SAN FRANCISCO -  In its final two home dual meets of the 2009-10 campaign, the 18^th-ranked San Francisco State wrestling team  dropped a pair of tough decisions on Friday, falling to Division I Cal State Bakersfield, 25-15, before suffering a 17-15 setback at the hands of Cal Baptist, which entered the week with a No. 7 ranking in the latest NAIA poll. With the results, the Gators dip to 4-8 on the season in dual-meet competition, the Roadrunners move to 5-5, while the Lancers raise their record to 10-4 overall.

 

Despite the 10-point margin in the opener against CSUB, SF State captured four bouts and came up short in three others by a combined five points. However, the Gators experienced two early pins, falling behind 19-0 after the first four encounters of the afternoon.

 

After Steve Franklin (Middletown, Calif., Middletown HS, Santa Rosa JC) got the Gators on the scoreboard with a 7-3 decision over David Morgan in the heavyweight division, the Runners promptly responded with a win at 125 to restore their 19-point cushion at 22-3. Shortly thereafter, SF State mounted a rally as Naveed Bagheri (Los Gatos, Calif., Los Gatos HS, West Valley College) received a forfeit at 133, Ben Lockett (San Francisco, Calif., George Washington HS) posted a 16-6 major decision over Erik Martinez at 141, while Joshua Nolan (Quincy, Calif., Quincy HS) squeaked past John Cardenas by a 3-2 count at 149 to bring the host school to within seven at 22-15. However, the deficit proved too large to overcome as CSUB added a victory at 157 to provide for the final score.

 

In the nightcap, the Gators and Cal Baptist each posted five wins, but SF State was unable to counter the Lancers' major decisions at 125 and 149 in the two-point loss.

 

The Gators also got off to another slow start as Cal Baptist built a 9-0 advantage on the strength of three straight victories at 165, 174 and 184. Vince Bordi broke the SF State drought with a 9-3 decision over David Dill at 197, while Franklin notched his team-leading 20^th win with a 7-0 shutout of Dylan Berg in the heavyweight class to narrow the gap to 9-6.

 

The Gator momentum was briefly interrupted as the Lancers' Sam Fragoza registered a key 16-8 triumph at 125, putting the visitors up 13-6. Moments later, Bagheri got the home team rolling once again with a 2-0 blanking of Chauncey Phillips at 133, earning a first-period takedown en route to his 15^th consecutive victory, while Lockett pulled away for a 9-4 decision over Johnny Rojas at 141, which trimmed the deficit to one at 13-12.

 

SF State was unable to gain the upper hand, however, as Benny Garcia's 12-4 major decision at 149 put Cal Baptist in the driver's seat at 17-12. Then in the final bout of the day, Isaiah Jimenez (Chualar, Calif., Palma HS) posted a 4-0 decision over Nikko Cataline at 157 to account for the 17-15 outcome.

 

Prior to their tilt with the Lancers, the Gators recognized their eight seniors, Markham Bertron (San Jose, Calif., Oak Grove HS, West Valley College), Vince Bordi, Lucas Duckwall (Santa Cruz, Calif., Harbor HS, West Valley College), Steve Franklin, Ben Lockett, Jamil Smart (Pittsburg, Calif., Concord HS), Aaron Wilson (Half Moon Bay, Calif., Half Moon Bay HS, Cal State Fullerton) and Ian Wrenn (Truckee, Calif., Truckee HS, Marion Military Institute) in a pre-match ceremony.

 

SF State will be back in action on Saturday when it plays host to the 34^th Annual California Collegiate Invitational in the Main Gymnasium. A total of 12 schools will be represented at the tournament, which is slated to get underway at 9 a.m.

 

165 – Joey Granata (B) fall Ian Wrenn (SF State), 4:48
174 – Trevor Hall (B) fall Markham Bertron (SF State), 1:08
184 – Mike Larson (B) dec. Zach Jimenez (SF State), 3-2
197 – Riley Orozco (B) maj. dec. Vince Bordi (SF State), 11-3
285 – Steve Franklin (SF State) dec. David Morgan (B), 7-3

125 – Michael Comparan (B) dec. Ricky Bernal (SF State), 6-4

133 – Naveed Bagheri (SF State) won by forfeit
141 – Ben Lockett (SF State) maj. dec. Erik Martinez (B), 16-6
149 – Josh Nolan (SF State) dec. John Cardenas (B), 3-2
157 – Andrew Balch (B) dec. Isaiah Jimenez (SF State), 2-0

165 – Adrian Gonzales (M) dec. David Razo (CBU), 7-4

174 – C.J. Knowland (CBU) dec. Sean Weeks (M), 10-6
184 – Enock Francois (CBU) received forfeit
197 – Michael Grijalba (CBU) dec. Hanna Malak (M), 5-3
285 – Alex Evers (CBU) received forfeit

125 – Jason Moorehouse (M) dec. Sam Fragoza (CBU), 12-7

133 – Chauncey Philipps (CBU) fall Drake Medeiros (M), 2:45
141 – Johnny Rojas (CBU) received forfeit
149 – Benny Garcia (CBU) dec. Cody Gibson (M), 2-1 SV
157 – Nikko Cataline (CBU) fall Travis Olson (M), 1:23

165 – Preston Brown (CBU) dec. Ian Wrenn (SF State), 7-0
174 – Lamar Reed (CBU) dec. Gene Choi (SF State), 3-2
184 – Enock Francois (CBU) dec. Zach Jimenez (SF State), 7-3
197 – Vince Bordi (SF State) dec. David Dill (CBU), 9-3
285 – Steve Franklin (SF State) dec. Dylan Berg (CBU), 7-0

125 – Sam Fragoza (CBU) maj. dec. Pierre Bondoc (SF State), 16-8

133 – Naveed Bagheri (SF State) dec. Chauncey Philipps (CBU), 2-0
141 – Ben Lockett (SF State) dec. Johnny Rojas (CBU), 9-4
149 – Benny Garcia (CBU) maj. dec. Josh Nolan (SF State), 12-4