Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
West Region
Bulldogs Qualify Six Wrestlers to NCAA Championships
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 6, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Six Bulldog wrestlers qualified to compete in the NCAA Championships by placing in the top two at the West Regional in Colorado Springs, Colo., today.
Senior Casey Olson was the only individual champion for Fresno State as he took first place in the 149 division.
Christian Bowerman (125), Anthony Rubalcava (174), Greg Gifford (184), Marcio Botelho (197) and Clint Walbeck (285) all took second in their respective divisions to earn automatic bids to nationals. Bowerman and Walbeck were required to wrestle an extra match to determine the true second place finishers in their divisions.
Fresno State took third place in the five-team West Regional with 66.5 points. Northern Iowa (90.5) won followed by Wyoming (80). Fourth and fifth place went to Air Force (39) and Eastern Illinois (31.5), respectively.
The West Regional is allotted 23 bids to nationals. The first and second place wrestlers in each division automatically earn bids, while the participating coaches vote on the three wrestlers who will receive the remaining bids. Fresno State was not awarded any wild card bids.
The NCAA Championships will be held March 18-20 in St Louis, Mo.
