ASHLAND, Ore. — The San Francisco State men's wrestling team was edged 25-24 in a close match at Southern Oregon on Saturday at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Raiders, ranked No. 15 in the NAIA, struck first. Francisco Barrera defeated No. 9
Brandon Vu at 125 pounds in a narrow 3-0 bout. The Gators went ahead on a forfeit at 133 pounds, then No. 10
Jordan Gurrola earned a major decision over Zack Wigzell at 141 pounds. At 149 pounds,
Isiah Alva recorded his fourth pin of the season, which extended the team lead to 13.
Southern Oregon's Chandler Michael, the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the NAIA at 149 pounds, moved to 11-0 on the season with a win at 157 pounds over
Romeo Medina-Ontiveros. The Gators forfeited at 165 pounds, which cut the lead to 16-15.
Kurtis Clem picked up his third win of the season with a technical fall over Cody Stahl. At 184 pounds,
Justin Pichedwatana moved to 5-4 and won his third straight with a 7-2 decision over CJ McKinnis, who entered as the No. 12 wrestler in the NAIA and fell to 9-2 with the loss.
The match got away from the Gators in the final two bouts, where
Andrew Herrera suffered a major decision to No. 4 Tanner Fischer and heavyweight
Antonio Gomez was pinned by Max Hane.
The Golden Gators close out 2018 with a 1-5 record. They'll look to get back on track in 2019 beginning with a pair of matches on Friday, January 4 at home versus Minnesota State Moorhead and Colorado Mesa. Those two teams will face off with one another at noon, then the Gators will take on Minnesota State Moorhead at 2 p.m. and Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m. Live video and stats will be provided, and be sure to check for updates on Twitter at @sfstatewrestle.
