SAN FRANCISCO – The 20^th-ranked San Francisco State wrestling team experienced mixed results in a pair of home dual meets on Friday in the Main Gymnasium. The Gators (7-5, 2-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) began the day with a narrow 19-18 loss to No. 13 Chadron State (5-3, 3-0 RMAC) in league action before dispatching non-conference foe Cal Baptist (7-13) in the nightcap, 22-18.

 

SF State jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the opener against the Eagles, winning four of the first five bouts. Naveed Bagheri (Los Gatos, California, Los Gatos, West Valley Junior College) got things rolling for the Gators, with a victory by technical fall against Ryan Zavala at 133 pounds. Shortly thereafter, Joaquin Carlos (San Jose, California, Archbishop Mitty, Cal State Fullerton )notched a 12-0 major decision over Brian Easterling at 149, while Markham Bertron (San Jose, California, Oak Grove, West Valley Junior College) claimed a 5-0 decision over Phil Bullington at 157. Zach Sesar (Vacaville, California, Vacaville) soon followed with a hard-fought 7-6 triumph over Bryan Irwin at 165, giving SF State a 12-point cushion.

 

However, Chadron State came storming back with four straight wins to take a 19-15 lead it would not relinquish. The Eagles went ahead for good at 16-15 after Vincent Bordi (Manteca, California, Manteca) dropped a 15-4 major decision to top-ranked Josh Majerus at 197, while Steve Franklin saw his five-match winning streak snapped at the hands of Shaine Odell in the heavyweight class, 11-7.

 

The Gators netted three points in the final bout at 125 to provide the final score, with No. 1 Curtis Schurkamp outlasting fifth-ranked Devlon Webb, 1-0, in a battle of nationally ranked wrestlers.

 

Against Cal Baptist, Ben Lockett (San Francisco, California, George Washington) put the SF State on board, earning a technical fall against Andrew Collins at 141, while Carlos posted his second win of the day with a 12-7 decision over Ethan Hall at 149, putting the Gators up by an 8-6 margin.

 

The two teams split the next four matches with Sesar (165) and Marques Gales (Fairfield, California, Armijo, Santa Rosa) (184) earning victories. Sesar pulled away in the third period for a 6-2 triumph over Russell Delmar, while Gales knocked off C.J. Knowland, 11-4, putting the home team up to stay at 14-12.

 

SF State then put the match out of reach as Bordi (197) and Franklin (285) each recorded major decisions in their respective classes. Bordi prevailed by a 14-4 count over Vince Pezzuto, while Franklin handed Dylan Berg a 13-1 defeat. In the last bout of the day at 125, Schurkamp suffered an injury default in the second period to account for the final score.

 

The Gators will be back in action on Saturday when they play  host to the 2009 California Collegiate Invitational beginning at 9 a.m. in the Main Gymnasium.