February 28, 2005
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal State Bakersfield seniors Efren Ceballos (Manteca HS) and Matt Sanchez (Gilroy/Iowa State) placed second in final day action at the 2005 Pac–10 Wrestling Championships at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo.
While the Roadrunners will send four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, it was a somewhat disappointing tournament overall as CSUB, ranked No. 4 in the conference before the start of the tournament, finished in seventh place with 67 team points.
Arizona State won its 15th Pac-–10 title with 106 points with Boise State finishing second with 93 points and Oregon sneaking into third place with 88 points.
Ceballos, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, could not muster any offense in his championship match with No. 1 seed Vic Moreno of host Cal Poly. Ceballos allowed two takedowns in the first period and managed to score an escape early in the second to pull within two, but that would be all as Moreno picked up another takedown and held on for the 9–2 win.
Sanchez, the top seed in the tournament, was upset in his bid for a conference championship, losing 9–6 to No. 2 seed Scott Jorgensen of Boise State. Sanchez took a 3–2 lead in the second period, scoring an escape from the down position to lead 3–2. Near the end of the period Jorgensen won a back and for battle with a takedown with five seconds left. It appeared Sanchez picked up a reverse just as the period ended which would have given him a 5–4 lead, but after a lengthy delay, the reversal was taken away.
Jorgensen then took control of the match, scoring two more takedowns over a desperate Sanchez. The loss was only his second loss in his last 22 matches—both to Jorgensen.
Earlier in the day, Anthony Baza (Sunnyvale/Fremont HS) earned his second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, placing third with a 3–2 decision over No. 3 Jeff Owens of Cal Poly. Baza, the No. 5 seed, pulled off a big upset to make his way to the consolation final, beating No. 2 seed Pat Williams of Arizona State 8–6. Baza placed fourth at the Pac–10 Championships, earning a wildcard into the NCAA tournament last season.
Brian Busby (San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS) finished fourth at 157 pounds, losing 16–5 to No. 3 seed Tony Hook of Oregon State. Busby wrestled into the third/fourth place match with a 6–0 decision over Boise State’s Lex Case, the No. 6 seed. With his performance, Busby was named as a fifth alternate to the NCAA tournament.
At 141 pounds, No. 4 seed Roberto Vargas (Highland/Pacific HS) earned fifth place with a 6–3 win over No. 5 seed Tony Woods of Oregon. Earlier in the day, he lost another heartbreaking 3–1 decision, allowing a takedown in overtime to Jeff Bristol of UC Davis. Despite his fifth place finish, Vargas proved he deserved a trip to the NCAA tournament with a 0:56 pin of the fourth place finisher Tim Norman of Oregon State in a wrestle–off. The decisive win convinced the committee to award him with one of 10 wildcards.
Heavyweight Eric Parker (Ramona HS) was the final placewinner for Cal State Bakersfield, finishing in sixth place. The sophomore dropped a pair of matches today, losing 6–1 to No. 2 seed Ty Watterson of Oregon State and suffering a pin at the hands of Oregon’s Cody Parker.
Defending Pac–10 and NCAA champion Matt Gentry of Stanford was upset by Arizona State’s Brian Stith 3–1 in the championship match at 157 pounds. It was just Gentry’s second loss of the season.
Ceballos, Sanchez, Baza and Vargas will wrestle at the 2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships March 17–19 at the Saavis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
CSUB Results at the 2005 Pac–10 Wrestling Championships
125
No. 3 Efren Ceballos — 2nd Place
Championship 1st round—def. No. 6 Nathan Peterson, Stanford, 14–3
Championship 2nd round—def. No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser, Boise State, 12–8
Championship Final—lost to No. 1 Vic Moreno, Cal Poly, 9–2
133
No. 1 Matt Sanchez — 2nd Place
Championship 1st round—def. John Espinoza, Arizona State, fall (2:24)
Championship 2nd round—def. Chad Mendes, Cal Poly, fall (2:54)
Championship Final—lost to No. 2 Scott Jorgensen, Boise State, 9–6
141
No. 4 Roberto Vargas — 5th Place
Championship 1st round—def. No. 5 Skyler Woods, Oregon, 6–1
Championship 2nd round—lost to No. 1 Juan Mora, Cal State Fullerton, 3–1
Consolation 4th round—lost to Jeff Bristol, UC Davis, 3–1 SV-1
Fifth/Sixth Place—def. No. 5 Skyler Woods, Oregon, 6–3
149
No.5 Anthony Baza — 3rd Place
Championship 1st round—def. No. 4 Daniel Murphree, UC Davis, 8–6
Championship 2nd round—lost to No. 1 Ben Cherrington, Boise State, 2–0
Consolation 4th round—def. No. 2 Pat Williams, Arizona State, 8–6
Third/Fourth Place—def. No. 3 Jeff Owens, Cal Poly, 3–2
157
No. 4 Brian Busby — 4th Place
Championship Pigtail—def. Kainoa Casco, Portland State, 12–2
Championship 1st round—def. Morgan Atkinson, Cal State Fullerton, 14–6
Championship 2nd round—lost to No. 1 Matt Gentry, Stanford, 15–7
Consolation 4th round—def. Lex Case, Boise State, 6–0
Third/Fourth Place—lost to No. 3 Tony Hook, Oregon State, 16–5
165
No. 3 Christian Arellano — DNP
Championship 1st round—lost to No. 4 Pat Pitsch, 3–2
Consolation 3rd round—lost to Russell Brunson, Boise State, 8–5
174
David Garcia — DNP
Championship Pigtail—lost to No. 1 Ron Silva, 14–3
Consolation 2nd round—lost to Yuri Kalika, Cal Poly, 9–5
184
Scott O’Rear — DNP
Championship Pigtail—lost to No. 4 Brandon Bear, UC Davis, 11–3
Consolation 2nd round—lost to Ryan Hagen, Stanford, F, 3:27
197
Bryan Travers — DNP
Championship Pigtail—lost to No. 6 Travis Gardner, Oregon State, 10–6
Consolation 2nd round—lost to No. 5 Casey Phelps, Boise State, 12–6
HWT
No.4 Eric Parker — 6th Place
Championship 1st round—lost to No. 5 Cody Parker, Oregon, 20–10
Consolation 2nd round—def. Chris Chambers, Cal State Fullerton, 12–7
Consolation 3rd round—def. Flynn Ficker, UC Davis, 12–6
Consolation 4th round—lost to No. 3 Eric Smith, Boise State, 13–3
Fifth/Sixth Place—lost to No. 5 Cody Parker, Oregon, Fall (1:16)
TEAM SCORING: 1. Arizona State 108; 2. Boise State 93; 3. Oregon 88; 4. UC Davis 82; 5. Cal Poly 81; 6. Oregon State 74; 7. Cal State Bakersfield 67; 8. Cal State Fullerton 52.5; 9. Stanford 48.5; 10. Portland State 26.
California State University, Bakersfield Athletic Department
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Phone: (661) 654-3071 • FAX: (661) 654-2376
