Wrestling | 1/2/2017 8:18:00 PM
FORT WAYNE, Ind.--- The San Francisco State wrestling team will face No. 1 and two-time NCAA Division II National Champion St. Cloud State in the Gators' first match at the 2017 NWCA National Duals. The Gators and Huskies will face off at 9am Easter Time at the War County Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., this Thursday, January 5.
The Gators (2-4) have not wrestled since they defeated Simpson University 41-10 on December 10. In that match, SFSU captured eight of the ten bouts including two by fall by
Joshua Villaflor at 141 and
Dylan Furtado at 149. This was their second consecutive win as the weekend before, SFSU defeated then NAIA No. 6 Southern Oregon 25-15 in Ashland, Ore.
Five of the Gators are in the top ten in the Super Region IV in their respective weight class led by
Johnathon Costa, (4-5) who is fifth at 197. Also ranked for SFSU in the region are
Landon Myers (fifth, 157),
Matt Gamble (seventh, 125),
Tyson Kuahine (seventh, 165) and
Nathan Cervantez (eighth, 133).
St. Cloud State (2-0) hasn't wrestled since December 10 either when they hosted the 2016 Holiday In/Huskies Open in which five Huskies won their respective weight classes. Returning national champion, Brett Valazquez captured the title at 133 as did Austin Goergen did at 285. Seven of the Huskies are in the top six in the nation led by Valazquez and Goergen who each are number one. Two Huskies are fifth in Clayton Jennissen (174) and Vince Dietz (197) while three are sixth in Matt Nelson (141), Larry Bumstad Jr. (157) and Gabe Fogarty (165).
After their match against St. Cloud State, the Gators will either face No. 4 McKendree or No. 9 Pitt-Johnstown at 1pm Eastern Time on Thursday. Depending on how they do in its second match, SFSU will wrestle later on Thursday evening or first thing Friday morning.
Besides participating in the NWCA National Duals, the Gators will also be sending wrestlers to Atherton, Calif., to participate in the Menlo College Invitational beginning at 9am this Saturday, January 7.
MATCH NOTES:
GATORS: San Francisco State is 2-4 in its dual season as the Gators have lost to four NCAA Division I opponents in Cal Poly (36-7), No. 27 Indiana (39-7), Cal State Bakersfield (42-3) and No. 12 Rutgers (45-0). The Gators also have participated in two invitational in the SFSU Open (which they had eight placers) and the Roadrunner Open (two placers). They picked up their first win on Dec. 2 in Ashland, Ore., a 25-15 win over Southern Oregon who was No. 6 in the nation in NAIA at the time. SFSU also defeated Simpson 41-10 on December 10 in Redding, Calif.
COACH'S QUOTES: "We're excited to returning to the National Duals," said SFSU head coach Lars Jensen. "We have a tough opener against two-time defending National Champion, St. Cloud State. We are looking forward to wrestling the best competition in Division Two."
FOUR OF HIS LAST FIVE: Mitchell Owens has won four of his last five matches with three of his wins being by fall including his win over Southern Oregon's Max Hane in 6:26. His other two wins were at 0:35 over Cal Poly's Mitch Woods and at 0:39 over Purdeu's Blake Reid, both at the Roadrunner Open.
8 PLACERS: San Francisco State had seven placers in the SFSU Open on November 6.
Mitchell Owens led the way with his runner-up finish at 184. The Gators had three third place finishers at
Thomas Turcol (149),
Landon Myers (157) and
Mike Marshal (184). They also had four fourth place finishers at
Christian Ramos (125), Josh Villaflor (133),
Jesse Lyga (165) and
Morris Wilner (184).
TWO MORE PLACERS: The Gators had two more placers at the Roadrunner Open in
Johnathon Costa and
Matt Gamble. Costa placed fourth and Gamble sixth.
LAST TIME: SFSU defeated Simpson on December 10 in Redding as the Gators captured wins at eight of the ten bouts including two by fall by
Joshua Villaflor (141) and
Dylan Furtado (149).
.500 OR BETTER: Seven Gators have recorded .500 records or better this season led by
Mitchell Owens at 7-6.
Nathan Cervantez is 5-4 as
Joshua Villaflor. Four Gators are .500 in
Matt Gamble (6-6),
Tyson Kuahine (4-4),
Christian Ramos (4-4) and
Thomas Turcol (144).
WINS BY FALL: Nine Gators have recorded at least one win by fall this season led by
Mitchell Owens with four.
Landon Myers has with three while Josh Villaflor and
Landon Myers each have three.
Dylan Furtado and
Matt Gamble each have two wins by fall. Three grapplers have recorded one win by fall in
Jesse Lyga, Romeo Medina and
Thomas Turcol.
53 AND COUNTING: The Gators are looking to extend their streak to 54 of qualifying a wrestler for the NCAA Division II National Championships. This year's Championships are set for March 10-11 in Birmingham, Ala. The last time the Nationals were held in Alabama, the Gators finished in 10
th place. Naveed Bagheri was a National Champion at 141 and current assistant coach, Isaiah Jimenez placed fifth at 165 to earn All-American honors.
NATIONAL DUALS: 13 of the top 20 teams in the nation will be participating in the National Duals this Thursday and Friday, January 5 and 6 including the top seven teams in St. Cloud State, Maryville, Notre Dame College, McKendree, Nebraska-Kearney, Mercyhurst and Upper Iowa.
UP NEXT: After this weekend, the Gators will return to the mat on Saturday, January 14 in Kearney, Neb., as they will participate in the UNK Midwest Duals.
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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
