Fresno State Battles Through Adversity at West Coast Conference Championships, Sends Eight to Nationals

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. — February 25, 2017

The 2017 NCWA West Coast Conference Championships, held February 25 in Bullhead City, Arizona, featured teams from across the region including Fresno State, Arizona, BYU, Sacramento State, CSU Northridge, Dixie State, San Jose State, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Merced, USC, and Utah State. For Fresno State, fresh off its third straight California State title, the goal was clear: qualify for nationals—and if they could, go big and make a run at the conference team title.

But the day started with chaos.

Just moments before warmups, the Bulldogs realized they had left their singlets back in Fresno. Coaches and athletes scrambled before the tournament host, Mohave High School, stepped in to loan the team their own set. Wrestling in unfamiliar colors, the team pushed forward.

One of the most emotional stories of the tournament was Jovany Gonzalez’s return at 149 lbs. His comeback had been meant as a one-time effort to help the team, but with the team’s renewed push for a conference title changed the equation.

“I was hurting after State,” Gonzalez admitted. “I didn’t plan to come back. But when the team’s energy shifted toward winning conference, I had to ask myself if I could still physically go. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it for me—to see how far I could go.”

Gonzalez opened with a fall over Adonis McMahan (Dixie State) before facing #2 seed Chris Nunez (CSU Northridge), where a scramble re-aggravated a lingering knee injury. Despite being hobbled, he went to battle in consolations and was able to lock up a signature cradle, but like earlier in the season, his shoulder gave out mid-hold. He refused to medically default, wrestling to the final whistle. It marked the end of his season—and his career.

“I’m definitely disappointed how my wrestling career ended,” Gonzalez said afterward. “But I’m at peace knowing I tried and couldn’t get it done. I’m glad I came. I won’t have to wonder what if I had competed.”

Tournament Recap

141 lbs – Llimy Garcia
Garcia advanced to the semifinals after a win over Mark Radgowski (UC Merced), but fell to Tyler Carlyle (BYU). After being caught late by Jake Chabries (Utah State) in the consolation semifinals, Garcia would rebound to take 5th and was later awarded a wild card berth to nationals.

149 lbs – Jovany Gonzalez
Gonzalez opened with a fall, but suffered re-aggravated injuries in his next two bouts, battling through pain before ending his season in dramatic fashion.

157 lbs – Marcus Marquez
After advancing via no-show, Marquez lost to 3-seed David Koller (Dixie State), but bounced back with a pin over Gage Purdie (CSU Northridge). He dropped another bout to Andres Piedra (Arizona), but capped off the day with a pin over Oswaldo Pacheco (CSUN) for 5th place and a wild card qualification.

174 lbs – Armando Manzo
Manzo dropped his opener to top seed Gabriel Urreola (UCLA), then was caught in a surprise fall against Sacramento State’s Manuel Rivera—an opponent he had beaten multiple times. Thinking he was eliminated, Manzo walked out of the building, visibly frustrated.

“I’m sorry guys, I got caught out there and quit,” he told his teammates.

Then came the surprise: the bracket had shifted to a round robin. Manzo re-entered the tournament and stormed back with dominant wins over Wesley Peery (UCSB) and Alex Nicholes (BYU) to place 3rd and earn the team’s first auto-qualifying spot of the day.

184 lbs – Luis Jauregui
After dropping his opening bout to Edward Maisey (BYU), Jauregui lit up the backside of the bracket, scoring wins over Zach Zimmerman (UCSB), James Stubbs (BYU) by fall, and Jerry Dougherty (BYU) by fall to claim 3rd place and a nationals berth.

235 lbs – Jesus Izazaga
Izazaga lost to top seed Jacob Martin (BYU), then bounced back with a fall over Andres Briones (USC) and another fall over Adan Gutierrez (Dixie State)—despite getting injured mid-match. He would finish 4th after a loss to Eduardo Zamora (Sacramento State), but his placement secured a trip to nationals.

235 lbs – Issac Romero
Romero lost both of his matches, first to Gutierrez (Dixie State), then to Jorge Loya-Lopez (Arizona), ending his tournament.

Fresno State’s women’s team competed in an exhibition round-robin for extra mat time before nationals. Gurleen Chahal (136 lbs) finished 1st, and Yuritzi Boyzo (130 lbs) placed 4th in her group.

Final Results

Next Up

The Bulldogs now head to Allen, Texas for the 2017 NCWA National Championships, hosted March 9–11 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.