HOUSTON – A total of four San Francisco State wrestlers survived the second session of competition at the 2009 NCAA Division II Championships Friday evening in Houston, Texas.
Leading the way for the Gators was
Naveed Bagheri (Los Gatos, California, Los Gatos, West Valley Junior College) who earned a spot in the championship semifinals with a 15-10 decision over Scott Berens of Central Oklahoma in the 133-pound quarterfinals. Bagheri, who garnered Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors, broke open a tight match with eight points in the third period to pull away for the victory and will take on Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Shane Valko in the semifinals on Saturday.
At 125,
Curtis Schurkamp (Escalon, California, Escalon, Cal State Fullerton) rebounded from 10-6 quarterfinal loss to Matt Oliver of Newberry with an 8-6 decision over Northern State's Corbin Surat in the consolation bracket. Schurkamp, ranked No. 1 nationally in his weight class entering the tournament, rallied with three takedowns in the final period and will square off against Andy Forstner of Minnesota State-Mankato in the third round of consolation.
After dropping his opening bout in the main bracket,
Ben Lockett (San Francisco, California, George Washington)stayed alive with two wins in the consolation draw.
The SF State junior began the evening session with a tough 4-2 decision over Central Oklahoma's Colby Robinson before posting a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over Jeremy Parker of Limestone College, keyed by a pair of third-period takedowns. Lockett, who entered this weekend's finals with a No. 8 ranking, will battle Augustana's Jay Sherer in his next bout on Saturday.
Also advancing to third-round competition in the consolation bracket is heavyweight
Steve Franklin (Middletown, California, Middletown, Santa Rosa), who lost by fall in the main draw quarterfinals to Cy Wainwright of Newberry before turning the tables with a pin of New Mexico Highlands' Jesse Boggs at 2:55 in his first consolation match. Franklin will take on Anthony Lewis of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday.
With their performances on Friday, Bagheri, Schurkamp, Lockett and Franklin have assured themselves of All-America status, giving the program a total of 81 such honorees in school history and 55 during head coach
Lars Jensen's 26-year tenure. The top eight finishers in each weight receive All-America distinction.
Meanwhile,
Marques Gales' (Fairfield, California, Armijo, Santa Rosa) career as Gator came to a disappointing end Friday as the SF State senior was eliminated from the consolation bracket with an 8-0 defeat at the hands of Upper Iowa's Tony Gehling.
As a team, the Gators are currently in 14th place with 23 points, while Nebraska-Omaha sits comfortably atop the standings with 76.5 points, followed by Newberry (42.5 pts.) and Nebraska-Kearney (42.0 pts).
The NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships continue with session three action on Saturday, March 14, starting at 10 a.m. CDT in the University of Houston's Campus Recreation Center. Live scoring and web stream links are available on the wrestling page of SFStateGators.com.
2009 NCAA Division II Championships
Sessions 1 & 2
SF State Results
Won by decision over Matthew Rein (Nebraska-Omaha), 8-5
Lost by decision to Matt Oliver (Newberry), 10-6
Consolation: won by decision over Corbin Surat (Northern State), 8-6
Won by decision over Nick Wykoff (West Liberty State), 7-2
Won by decision over Scott Berens (Central Oklahoma), 15-10
Lost by decision to Steven Baker (Upper Iowa), 5-3
Consolation: Won by decision over Colby Robinson (Central Oklahoma), 4-2
Consolation: Won by decision over Jeremy Parker (Limestone), 10-8
Lost by decision to Mitch Knapp (West Liberty State), 5-3
Consolation: Lost by major decision to Tony Gehling (Upper Iowa), 8-0
Won by decision over Travis Clark (Findlay), 10-4
Lost by fall to Cy Wainwright (Newberry), 1:33
