BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Cal State Bakersfield continued its strong run since the Reno Tournament of Champions with another convincing dual meet win, this time coming in a 33-9 romp over NAIA powerhouse Embry-Riddle at the Icardo Center on Thursday.
But the final score might not be completely fair to how well Embry-Riddle wrestled at several weights, especially at the lower weights. The NAIA's No. 2-ranked team showed that it is every bit as strong as that ranking, and if it weren't for what turned out to be three forfeits in the match, the final score could have been much closer.
ERAU jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the team score thanks to some strong wrestling from NAIA No. 2 Richard Byrd at 125 pounds and NAIA No. 7 Franky Villaescusa at 133 pounds.
Byrd improved his record to 23-4 and has already won the Fullerton Open that featured wrestlers from Pac-10 schools like Arizona State, Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton, as well as Bakersfield. He had his hands full with sophomore Zack Bigboy, who turned in a much better performance on Thursday than he did on Tuesday against the University of Oregon.
In the end it was still Byrd who came out on top. He led 2-1 after the first period on a takedown and escape, and Bigboy tied the match on an escape in the second period. But in the third, Byrd opened the period by choosing down and earned a reversal for a two-point lead. Bigboy was able to escape but came up one point short in a 4-3 decision loss.
Villaescusa trailed Bakersfield true freshman John Cardenas 6-4 heading into the third period and Cardenas, known for his endurance, looked poised for his second win in as many matches and fourth in his last five matches. But Villaescusa picked up a takedown and caught Cardenas in a cradle to pick up a pair of 2-point nearfalls before pulling away for a 12-6 decision.
It took Bakersfield's Matt Schumm to break the Eagle momentum. Schumm, ranked No. 20 in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine and No. 16 in the nation by the NWCA, used a takedown in each of the first two periods against ERAU's Gordo Villaescusa for a 4-2 lead. Schumm then escaped and took down the No. 2-ranked 141 pounder in the NAIA for an eventual 8-3 win to cut the team lead to 6-3.
Brandon Doyle had little troubles taking care of ERAU's Jason Mendez, ranked No. 7 in the NAIA. Doyle's major decision 11-0 win gave Bakersfield its first lead in the team race, 7-6.
But ERAU would take the lead right back in a wild match. Hayden Harrison, ranked No. 1 in the nation in the NAIA and a transfer from NCAA?Division I Edinboro University, had eight takedowns in the match against Jeremy Doyle, but Doyle used some back points, a reversal and two takedowns to keep the match close before eventually falling 21-17. With Harrison's win, ERAU took back the team lead at 9-7.
It was all Bakersfield from that point on. Daniel Atondo won by technical fall with an impressive 20-5 victory over Calvin DeVault, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, in 6;57. Atondo cut his opponent with 25 seconds remaining in the match to go for the technical fall and earned the takedown with three seconds to go to give the Roadrunners a 12-9 lead.
Then came the strangest match of the night. Bakersfield's Garth Wara was leading Nicolas Walden after two periods by a 5-4 margin, but ERAU?coach Ken Ramsey didn't like what he saw out of his sophomore wrestler and forfeited the match without letting the two wrestlers finish what they had started on the mat. Bakersfield took a commanding 18-9 lead at that point.
Brandon Ceremello pulled out what must be considered the biggest upset of the night in the final match decided on the mat. Ceremello took on Joffre Lander, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA and trailed 2-1 after the first period, but picked up a reversal and two back points to race to a 5-2 lead after two. Lander reversed midway through the third period, then cut Ceremello to make the score 6-4, but Ceremello picked up a takedown with one second left in the match for the 8-4 decision.
Brandon Halsey and Eric Parker both picked up forfeit wins at 197 and heavyweight to complete the team scoring.
The Roadrunners will look to stay hot on Sunday when they host Columbia at noon and San Francisco State at 3 p.m.
125 Richard Byrd (ERAU) dec. Zack Bigboy (CSUB), 4-3
133 Franky Villaescusa (ERAU) dec. John Cardenas (CSUB), 12-6
141 Matt Schumm (CSUB) dec. Gordo Villaescusa (ERAU), 8-3
149 Brandon Doyle (CSUB) maj. dec. Jason Mendez (ERAU), 11-0
157 Hayden Harrison (ERAU) dec. Jeremy Doyle (CSUB), 21-17
165 Daniel Atondo (CSUB) tech. fall Calvin DeVault (ERAU), 20-5 (6:57)
174 Garth Wara (CSUB) forfeit over Nicolas Walden (ERAU)
184 Brandon Ceremello (CSUB) dec. Joffre Lander (ERAU), 8-4
197 Brandon Halsey (CSUB) wins by forfeit
285 Eric Parker (CSUB) wins by forfeit
