THIS WEEK: The Roadrunners head east to Greensboro, N.C., for the 2009 Southern Scuffle hosted by UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. The two-day tournament begins Tuesday, Dec. 29 and concludes Wednesday, Dec. 30.
PROBABLE LINEUP:
125 – Frank Lomas and Tyler Iwamura
133 – Justin Durham and Erik Martinez
141 – Elijah Nacita
149 – Calvin Miller and Anthony Box
157 – Andrew Balch
165 – Joey Granata
174 – Trevor Hall and Daniel Montanez
184 – Mike Larson and Seamus Dean
197 – Riley Orozco
HWT – David Morgan
'RUNNER REPORT: The Roadrunners enter the Southern Scuffle following a 14th place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20. Elijah Nacita (141 lbs.) and Riley Orozco (197 lbs.) were CSUB's top finishers, each placing fourth. Joey Granata (165 lbs.) finished one win out of placewinner status after earning a No. 7 seed.
NEAR DEJA VU: Elijah Nacita's path through the tournament was a near replica from a year ago when he lost his opening match, then won eight straight consolation matches, including a third-place win over Cal State Fullerton's Adin Duenas. This year, No. 4 seeded Nacita dropped his opening match once again, then earned six straight wins to reach the third place match and face Duenas once again. While he could not complete the comeback this year, conceding a tight 2-1 decision to Duenas, Nacita picked up two technical fall wins, including one over MSU Mankato's Robbie Fisher, who beat him in the opening round, and No. 1 seed Filip Novachkov of Cal Poly. Nacita's 6-4 decision over Novachkov avenged a 7-5 loss to the Mustang from just five days prior.
RANKED 'RUNNERS: In the most recent InterMat Wrestling poll, Mitch Monteiro dropped six spots to the No. 16 spot in the heavyweight ranking. At 141 lbs., Elijah Nacita's performance at the Reno TOC earned him a No. 12 ranking by InterMat. Nacita also entered the D1collegewrestling.com poll at No. 25 while Mitchell sits at No. 16. Monteiro is also listed at No. 15 by theopenmat.com.
2009 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: More than 400 wrestlers from 30 teams will compete at the 2009 Southern Scuffle. The field includes 53 wrestlers who are ranked in the latest InterMat rankings, including four of the 10 wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the nation at their respective weight classes. Returning NCAA champions Troy Nickerson (125 pounds) and Jarrod King (165 pounds) are also expected to be competing for individual titles and are two of the nine returning 2009 NCAA All-Americans in the field. The team title will also be a fierce battle as the field is composed of seven teams who are ranked in the top 25, led by No. 5 Minnesota. No. 8 Cornell, No. 13 Indiana, No. 18 Virginia, No. 19 Kent State, No. 20 Edinboro and No. 23 Old Dominion.
LIVE STREAMING: Fans can catch all the action by purchasing one of four packages for the Spartan All Access coverage of the Southern Scuffle. Fans can purchase a complete tournament package for $19.95, which will include all three sessions. Session 1, featuring all of Friday's action, and Session 2, which features Saturday's action up to the championship round, can be purchased for $9.95 each. Session 3, featuring only the championship matches on Saturday evening, will be available for $7.95. Packages may be purchased by clicking on the gold Spartan All Access login box in the top right side of any page at www.UNCGSpartans.com and www.southernscuffle.com.
CSUB AT THE 2008 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: Last year, the Roadrunners had a pair of placewinners in Brandon Halsey at 197 lbs. and Mitch Monteiro at heavyweight. Halsey went 5-0 through his bracket to claim the 197-pound individual title. In the heavyweight bracket, Monteiro took fourth place, helping the Roadrunners to a ninth-place team finish.
CSUB ALL-TIME AT THE SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: The Roadrunners have a short history at the Southern Scuffle, having only competed since 2006. In those three short years, the squad has fared well, placing 14th in both 2006 and 2007, and placing ninth in 2008. The Roadrunners even led the field of 28 through one day of competition one year ago, before settling into the ninth-place final.
TOURNAMENT TIME WINDING DOWN: This week's competition at the Southern Scuffle marks the close of the Roadrunners' tournament schedule for a while. CSUB begins the New Year with a busy slate of Pac-10 dual meets. The 'Runners are taking the maximum 15 competitors to Greensboro as they continue to shore up their youth-infused lineup.
STAT LEADERS: A trio of redshirt freshmen were the first to reach double-digit wins early in the 2009-10 season. Mike Larson (184 lbs.) has 12 wins, Tyler Iwamura (125 lbs.) has 11 and Andrew Balch (157 lbs.) has 10. Meanwhile, the fastest fall thus far goes to junior Justin Durham (133 lbs.) who pinned Stanford's Porifiro Madrigal in 38 seconds at the Fullerton Open back in November.
LAST MINUTE ADDITION, LAST SECOND WIN: Senior heavyweight Mitch Monteiro was a last minute add to the line-up at the 44th NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 22, but that gave him no disadvantage over his opponent. Monteiro, then ranked No. 6, used a takedown in final seven seconds of the match to earn a 4-3 win over then No. 2 David Zabriskie of Iowa State.
ANOTHER NWCA ALL-STAR WIN: Mitch Monteiro was the first Roadrunner to be selected as an NWCA All-Star since Stephen Neal earned the honor in 1999. Neal was a three-time NWCA All-Star selection, and won all three bouts. CSUB has now had 15 all-time selections to the event and has been victorious in all but one bout.
WELCOME, VIKINGS: The Roadrunners welcome a trio of Portland State transfers to the 2009-10 roster after the Vikings suspended their program following the 2008-09 season. Junior Brady Garner (157) and sophomores Thomas Cottrell (133) and Levi Cooper (HWT) will all compete in a Roadrunner singlet this season.
FREE WEBCAST OF 'RUNNER WRESTLING: Catch all the action in the Icardo Center from your home computer as all CSUB home wrestling duals will be broadcast live via the Internet on GoRunners.com. Simply visit the 'Runner wrestling schedule page and click on the video camera icon on the far right to view the live stream.
ON DECK: The Roadrunners bring int he New Year with a return to the Icardo Center and Pac-10 action, hosting Arizona State on Jan. 3 at 2 p.m.
TICKETS, PLEASE: Ticket information for all Roadrunner wrestling matches may be found online at www.GoRunners.com. For ticket package and group ticket information — or to purchase tickets by phone — call the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE.
NEED MORE INFO?: For all of the most up-to-date information about CSU Bakersfield wrestling and all other Roadrunner sports, check out the CSUB Athletics Web site at: www.GoRunners.com.
