Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nebraska-Kearney
New era of Fresno State Wrestling opens in San Francisco Saturday
11/9/2017 10:30:00 AM | Wrestling
The long-anticipated return of Fresno State Wrestling gets underway on the mat on Saturday as the 'Dogs travel to San Francisco for a pair of duals against San Francisco State and Nebraska-Kearney.
"It will be great to get out and compete against different competition and we are excited to get the train rolling with the season," said head coach Troy Steiner.
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Fresno State at San Francisco State
Nov. 11, 2017 • 11:00 AM • The Swamp • San Francisco, Calif.
Live Scoring: Trackwrestling
Video: BoxCast
Twitter: @FresnoStateWRES
Series History: Fresno State leads 29-11
Last Meeting: Jan. 13, 2006 - W, 26-13 in Fresno, Calif.
Fresno State vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Nov. 11, 2017 • 12:30 PM • The Swamp • San Francisco, Calif.
Live Scoring: Trackwrestling
???????Video: BoxCast
Twitter: @FresnoStateWRES
Series History: First meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Scouting San Francisco State
The Gators will get its dual meet season underway against the 'Dogs after opening up the 2017-18 season last weekend at the Menlo Open. The 10 SFSU wrestlers who competed went a combined 18-11 in the tournament as redshirt sophomore 133-pounder Nathan Cervantez went a perfect 3-0.
SFSU is coming a 5-12 dual season in 2016-17 and a sixth-place finish at the 2017 RMAC Championships. Individually, the Gators return two wrestlers who finished in the top four of their respective weight classes at the RMAC Championships in Cervantez (133 lbs.) and senior Landon Myers (157 lbs.).
The Gators are led by first-year head coach Jason Welch, a three-time All-American at Northwestern and the national runner-up at 157 pounds in 2013, and compete in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
The Lopers opened its season last weekend at the Wyoming Cowboy Open where the Lopers placed five wrestlers among the top four place winners.
Winners of the last five MIAA conference crowns, UNK was predicted to win its sixth straight in the MIAA preseason poll on Oct. 26. Coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championships last March, the Lopers were ranked No. 20 in this season's Division II Coaches Association preseason poll.
Nebraska-Kearney returns three All-Americans in seniors Keith Surber (149 lbs.) & Calvin Ochs (165 lbs.) along with junior Zach Stodden. Only Stodden is expected to wrestle on Saturday as he comes in ranked No. 5 at 174 pounds. The Lopers have one other ranked wrestler in senior heavyweight Kevin Barrett, a transfer from Nebraska-Omaha, who checks in No. 6.
'Dogs warm up at The Bill Musick Memorial Open Tournament
Eleven Bulldogs got their feet wet competing unattached at the Bill Musick Memorial Open Tournament hosted at nearby Fresno City College on Nov.4. The 'Dogs were joined by wrestlers from nearby junior colleges, Fresno City, Cerritos College, Sacramento City, West Hills CC and Shasta CC.
Seven 'Dogs took first in their weight class with one finishing runner-up and three more taking third as the 11 wrestlers combined to go 38-4 overall.
125:Â Jeremy Trinh, 3rd place; went 4-1 in the tournament with two pins and a technical fall.
133:Â Gary Joint, 1st place; went 2-0 with a pin and an 11-0 win in the finals over Isiah Perez (Fresno City College).
     Trevor Williams, 3rd place; went 2-1 with a 9-7 win in his third-place match against Josh Brown (Cerritos College).
141:Â Chris De Loza, 1st place; went 4-0 with two pins, a technical fall and defeated Aaron Mora (Fresno City College) 12-6 in the finals.
149:Â Khristian Olivas, 2nd place; went 3-1 with two pins and a 9-5 win in the semifinals before falling 3-2 in overtime to Dylan Martinez (Fresno City College) in the finals.
157: Greg Gaxiola, 1st place; went 4-0 outscoring his opponents 47-5 and defeated Wyatt Gerl (Cerritos College) 7-1 in the finals.
165:Â Isaiah Hokit, 1st place; went 4-0 with two pins and topped Victor Vargas (Fresno City College) 8-6 in the finals.
174:Â Dominic Kincaid, 1st place; went 4-0 with three pins (combined time of 5:34) and beat Abel Garcia (Sacramento City) 4-0 in the finals.
184:Â Angel Solis, 1st place; went 4-0 with two pins, including winning by pin in the finals over Isaac Sillas (Sacramento City).
197:Â Richie Brandt, 3rd place; went 4-1 defeating Kobe Rojas (West Hills) 10-5 in the third-place match.
285:Â AJ Nevills, 1st place; went 3-0 with two pins and won 11-4 in the finals over Jacob Sieder (CSUB UNA).
Bulldog Lineup this week
The 'Dogs will look to send out a similar lineup to the one that competed at the Bill Musick Memorial Open last weekend with Sean Williams (125 lbs.) and Emilio Saavedra (133 lbs.) possibly seeing action as well.
Home Opener on Nov. 17 vs. Illinois
In eight days, on Nov. 17, the 'Dogs will host the Fighting Illini in their home opener as it will be the first home dual meet that Fresno State has hosted since Feb. 18, 2006. Illinois, ranked No. 16 in the latest Intermat Wrestling Dual Meet rankings, fell in their season opener at No. 5 Missouri, 20-17 on Nov. 4.
Illinois' 165-pounder Isaiah Martinez, a two-time national champion and Modesto native, returns to the Valley looking for his 100th career win. He is currently 99-2 in his collegiate career.
Inaugural Battle on the Midway set for Nov. 21 - Buy Tickets HERE!
