Bulldogs Qualify Five for NCWA National Championships
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — February 29, 2020
The Fresno State Wrestling Club opened postseason competition at the NCWA West Coast Conference Championships, hosted at Valley High School in Las Vegas.
The Bulldogs competed against a strong conference field that included UNLV, Ottawa University, Dixie State, Cal Poly Wrestling Club, USC, Colorado State, UC Santa Barbara, Merced College, Sacramento State, UCLA, Arizona, and Santa Rosa Junior College. Fresno State finished ninth in the team standings while qualifying five wrestlers for the NCWA National Championships.
Leading the way for Fresno State was heavyweight Riley Budd, who placed third at 285 pounds. Sadaqut Zamani battled back to finish fifth at 157 pounds, while Gurleen Chahal and Iraiz Rodriguez each earned third-place finishes in the women's division. Domenic Garcia also received a National Championship wild card at 149 pounds.
Tournament Recap
149 lbs — Domenic Garcia (National Qualifier – Wild Card)
Garcia opened the tournament with an 11-5 decision over Saul Murillo (Arizona). He was edged by Ben Triana (UNLV) in the quarterfinals before his tournament came to an end following a disqualification against teammate Isaac Warf. Garcia later received a National Championship wild card.
149 lbs — Isaac Warf
Warf dropped his opening-round match to Cole Waskey (Colorado State) before receiving a consolation bye. He advanced after defeating teammate Domenic Garcia by disqualification but was later eliminated by Matthew Garcia (Cal Poly) and Quinn McCarthy (USC).
157 lbs — Sadaqut Zamani (5th Place, National Qualifier)
Zamani fell to Adolfo Delacruz (Sacramento State) in the quarterfinals before battling back with an injury default victory over Dylan Landre (Ottawa). After falling to Elias Edmondson (UNLV) in the consolation semifinals, Zamani closed the tournament with a fall over Joaquin Bratton-Benfield (USC) to earn fifth place and qualify for the National Championships.
174 lbs — Elyus Murrietta
Murrietta received an opening-round bye before falling to Jacob Fernandez (Merced College). He received a consolation bye, then was eliminated by Tommy Wachtell (USC) and Juan Flores (Arizona).
285 lbs — Riley Budd (3rd Place, National Qualifier)
Budd opened with a fall over Timothy Wysocki (Ottawa) before dropping a 3-0 decision to Jantsen Manis (Dixie State). He responded with consecutive falls over Aaron Gutman (UC Santa Barbara) and Kyle Gossard (Dixie State) to finish third and qualify for Nationals.
130 lbs — Gurleen Chahal (3rd Place, National Qualifier)
Chahal opened with a 40-second fall over Mackenzie Pylate (Colorado State). She later fell to Ariana McDonald (UC Santa Barbara) and Mykhala Bagler (Santa Rosa JC) to finish third and qualify for the National Championships.
136 lbs — Jamilynne Gonzalez
Gonzalez fell to Katelyn Pham (UCLA) before suffering an injury default against Flora Chang (UC Santa Barbara).
155 lbs — Iraiz Rodriguez (3rd Place, National Qualifier)
Rodriguez dropped her first two matches to Cheyenne Williams (Ottawa) and Alondra Zamora (Merced College) before finishing the tournament with a fall over Janely Rodriguez Reyna (Santa Rosa JC) to place third and qualify for Nationals.
Next Up
Fresno State concludes the 2019-20 season at the NCWA National Championships, March 12-14, in Allen, Texas.
