Fresno State Athletics
Four Bulldog Wrestlers Remain at NCAA Championship
3/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Of the six Fresno State wrestlers that qualified to compete at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., four have made it to the tournament's second day.
Freshman Christian Bowerman, senior Casey Olson and juniors Marcio Botelho and Clint Walbeck went 1-1 for the day and have moved on to Friday's rounds. Sophomore Greg Gifford and redshirt freshman Anthony Rubalcava are out of the tournament.
Bowerman (125) won in the first round, pinning DeAngelo Penn of Cleveland State in 4:26. He then lost a 6-2 decision to Lehigh's Mario Stuart, who upset the No. 4 seed in the first round. Bowerman will wrestle eighth-seeded Joe Dubuque of Indiana in the consolation bracket tomorrow.
Olson went 1-1 for the day with a 6-4 decision over Michigan State's Carren McKnight and a 3-1 loss to fourth-seeded Ryan Churella of Michigan. Olson, a 149 division wrestler, faces freshman Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh tomorrow.
Botelho, the 12th seed in the 197 division, beat Joe Phillips of Cleveland State 6-2 in the first round. Facing the fifth seed, Nebraska's B.J. Padden, in the second round, Botelho lost 7-5 in sudden victory overtime. Up first for Botelho tomorrow is Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo.
Eighth-seeded Walbeck pinned his first opponent, Ryan Adams of North Carolina is 3:45, but lost in the second round to a wrestler who upset the ninth seed. Bode Ogunwole, a freshman from Harvard, beat Walbeck 3-2. Walbeck will wrestle Ramel Meekins of Rutgers tomorrow in the heavyweight division.
Gifford lost his first two matches in the 184 division, eliminating him from the tournament. Rubalcava did not make weight (174), therefore forfeiting his matches.
