February 26, 2006
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
STANFORD, Calif. ? The Cal State Bakersfield wrestling team put a frustrating regular season behind them with a strong showing on day one of the 2006 Pac?10 Conference championships Sunday at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, advancing three to the finals while four others remain alive in the consolation bracket.
The Roadrunners turned a number of heads in the tournament, finishing the first day in third place overall with 74 points after finishing the season No. 7 in the final rankings. Bakersfield is edging out Boise State, which has 73.5 points, and Oregon State, which sits in fifth place with 70. Arizona State has the early lead with 103 points but Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is giving the Sun Devils a stronger test than most expected, scoring 90 points with all of its wrestlers still in the tourney.
Senior Tommy Vargas (Highland/Northwestern) was among the biggest surprises in the tournament so far, pulling a number of upsets to wrestle into the finals at 133 pounds. Vargas, the fifth seed, opened with a 2?0 win over No. 4 Bobby Pfennigs of Oregon State then downed the top seed, Justin Pearch of Oregon by a 3?2 count.
Vargas, who hasn't wrestled in an official match since the beginning of January, earns his first trip to the NCAA championships and will square off against the No. 3 seed, Scott Jorgensen from Boise State in the finals. Jorgensen, the two?time defending Pac?10 champ, defeated Bakersfield's Matt Sanchez in the title bout last season.
Fellow senior Brian Busby (San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS) shook off a mediocre end of the season by putting together a pair of impressive wins to skate into the finals at 165 pounds. Busby, who was also seeded fifth in the tournament, picked up his first win of the season over UC Davis' Frank Richmond, pinning the No. 4 seed in 6:39 to open the tournament.
Busby then faced Cal Poly's Robb Maxwell, an unseeded wrestler in the semifinals. Maxwell, who pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament thus far by beating No. 1 seeded Joey Bracamonte of Oregon 15?3 in the first round, gave Busby a run early, but fell 6?2. He will face No. 3 Pat Pitsch of Arizona State in the finals Monday evening.
Senior Anthony Baza (Sunnyvale/Fremont HS) proved he was worthy of the No. 1 seed at 149 pounds with a pair of convincing wins en route to the finals. Baza ensured his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships by beating Oregon's Stewart Bogart 9?0 in the first round and Fullerton's Morgan Atkinson?the No. 5 seed?by a 6?2 count in the semis.
Baza earns a rematch with the No. 2 seed, Boise State's Tyler Sherfey, in the finals. Baza edged Sherfey by a 9?6 count when the two battled in late January at Bakersfield after the Bronco star dominated Baza at the Reno Tournament of Champions in November.
Four other wrestlers remain in the tournament for the Roadrunners, heralded by 157?pounder Daniel Atondo (Sunnyvale/Fremont HS). Atondo, who entered the tournament unseeded, has won two of three matches so far and is assured of placing in the top six. Monday he opens against the No. 3 seed Tony Hook of Oregon State with a chance to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line.
Senior Christian Arellano (Moreno Valley/Scripps Ranch HS) won his first match before falling in the semis. Arellano, the No. 3 seed, lost 13?4 to the No. 2 seed Ken Cook of UC Davis. He will square off with Oregon's Chet McBee in the first match Saturday.
Junior Eric Parker will look to make his No. 3 seed stand up in the consolation bracket Monday. Parker scored a tech fall victory in his opening match, but was pinned by No. 2 Ty Watterson of Oregon State in the semifinals. He will take on No. 5 Arturo Basulto of Cal Poly in his first match of day two.
Another No. 3 seed, Matt Schumm (Corona/Centennial HS) lost to a No. 2 seed in the semis. Schumm will look to advance to the third/fourth place match with a victory over the No. 5 seed Teddy Astorga of Fullerton Monday morning.
The final day of the tournament begins at 11 a.m. on Monday with the consolation semifinals followed by fifth/sixth and third/fourth place matches. The championship matches begin at 6 p.m.
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD RESULTS AT THE 2006 PAC?10 CHAMPIONSHIPS
125 ? Zack Bigboy
Championship Pigtail?def. Marcos Orozco, UC Davis, 8?2
Championship 1st Round?lost to #2 Chad Mendez, Cal Poly, 14?4 MD
Consolation 2nd Round?def. Bricen Yakabe, Portland State, Fall (3:48)
Consolation 3rd Round?lost to #6 Cory Fish, Boise State, 5?0
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
133 ? #5 Tommy Vargas
Championship 1st Round?def. #4 Bobby Pfennigs, Oregon State, 2?0
Championship 2nd Round?def. #1 Justin Pearch, Oregon, 3?2
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final?vs. #3 Scott Jorgensen, Boise State
144 ? #3 Matt Schumm
Championship 1st Round?def. #6 Jason Robbins, Arizona State, 4?0
Championship 2nd Round?lost to #2 Derek Moore, UC Davis, 11?3
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 3rd Round?vs. #5 Teddy Astorga, CS Fullerton
149 -? #1 Anthony Baza
Championship 1st Round?def. Stewart Bogart, Oregon, 9?0 MD
Championship 2nd Round?def. #5 Morgan Atkinson, CS Fullerton, 6?2
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final?vs. #2 Tyler Sherfey, Boise State
157 ? Daniel Atondo
Championship Pigtail?def. Cyle Hartzell, Oregon, Fall (4:28)
Championship 1st Round?lost to #1 Ben Cherrington, TF 15?0 (7:00)
Consolation 3rd Round?def. John Clark, UC Davis, 8?3
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 4th Round?#3 Tony Hook, Oregon State
165 ? #5 Brian Busby
Championship 1st Round?def. #4 Frank Richmond, UC Davis, Fall (6:39)
Championship 2nd Round?def. Robb Maxwell, Cal Poly, 6?2
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final?vs. #3 Pat Pitsch, Arizona State
174 ? #3 Christian Arellano
Championship Pigtail?def. Karras Kalivas, Portland State, Fall (1:49)
Championship 1st Round?def. #6 Luke Feist, Stanford, 6?4
Championship 2nd Round?lost to #2 Ken Cook, UC Davis, 13?4
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 4th Round?vs. Chet McBee, Oregon
184 ? Brandon Ceremello
Championship Pigtail?lost to #4 Tyler Bernacchi, UC Davis, 6?3
Consolation 2nd Round?lost to #6 K.C. Walsh, Boise State, 13?6
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
197 ? Colton Nichols
Championship 1st Round?lost to #2 Matt Monteiro, Cal Poly, Fall (2:28)
Consolation 3rd Round?lost to #6 Chris Chambers, CS Fullerton, 9?5
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
HWT ? #3 Eric Parker
Championship 1st Round?Def. #6 Chris Dearman, Oregon, TF 16?1 (7:00)
Championship 2nd Round?lost to #2 Ty Watterson, Oregon State, Fall (2:46)
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 4th Round?vs. #5 Arturo Basulto, Cal Poly
California State University, Bakersfield Athletic Department
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Phone: (661) 654-3071 ? FAX: (661) 654-2376
