Fresno State Athletics
Wrestling Heads to Las Vegas Invitational
12/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 1, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
Fresno State will travel to Las Vegas for the 22nd Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5-6. The tournament hosts the best teams in the nation in what is usually a wrestler's first opportunity to turn heads in the season. Last year the Bulldogs tied for 14th and were led by 197 division wrestler Marcio Botelho (Lemoore, Calif.) who took fourth.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Wrestling season tickets are available for the first time in program history. Season tickets cover 11 home meets including three meets held at the Save Mart Center on Jan. 6. Reserved seats are $50 and general admission tickets are $40. Youth (18 and under with a student I.D.) and senior tickets are $30 and Fresno State faculty and staff can purchase season tickets for $36. As always, Fresno State students can attend meets for free. To buy season tickets call the Bulldog ticket office at 278-DOGS (3647).
BULLDOGS IN THE SAVE MART CENTER
Fresno State will be wrestling in the Save Mart Center for its Jan. 6 meets against No. 4 Iowa State and San Francisco State. Head coach Dennis DeLiddo wants to set a new west coast attendance record for a wrestling dual meet and his goal is to get 10,000 people at the Save Mart Center on Jan. 6. Iowa State and San Francisco State are slated to grapple at 4 p.m., then Fresno State will wrestle San Francisco State at 5:30 p.m. The feature match, Fresno State v. Iowa State is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
FINE FULLERTON OPEN SHOWING
The Bulldogs took home seven top four places at the Cal State Fullerton Open on Saturday. Fresno State's top finisher was junior Clint Walbeck (Clovis, Calif.) who won the heavyweight division. Senior Casey Olson (Clovis, Calif.) took second in the 149 division where he is ranked 18th nationally. Freshmen Christian Bowerman (Brentwood, Calif.) and Shane Seibert (Madera, Calif.) placed third in the 125 and 157 divisions respectively. Three other Bulldogs, sophomores Sean Sheets (Bakersfield, Calif.), Greg Gifford (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Sandeep Singh (Union City, Calif.) all took fourth place in their respective divisions. Team scores were not tabulated.
BULLDOGS IN THE RANKINGS
Fresno State is ranked 24th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association for dual meet wrestling teams. Individually, two Bulldog wrestlers are ranked in their respective divisions. After winning the Fullerton Open on Nov. 22 Walbeck broke into Amateur Wrestling News' rankings at No. 17 in the heavyweight division. Although Botelho has yet to wrestle this season, he is ranked 3rd by InterMat Wrestling and Amateur Wrestling News. Botelho should be ready to compete by the first dual meet Jan. 3.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN
Botelho returns to the Bulldog lineup after an All-American performance last season. He is the 33rd wrestler under head coach Dennis DeLiddo to earn All-America. Botelho went 3-2 at the NCAA Championships to take eighth place in the 197 division. Last season he went 35-10 overall with 12 pins.