The Bulldogs will compete in its first dual as a member of the Big 12 Conference when take on Air Force on the USS Midway on Nov. 21 in the inaugural Battle on the Midway. The first collegiate dual meet ever on a aircraft carrier, the 'Dogs and Falcons will meet at 7 p.m. with Team USA competing in six international exhibition matches before the collegiate teams meet.
'Dogs join Big 12 as affiliate members
On July 5, it was announced by the Big 12 conference that Fresno State had become an affiliate members. Joining Northern Iowa as new members to the conference, the 'Dogs will compete in six Big 12 duals this season competing against Air Force in San Diego, hosting Utah Valley and Oklahoma State while traveling to Northern Colorado, Wyoming and Iowa State.
Return of Wrestling to the Central Valley
Wrestling makes its return to the Valley and Fresno State after an 11-year absence as the sport was discontinued after the 2005-06 season. The 'Dogs competed in Division II for seven seasons before making the move to Division I in 1969 where they competed for 38 seasons.Â
The 'Dogs hold an all-time dual meet record of 444-336-7 (.569), have won 11 conference titles and finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Tournament 14 times.
Stephen Abas announced as a Distinguished Member of the 2018 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class
Fresno State Wrestling legend Stephen Abas was announced as a Distinguished Member of the 2018 National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class on Oct. 26. A five-year Bulldog from 1997-2002, Abas was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and a four-time All-American at Fresno State, winning titles in 1999, 2001 and 2002 after finishing fourth as a freshman in 1998. He won a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and competed in the World Championships in 2001 and 2003. He was also qualified for the World Championships in 2002, but the United States did not compete.
Pledges for Pins (PDF - Click here to donate!)
Pledges for pins is designed to help support the Fresno State Wrestling Program. Proceeds will benefit the Fresno State Wrestling Fund for Excellence along with a portion contributing to the Valley Regional Training Center -- a nonprofit organization that supports Fresno State Wrestling.
It works like this, for example, if you pledge $5 per pin and the team accumulates 40 pins during the season, your pledge will be $200. Throughout the season, pins and pledges will be recorded and a letter will be mailed with your pledge amount and payment information. To donate, click on the link at the top of the page.
Levels of Pledges
Cooper - $1-10
Bronze - $11-20
Silver - $21-49
Gold - $50 & Up
Single Match Price Summary - All Seating is General Admission
Tickets to the 'Dogs six home duals, including the home opener vs. Illinois on Nov. 17, are available on Ticketmaster.com.
Youth - $7 (5-18 yrs old)
Group - $5 (10 or more)
Great season tickets deals are available now!
-4-Packs only $150, YES! That's right, 4 tickets for each home match for only $150! That's less than $7.00 per match per person!Â
-We also have TEAM packages that include 25 Season Tickets for only $20 per season ticket!
-Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate. Tickets are only $5. Group tickets are available by calling the Bulldogs Ticket Office at 559-278-3647 or visiting GoBulldogs.com.
Season Ticket Price Summary - All Seating is General Admission
4-Pack - $150 - 4 Season Tickets ($6.25 per seat/dual)Â
Adult - $50
Youth - $35 (5-18 yrs old)
Team Package - $500 / 25 Season Tickets
There are some great benefits to purchasing Bulldog Wrestling season tickets as all season ticket holders will receive complimentary membership into the Takedown Club along with a Team Poster. This will be a first-year only benefit.
How To Purchase
Online:Â gobulldogs.com
By Phone: Bulldog Ticket Office at 559-278-3647; M-F - 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Walk-Up Season Tickets and Groups: Bulldog Ticket Office, northeast corner of the arena
Walk-Up Single Match Tickets: Save Mart Center Box Office, northwest corner of the arena
Four Valley RTC members have strong showing at Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament
Fresno State Wrestling volunteer assistant coach Joe Colon won the 61 kg./134 lbs. title at the Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament on Nov. 4 while three other Valley RTC members, assistant coach Jason Chamberlain along with Nikko Reyes and Blaize Cabell also competed at the two-day tournament.
Colon, a 2014 All-American at Northern Iowa, defeated Nashon Garrett (SKWC) in the finals by a technical fall, 14-3. After receiving a first-round bye, Colon defeated Chris Dardanes (TMWC), 14-12 in the quarterfinals before defeating Tony Ramos (SKWC), 14-3 in the semifinals.
Chamberlain, a two-time All-American and three-time Pac-12 champion at Boise State, finished third at 70 kg./154 lbs. He won his first match 10-0 over Matthew Collum of Xtreme Training before blanking Robbie Mathers (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) 11-0 in the quarterfinals. He feel by a narrow 2-1 margin in the semifinals to eventual champion Kellen Russell (NYAC) before rebounding in the third-place match to defeat Hunter Stieber (TMWC).
Reyes, a Clovis West graduate who spent time wrestling collegiately at Illinois and Northern Colorado, competed at 92 kg./203 lbs. finishing fourth. He defeated Joshua Manu (Navy-Marine Corps RTC) 4-0 in the quarterfinals before dropping a hard-fought match to Timmy McCall (TMWC) 4-3 in the semifinals. Reyes fell 12-1 in the third place match to Riley Lefever (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club).
Finally, Cabell, a three-time NCAA Tournament qualifier at Northern Iowa, finished second at 97 kg./214 lbs. He had possibly one of the biggest upsets of the meet defeating Russian Olympian Abdusalam Godisav 6-4 in the semifinals. He fell to Min Won Seo from Korea, 12-9 in the finals.
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Players Mentioned
