Ghukasyan (17-1) entered last weekend's Eastern Division Championships unknown and unranked with his highest accolade, outside of a league title at 160 pounds, coming when he won the Jim Bauer Palmdale Tournament.
Yet, the third-seeded Ghukasyan earned his way into the championship with three victories, including a 5-2 semifinal upset win over second-seeded Mark Aceval, who entered the tournament ranked 39th in state.
The triumph set up a 160-pound championship bout for Ghukasyan versus then 14th-ranked senior Michael Lopez of Victory Valley.
Lopez jumped out to a 5-2 advantage, but Ghukasyan rallied to within 9-7 before executing a judo toss of Lopez, the Desert Sky League champion, with under a minute left in the third round. While the maneuver worked, the thinking behind the toss was flawed as Ghukasyan hesitated ever so slightly after Lopez hit the mat.
Just as Ghukasyan was about to flip Lopez for a takedown and potentially a pin, Lopez rebounded with a reversal and landed his own fall at 5:28 to secure the championship.
"I've had some time to think about what happened and I confused my judo and wrestling moves," Ghukasyan said. "In judo, you automatically win when you toss your opponent and I stopped when I should have went for the pin.
"That stop gave him a chance to recover and I missed my chance at a pin."
Despite being his school's first-ever qualifier to the Masters Meet, Ghukasyan was nearly inconsolable Saturday evening.
"It was tough for him," Tornadoes Coach Dave Beard said. "We all thought he was going to win after he tossed [Lopez]. He had worked so hard to have that opportunity and it was really tough to convince him that he still did great."
