Fresno State Qualifies Record Ten Wrestlers for Nationals, Claims Two Conference Titles
TUCSON, Ariz. — February 27, 2016
The Fresno State Wrestling Club continued its upward trajectory at the 2016 NCWA West Coast Conference Championships, held February 27 at the University of Arizona. The tournament brought together teams from across the region including Fresno State, BYU, CSU San Marcos, Dixie State, Grand Canyon University, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, University of Arizona, UC Merced, USC, UCLA, and Utah State.
With seven men and three women securing bids to the NCWA National Championships, the Bulldogs set a new program record for national qualifiers and continued to make waves in only their second full season of NCWA competition. Mason Temple (165 lbs) and Jarette Suikowsky (174 lbs) led the way, each earning West Coast Conference titles in impressive fashion.
Tournament Recap
125 lbs – Eric Loredo
Loredo’s bracket was no cakewalk. He opened the tournament against returning All-American Alvaro Gallego (Arizona), falling short in the bout. In his next two matches, Loredo caught fire—pinning Dauren Aubakirov (USC) in a rematch of the previous week’s state tournament and then securing another fall over Sergio Hernandez Gomez (GCU) to lock in a 3rd place finish and a spot at Nationals.
141 lbs – Jonathan Jimenez
Jimenez battled hard but came up short in both of his matchups, losing first to Alex Colpo (Arizona) and later to Jayce Clary (GCU) in the consolation bracket.
149 lbs – Christopher Dela Cruz
Facing one of the deepest brackets in the tournament, Dela Cruz dropped his opening bout to Jordan Aguilar (CSU San Marcos) and was later eliminated by Sean Yuan (USC) in the wrestlebacks.
149 lbs – Kevin Pereira
Pereira picked up momentum midway through the bracket. After an early setback against Joseph Cooprider (BYU), he bounced back with a pin over Sean Yuan (USC) to advance to the consolation semifinals. There, he dropped a tough bout to Zac Bruer (Utah State). Pereira would bounce back in the 5th-place match, scoring a fall over Tarren Villaverde (University of Arizona). Given the bracket’s depth and Pereira’s strong performance, he was awarded a wild card bid to the national tournament.
157 lbs – Francisco Cardenas
Cardenas dropped his opening match to Kody George (Utah State) and faced Andres Piedra (Arizona) in the consolation round. He fought hard but was eliminated.
157 lbs – Greg Garrison
Garrison started his day with a bye but then lost to David Koller (Dixie State) and Shae Bryant (BYU) in the wrestlebacks, ending his run.
165 lbs – Mason Temple
Top-seeded Temple dominated his bracket. After a bye, he pinned Christian Reese (BYU), followed with a major decision (11-3) over Cristian Clementi (GCU), and outlasted Daylon Walker (Dixie State) 14-9 in the finals to become the 165 lbs West Coast Conference champion and earned his second career trip to the NCWA National Championships.
165 lbs – Omar Benavides
Benavides dropped a tight contest to Victor Ortiz (GCU) and was later eliminated by Christian Reese (BYU) in the consolation rounds.
174 lbs – Jarette Suikowsky
Seeded second, Suikowsky pinned Teddy Anderson (Sac State) in the semifinals, setting up a rematch with Frank Berduo (UC Merced)—the #1 seed and his rival from the state championships. This time, Suikowsky flipped the script, earning a thrilling victory to become the 174 lbs West Coast Conference champion and clinch his first trip to Nationals.
197 lbs – Jesus Izazaga
Izazaga fell in a tight match to Orvin Liburd (Arizona) but regrouped and powered through the consolation bracket with two straight pins—Donovan Lay (CSU San Marcos) and Preston Vance (Southern Utah)—to take 3rd place and lock in his second straight trip to Nationals.
235 lbs – Evan Ram
Ram started strong with a win over Josh Jeetan (Arizona), then dropped a bout to Jorge Loya-Lopez (Arizona). He stayed in the hunt with consistent effort and capped his tournament with a 4th-place finish, dropping the bout to Presley Ramirez (UC Merced), but earning an automatic qualification to Nationals.
285 lbs – Francisco Gallardo
Gallardo faced tough matchups against Jason Love (Dixie State) and Andrew Kihlenhoelter (BYU), ending his tournament outside the top four.
285 lbs – Jesus Marez-Lopez
Marez-Lopez dropped his opener to Kihlenhoelter (BYU) but responded with a strong win by fall over Jason Love (Dixie State). He ended his day with a second match against Kihlenhoelter and claimed 4th place, returning to Nationals for a second straight year.
With no opponents entered at their respective weights, Mai Xiong (101 lbs), Andrea Garcia (109 lbs), and Rossana Aguilar (123 lbs) each secured their bids to Nationals by weighing in and being tournament-ready.
Despite the lack of official bracket competition, Xiong and Aguilar took the opportunity to compete in a round-robin exhibition that also included Katie West (116 lbs) of the University of Arizona. Aguilar and Xiong each defeated West in their respective matches. The two Bulldogs then faced off in a spirited match, with Xiong pushing the pace despite being three weight classes lighter. She went out there to compete and even surprised Aguilar a bit. In the end the size and skill difference was too much and Aguilar got the job done.
Final Results
