 pounds. The Braves secured 5th place as a team, solidifying their status as an elite powerhouse.

Resilience Across the Corridor

While Bosco commanded headlines, the rest of the corridor continued to grind out elite individual excellence.

In 2016, Mayfair’s Justin Pichedwatana battled to a 4th-place finish at 160 pounds, while Bosco’s Danny Salas returned to take 6th at 195 pounds.

The Gateway corridor struck gold again in 2017. Downey’s Jonathan Prata captured a state championship at 106 pounds, Jesse Vasquez brought home gold for Bosco at 113 pounds, and Danny Salas capped his stellar career with a 4th-place finish at 195 pounds.

The 2018 state tournament proved to be a massive corridor-wide showcase:

Downey: Jonathan Prata returned to the podium, taking 3rd at 106 pounds.

St. John Bosco: Antonio Lorenzo (3rd at 113), Christian Nunez (7th at 120), Cleveland Belton (1st at 126), and Sonny Santiago (6th at 138) formed an unstoppable lower-to-middle-weight wave.

Lakewood: Randy Gonzalez Jr. muscled his way to a 3rd-place finish at 215 pounds—marking Lakewood High’s first state placer since Ray Gulmatico back in 1981.

Closing Out the Decade

The 2010s ended in 2019 with another masterclass by St. John Bosco. The Braves placed 5th as a team, backed by a ferocious lineup of state placers: Antonio Lorenzo took 4th at 120 pounds, Cael Valencia took 2nd at 145 pounds, Sonny Santiago captured gold at 152 pounds, Louis Rojas took 6th at 160 pounds, and Nathan Haas claimed a state title at 182 pounds.

By the time the calendar flipped to 2020, the Southeast Los Angeles and Gateway Cities wrestling community had completely redefined its legacy. From the gritty, hard-nosed dual-meet wars of Santa Fe to the staggering, national-caliber output of St. John Bosco and the clutch resurgences of schools like Downey and Lakewood, the region had proven that its iron was unbreakable—and the best was still yet to come.