ATHERTON, Calif. — The Jason Welch era is underway. Fans got a glimpse of the first-year head coach's revamped San Francisco State men's wrestling team and the results were positive at the Menlo Open on Saturday.

"Today was a solid first step for our team. We learned a lot, and know what we have to work on to prepare for our home opener next week versus Fresno State and Nebraska Kearney," said Welch. "In particular, Nathan Cervantez came out strong to start his season 3-0."

The Gators went 18-13 on the day, including the 3-0 performance by for Cervantez. The redshirt sophomore earned a 9-6 decision over unattached wrestler  Mikel Perales, then pinned Cuesta's CJ Fox just 33 seconds into the bout. The 133-pounder finished his perfect day with a 3-2 decision over San Joaquin Delta's Greg Viloria.

Justin Pichwedwatana finished first in his bracket at 3-1. Pichwedwatana won his first bout by injury, and after a bye, fell 8-7. The 174-pound sophomore earned a 5-4 decision in his third bout of the day and finished strong with a technical fall (16-0) over Cuesta's Christian Rouleau.

Nick Valadez dropped his first bout 8-1 but earned a 5-3 decision in his second bout of the day. The 141-pound redshirt sophomore was declared winner in his third bout due to an injury to Cuesta College's Jose Gonzalez. Four other Gators went 2-1 on the day, including heavyweight Sam Alnassiri.

The Gators will next host a pair of dual meets on Saturday, Nov. 11. They'll take on the newly revived Bulldogs of NCAA Division I Fresno State at 11 a.m., then face Division II powerhouse Nebraska Kearney at 2 p.m. The two visiting teams will also compete against one another at 12:30 p.m.

Nathan Cervantez (3-0)
Won 9-6 over Mike Perales (Unattached)
Won by fall (0:33) over CJ Fox (Cuesta)
Won 3-2 over Greg Viloria (San Joaquin Delta)

Justin Pichedwatana (3-1)
Won by injury over Bryce Decarmargo (Cal State Bakersfield)
Lost 8-7 to Anthony Orozco (Menlo)
Won 5-4 over Matt Penyacsek (Unattached)
Won by technical fall (16-0) over Christian Rouleau (Cuesta)

Sam Alnassiri (2-1)
Won by fall (0:36) over Ramon Guzman (Skyline)
Won by fall (2:25) over Antonio Ramirez (Cuesta)
Lost 4-2 to Javier Gonzalez (Menlo)

Romeo Medina-Ontiveros (2-1)
Lost 4-2 in overtime to Josh Annis (Unattached)
Won by major decision (13-5) over Jordan Bernal (Menlo)
Won by fall (1:44) over Christian Shelley (Skyline)

Kevin Henry (2-1)
Won by major decision (10-2) over Jack Huber (Cal Poly)
Lost by technical fall (16-0) to Judah Duhm (Stanford)
Won by techincal fall (19-3) over Dylan Kranich (San Joaquin Delta)

Elias Rosales (2-1)
Won 8-3 over Elliy Gorelik (Menlo)
Lost by fall (2:05) over Josh Loomer (unattached)
Won 7-6 over Hugo Plancarte (Skyline)

Nick Valadez (2-1)
Lost 8-1 to Jeremy Newman (Sierra)
Won 5-3 over Armand Molina (Unattached)
Won by injury over Jose Gonzalez (Cuesta)

Mason Boutain (1-2)
Lost 7-5 to Kevin James (Menlo)
Lost 7-3 to Jacob Thalin (Cal State Bakersfield)
Won by injury over Brandon Cardona (San Joaquin Delta)

Christian Ramos (1-2)
Lost by major decision (11-1) to Logan Eaton (Menlo)
Lost 3-1 to Robert Eredia (Cal State Bakersfield)
Won by fall (1:04) over Cody Cabanban (Menlo)

Kurtis Clem (0-3)
Lost by fall (0:41) to Muhammad Lateef (San Joaquin Delta)
Lost by injury to Christian Olivera (Unattached)
Lost by injury to Jeff Uyesaka (Menlo)