REDDING, Calif. — November 1, 2025

The Fresno State NCWA Wrestling team opened its 2025–26 season at the Simpson Duals, hosted by Simpson University at Shasta High School. With several new faces making their Bulldog debuts, both the men’s and women’s squads took to the mats for their first competition of the year.

On the men’s side, Fresno State traveled with a limited roster due to early-season injuries but was able to fill out the lineup by merging with fellow NCWA West Coast Conference member San Jose State for the event. Despite the challenges, the Bulldogs put together several gritty performances across four duals, highlighted by Emmanuel Plascencia’s two falls on the day at 141 lbs. Plascencia earned pins over opponents from Sacramento City, and Santa Rosa, rebounding from his first round loss.

Head Coach Jovany Gonzalez was encouraged by what he saw early in the season:

“The event was great to get some mat time in. We got to kick the cobwebs off and get the nerves out early against non-division opponents,” Gonzalez said. “The biggest thing I kept telling my wrestlers was, ‘these duals are more for me to learn about you and your habits than it is about winning a dual meet.’ With these matches being non-division opponents, these early-season losses won’t hurt us.”

“Though the final results would seem to say otherwise, the bouts started highly competitive,” Gonzalez added. “These guys are entering their third month of in-season competition while we barely wrapped up three weeks. The conditioning difference was definitely a huge factor. We’ve got four months to go and plenty of time to get there.”

On the women’s side, Fresno State faced Simpson University in a dual that featured several exciting bouts. Jocelynn Benitez opened the season in dominant fashion with a 10-0 technical fall over Alexis Heredia at 103 lbs, while Jazmin Kumler added another Bulldog win with a first-period pin over Hailey Jade Omoso at 131 lbs.

Jasmin Ruiz also picked up a forfeit victory at 117 lbs to round out Fresno State’s scoring in the 22–15 dual loss to Simpson. The women then squared off in a set of exhibition matches against Sacramento State, highlighted by another fall from Kumler at 131 lbs.

men's Recap

MEN’S DUAL RESULTS

Pool A – Day 1
RD1 – Menlo College NCWA (B) 33, Fresno State 24
RD2 – Sacramento City 44, Fresno State 9
RD3 – Shasta 33, Fresno State 18
RD4 – Santa Rosa 39, Fresno State 10

MEN’S LINEUP

125lbs – Open
133lbs – Open
141lbs – Emmanuel Plascencia
149lbs – Zavian Barrios
157lbs – Open
165lbs – Erik Gutierrez
174lbs – Open
184lbs – Open
197lbs – Open
285lbs – John Pegorari

Women's Recap

Simpson University 22, Fresno State 15

103lbs - Jocelynn Benitez (FS) over Alexis Heredia (SU) (Tech Fall 10-0)
110lbs - Jacqueline Plascencia (SU) over Fresno State (Forfeit)
117lbs - Jasmin Ruiz (FS) over Simpson University (Forfeit)
124lbs - Clarissa Cabrera (SU) over Fresno State (Forfeit)
131lbs - Jazmin Kumler (FS) over Hailey Jade Omoso (Fall)
138lbs - Sage O'Toole (SU) over Fresno State (Forfeit)
145lbs - Maisen Vesco (SU) over Gabriela Flores (FS) (Decision 8-4)
165lbs - Both Open
180lbs - Teri Wright (SU) over Fresno State (Forfeit)
207lbs - Briana Araujo-Batista (SU) over Sherleen Lainez (FS) (Decision 10-0)

Exhibition bouts vs. Sacramento State
117lbs - Arreeya Phasook (SS) over Jasmin Ruiz (FS) (Fall)
131lbs - Jazmin Kumler (FS) over Priyanka Tandel (SS) (Fall)
145lbs - Alondra Paredes Ramirez (SS) over Angelique Huerta-Alvarado (FS) (Fall)
160lbs - Aaliyah Rios (SS) over Gabriela Flores (FS) (Fall)