Fresno State Athletics
Wrestling to Compete in Aggie Open
1/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 12, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - BULLDOGS HEAD TO AGGIE OPEN
Fresno State heads to the Aggie Open on Saturday to compete in the 18th annual individual tournament. Some of the teams expected to wrestle at the event include Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly, San Francisco State and Stanford.
FRESNO STATE GOES 2-6 IN EIGHT DAYS OF EIGHT MEETS
Fresno State concluded a whirlwind of meets on Saturday after wrestling eight dual meets from Jan. 3 through Jan. 10. The Bulldogs opened their season at home with a 37-3 win over Columbia, but then lost their next two to UC Davis and No. 20 Northern Iowa, both by a score of 25-12. Fresno State hosted two more meets at home on Jan. 6 when it beat San Francisco State 34-9 before losing to No. 2 Iowa State 26-15. On Jan. 8 the Bulldogs lost another home meet to No. 23 Boise State (22-16) before heading to Oklahoma to wrestle No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Oklahoma. Fresno State lost 42-7 to the Cowboys and 30-3 to the Sooners. The Bulldogs' 2-6 record is their worst start since opening 1-7 in 1983.
BULLDOGS SET ATTENDANCE RECORD
Fresno State set what is believed to be a west coast record for attendance at a dual meet on Jan. 6 when 9,750 Bulldog fans showed up to the Save Mart Center to watch Fresno State wrestle No. 2 Iowa State. After the success of the event, the wrestling program is planning on hosting a meet in the Save Mart Center every year.
UPSETS PROVIDE SILVER LINING
Although the wrestling team dropped four consecutive meets to nationally ranked teams last week, a few Bulldog wrestlers brought hope to a struggling team with upsets over their respective top-10 ranked opponents. During the Jan. 6 meet against No. 2 Iowa State, No. 13 Casey Olson (Clovis, Calif.) recorded a 8-7 double overtime victory over No. 4 Trent Paulson in front of his hometown crowd. In Stillwater, Okla., where the Bulldogs wrestled No. 1 Oklahoma, sophomore Greg Gifford (Las Vegas, Nev.) upset the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the 184 division. Gifford decisively beat defending national champion Jake Rosholt by a 13-5 major decision. At the same meet, No. 19 Clint Walbeck (Clovis, Calif.) took No. 9 William Gruenwald into overtime in the heavyweight division. Walbeck got a takedown to win the match 3-1. Olson, Gifford and Walbeck also possess the best records on the team. Olson is 15-5, Gifford is 10-5 and Walbeck is 13-3 after two tournaments and eight dual meets.
