Fresno State Athletics
Wrestling Rests Before Next Week's Tournament
12/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 8, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - RENO TOURNAMENT
After taking this week off from competition, the Bulldogs will head back to Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Thursday, Dec. 18. Last year at the one day tournament Fresno State took 10th place out of 22 teams. Jim Medeiros was the top placer on the team, taking third in the 157 division.
LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL RESULTS
It was a tale of two Clovis boys turning heads at the Las Vegas Invitational last weekend. Senior Casey Olson and junior Clint Walbeck, both of Clovis, Calif., led Fresno State to a 15th place finish by taking fifth and seventh respectively in the 149 and hwt. divisions. Olson took out two nationally ranked wrestlers en route to his podium finish. He beat No. 12 Matt Cox (5-2) and twice beat No. 17 David Diles (4-2). Walbeck won in the first and second rounds, but suffered a loss in the quarterfinals. He bounced back by pinning his next opponent in less than two minutes. After another loss, he won his final match by forfeit. Nebraska won the 43-team invitational and second and third place went to Michigan and Missouri, respectively.
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.
BULLDOGS IN THE RANKINGS
Fresno State is ranked 24th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Nov. 19 poll for dual meet 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 returning All-American junior Marcio Botelho (Lemoore, Calif.) 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. Olson was not ranked as of Monday afternoon, but after beating two ranked opponents and keeping it close in losses to two others, he should have a shot at breaking into the top 20 in the 149 division.
