Mares’ Resilient Return Powers Fresno State at NCWA Nationals
SHREVEPORT–BOSSIER CITY, La. – March 14–16, 2024
The Fresno State Wrestling Club concluded its season at the 2024 NCWA National Championships, a three-day event held at the Brookshire Grocery Arena, with performances defined by resilience, perseverance, and belief.
At the center of the weekend was 136lbs – Vanessa Mares, whose return from injury culminated in a fourth-place national finish and one of the most emotional runs of the tournament.
After being ranked No. 1 for much of the season, Mares entered nationals as the No. 4 seed after being granted a medical wild card. She had not competed since January, when she suffered an elbow injury during national dual competition — an injury that initially appeared to end her season.
“That’s it, I’m done for the season,” Mares told interim head coach Jovany Gonzalez after the injury.
With a minimum six-week recovery timeline, Mares would not be cleared until the week of nationals. After steady progress through physical therapy and encouragement from her coach, she elected to apply for a medical waiver and take the mat one final time.
At that point, the pressure shifted.
“Standing on the podium at nationals was something I didn’t see coming,” Mares said. “I just didn’t want to finish my final year with regret by not trying.”
After a rusty start to the tournament, Mares finally found her rhythm and advanced to the quarterfinals with back to back victories before suffering a loss that redirected her focus from a national title to earning a place on the podium.
Battling her way into the blood round, Mares once again found herself in danger early.
“Once she got caught to her back, my heart sank,” Gonzalez said. “I knew she was hurting and thought, we had a heck of a run.”
Mares refused to concede. She fought through the position, forced a restart, and worked her way back into the match before securing the fall to clinch her place on the national podium.
That victory led to a full-circle finish, as Mares closed her tournament against the same opponent she suffered her first defeat at the Women’s National Duals.
Although the final result did not go her way, Mares’ fourth-place finish capped one of the most resilient performances of the championships.
“This fourth-place finish means so much,” Gonzalez said. “She overcame so much adversity and self-doubt just to get here. She didn’t feel sorry for herself or give up. She dug deep, competed with heart, and left everything on the mat.”
Fresno State closed the tournament with two All-Americans, underscoring a season that saw the Bulldogs capture an NCWA California State Championship and send a full roster of qualifiers to the national stage under Gonzalez’s leadership as interim head coach.
MEN’S Tournament RECAP
125 lbs – Nathen Diaz
Diaz opened the tournament with a dominant technical fall over Nichols Grungo (Rowan), ending the match in 1:25. He was slowed in the round of 32 by Ben Lindley (Lindenwood), falling by major decision, before his tournament ended in the consolations with a 13–5 major decision loss to Quan Le (East Carolina).
125 lbs – Gabriel Martinez
Martinez faced a tough opening draw, dropping his first-round match to Christopher Chambers (Liberty) by fall. After receiving a bye in the consolation bracket, his tournament came to an end with a quick fall loss to Quan Le (East Carolina).
141 lbs – Benito Saldivar
Saldivar stormed out to an early lead in his opening bout before Blake Schmitt (Liberty) was able to turn the momentum and secure the fall. Saldivar rebounded in the consolations with a pin over Isaiah Spady (Montclair State) but was eliminated in the following round after being caught and pinned by Noah Valenzuela (GCU).
149 lbs – Damian Galvan-Calderon
Galvan dropped his opening match to top seed Ryan Moore (Thomas More) by fall and later fell in the consolation bracket to Camden Harrison (East Carolina), closing his national tournament.
157 lbs – William Wareham
Wareham opened against Pearce Phillips (Clemson) and was defeated by technical fall. He returned in the consolation bracket but was pinned by Antwain Williams (Toledo), ending his tournament.
184 lbs – Justin Nieves
Nieves opened his tournament with a first-round pin over Jack Mulcahy (Penn State) before edging Brandon Lawson (Ohio State) by a 7–4 decision to reach the round of 16. He dropped a 7–1 decision to Michael Jackson (Allen) before falling in a tightly contested 3–2 decision to Jaimeson Shea (Stony Brook) in the consolation round in his final collegiate season.
235 lbs – Diara Spencer (7th Place, All-American)
Spencer received a first-round bye before advancing with a forfeit win in the round of 32. He followed with a 13–5 major decision victory over Grayson Starrett (Apprentice) to reach the quarterfinals. Spencer built early leads in both the quarterfinal and consolation semifinal rounds but fell in close decisions, 8–4 and 6–4. He closed his tournament with a sudden-victory decision win over Franco Fontela (Dubuque) in the seventh-place match to earn All-American honors.
WomEN’S Tournament RECAP
116 lbs – Natalia Villalobos
Villalobos dropped her opening match to Samantha Rodriguez (Texas A&M) by fall and was eliminated in the consolation round by Arshpreet Kaur (Washington).
130 lbs – Jamilynne Gonzalez
Gonzalez received a first-round bye before picking up a pin over Ciara D’Entremont (West Chester) to advance to the quarterfinals. She fell by technical fall to Viveca Pannell (MIT) and was eliminated in the consolation round after a close 6–4 decision loss to Claire Wortz (Liberty).
136 lbs – Vanessa Mares (4th Place, All-American)
Mares opened her tournament with two pinfall victories, first over Morayma Montes (Texas A&M) and then over Haley Billings (Washington State). After a quarterfinal loss to Paige Kalish (Central Florida), she battled through the consolation bracket with pinfall wins over Emily Lau (Santa Rosa JC) and Montes in a rematch. In the consolation semifinals, Mares was caught on her back early before fighting through the position and earning a pin over Elizabeth Patana (Grays Harbor). She finished fourth after falling in the third-place match to Marissa Riojas (Grays Harbor).
