Fresno State Athletics
Wrestling Takes a Week Off Before Fullerton Duals
11/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 13, 2000
BULLDOGS AT FULLERTON
Fresno State will travel to Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, Nov. 29, for a dual meet against the Titans. Fullerton had only one wrestler in the finals of the Open meet. Nijadmaghaddam won first place in the 197 division. The `Dogs had four first place finishes.
LAS VEGAS TOURNAMENT WILL DETERMINE RANKINGS FOR `DOGS
The Bulldogs will be off to Nevada just two days after their dual meet in Fullerton. The Las Vegas Invitational will be their next destination as the team hopes to get more wrestlers time on the mat. Over 40 schools will participate in the tournament and most of the `Dogs' dual meet opponents will be there.
ABAS BACK TO LEAD THE BULLDOGS
The 1999 NCAA Champion and two-time All-American, Stephen Abas (Hayward, Calif.), returns to the Bulldogs' squad for the 2000-01 season after taking a year off to train for the 2000 Olympics. Abas began his training in October of 1999. He practiced with the Fresno State team and also made four trips to Colorado Springs, Colo., the site of the Olympic training facility. Abas sharpened his skills by competing in a host of freestlye tournaments, winning all of the five that he entered. At the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Abas finished third, qualifying him to the Olympic trials. The trials were held in Dallas two months later. Abas came within two wins of realizing his Olympic dream, as he won both of his matches the first day of competition. The next day however, he lost to Eric Akin by one point in a close 7-6 decision. Abas, a junior, has racked up 75 wins in just two seasons. Setting his goals high for the 2000-01 season, he is aiming for a perfect record and another NCAA Championship in the 125 division.
TWO NEW TRANSFERS ON STARTING LINEUP
Junior Billy Blunt (Modesto, Calif.) and senior Nathan Vasquez (Bakersfield, Calif.) are new to the Fresno State team this year, but both are expected to do big things for the `Dogs. Blunt, a transfer from North Carolina State, will wrestle in the heavyweight division. During his sophomore year he qualified to the NCAA tournament where he went 3-2. Vasquez is a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield where he was a three-time letterwinner with a record of 26-19. He is also a two-time NCAA qualifier. Last year he twice beat Fresno State's 157 division wrestler Tim Cornish.
THREE BULLDOGS RANKED
In the preseason rankings, junior Stephen Abas is ranked No. 1 in the 125 division, sophomore Ralph Lopez (Fresno, Calif.) is ranked No. 17 in the 141 division and senior Nathan Vasquez is ranked No. 15 in the 157 division. Abas has a record of 75-4 overall and he is trying for an undefeated record this season. Lopez went 24-13 during his freshman year. Vasquez has qualified to the NCAA tournament twice.
FRESNO STATE TO FACE TOUGH COMPETITION IN 2000-01
The `Dogs have their toughest ever home meet schedule this year, as they host four teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation. No. 4 Oklahoma State will open up dual meet action with the Bulldogs Sunday, Dec. 17. Oklahoma State returns five All-Americans. Iowa, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will match up against Fresno State Thursday, Jan. 4, at Clovis High School. Iowa has six returning All-Americans. The Bulldogs will also wrestle against seventh-ranked Oklahoma and Arizona State at home. They will travel to Boise, Idaho, for a dual meet against No. 11 ranked Boise State.
RED DEFEATS BLUE IN SCRIMMAGE
The Red team defeated the Blue team 21-3 in the annual intersquad scrimmage Wednesday night in the North Gym. Sophomore Eddie Gifford Las Vegas, Nev.), a 165 division wrestler defeated freshman 184 division wrestler Landon Seefeldt (Modesto, Calif.). Gifford scored first with a stalling point in the first round and then picked up takedowns in the second and third periods. Gifford won with a 7-2 decision. Redshirt freshman Jim Medeiros (Fremont, Calif.) beat junior Darrick Duran (Fresno, Calif.) (3-1) with a takedown in the first period that carried throughout the entire match. Medeiros gave the Red team its second decision win. The third and fourth match winners were both determined in double overtime. Freshman Peter Le (San Jose, Calif.) wrestled junior Derrick Hayes (Seaside, Calif.) from the Blue team. Le was up by one point going into the third round, but Hayes got an escape to tie the score up. The first overtime resulted in no points, but during the second overtime, Le got an escape for the win with a score of 5-4, putting the Red team ahead 9-0. Seniors Tom Gohde (Bozeman, Mont.) and Jason Rossotti (Selma, Calif.) faced off in the fourth match and went scoreless in the first round. Gohde got an escape in the second round and Rossotti did the same in the third, making the score 1-1 going into overtime. Neither wrestler scored in the first overtime, and Rossotti rode Gohde out for the victory in the second overtime. George Moreno (Firebaugh, Calif.) defeated Ben Martinez (Pixley, Calif.) by a 10-6 decision. Moreno had a big third round, getting two takedowns and an escape. Freshman Mike VanWorth (Dos Palos, Calif.) pinned Jon Boyer (Joshua Tree, Calif.) in a scoreless second round at 3 minutes and 51 seconds. Both wrestlers will redshirt the 2000-01 season. Freshman Darnell Williams (Hayward, Calif.) and Glenn Eastes (Lake Isabella, Calif.) wrestled the last match of the evening. Williams took a lead in the first round, but Eastes got a three point near fall in the third to win by a 7-5 decision, giving the Blue team its only points.
RED V. BLUE SCRIMMAGE RESULTS
Eddie Gifford (R) dec. Landon Seefeldt (B) 7-2 Jim Medeiros (R) dec. Darrick Duran (B) 3-1 Peter Le (R) dec. Derrick Hayes (B) 5-4 Jason Rossotti (R) dec. Tom Gohde (B) 1-1 (2OT) George Moreno (R) dec. Ben Martinez (B) 10-6 Mike VanWorth (R) pinned Jon Boyer (B) 3:51 Glenn Eastes (B) dec. Darnell Williams (R) 7-5
BULLDOGS EARN FOUR FIRST PLACE FINISHES AT FULLERTON
Fresno State wrestlers swept the top three spots in the 141 division and earned four first place finishes at the All-California Open tournament at Cal State Fullerton Sunday. And that was without 1999 National Champion Stephen Abas. Abas did not participate in the tournament due to soreness in his elbow and Nathan Vasquez also did not wrestle because of an infection in his eye that should be better by this week. Derrick Hayes won by decision over Ben Martinez for the first place win in the 133 division (7-4). In the 141 division Ralph Lopez beat former Fresno State wrestler Paris Ruiz by default, and George Moreno took third place. Jim Medeiros placed fourth in the 149 division and Peter Le took sixth. In the 165 division Eddie Gifford placed third. Jason Rossotti took first place for the second year in a row at the tournament in the 184 division. Billy Blunt won first place in the heavyweight division and Marcio Botelho took fifth. Fresno State placed a total of 11 wrestlers in the top six. Other Bulldog wrestlers that competed were: Justin McLelland in the 125 division, Darrick Duran in the 149 division, Darnell Williams in the 157 division, Jon Farley and Mike Mellor in the 174 division, Landon Seefeldt in the 184 division, Mike Bridges and Mike VanWorth in the 197 division, and Jon Boyer in the heavyweight division.
