SAN FRANCISCO — The No. 19 San Francisco State wrestling team came up short on Thursday evening, 18-16, to Menlo.

With the dual starting at 184 lb., Menlo got the early jump on the Gators with a win by Mathias Collins and a tech fall by 197-lb. Diego Morales. However, the Gators stormed ahead heavyweight Felipe De Matos energized the crowd inside the San Francisco Federal Credit Union Gymnasium with a 4-1 victory. At 125 lb., Hayden Ancheta secured a 7-3 victory to pull the Gators within two points. Zach Wright secured the major decision at 133 lb. to put the Gators up 11-8 and No. 2 Johnny Lopez built the lead to five with a 5-1 win. The Gators dropped a close one at 149 lb. as senior Andre Dargani came up just short, 5-4. In a pivotal 157-lb. bout and with both fan bases cheering on their grapplers in the final seconds of the third period, senior Basil Othman came away with a narrow 12-10 win over Ezekiel Lara. Senior Kyle Botleho couldn't get anything going against his opponent at 165 lb. as Kanaipono Tapia kept the Oaks in contention with a 6-1 decision. It all came down to the 174 lb. bout between Julian Barajas and Isaiah Morales. After a scoreless first period, Morales used three takedowns in the second period and another in the third to secure major decision and the bout for the visiting Oaks.

Halfway through the match, the Gators honored their ten seniors: Kyle Botelho, Brayden Concepcion, Andre Dargani, Laith Gilmore, Kweli Hernandez-Maitre, Josiah Hurd, Kydyn Lima, Zane Stoddard, and Zach Wright.

Up Next

The Gators will next compete at the NCAA Division II Super Regional VI on February 28, hosted by Colorado School of Mines. A top-three finish will punch a ticket to Nationals. The event will be broadcast on FloWrestling and brackets will be available on TrackWrestling.com.