EVANSTON, Ill.-Three CSUB wrestlers are still alive after the first day of competition at the 48th annual Midlands Open. 

Frank Lomas (R-Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) was awarded the eighth seed at 125 pounds and he opened the tournament by defeating Bucknell's Derek Reber 8-7. In the round of 16, Lomas posted a 14-8 decision over Lehigh's Mitch Berger. Lomas took on the No. 1 wrestler in the nation, Iowa's Matt McDonough (and No. 1 seed) in the quarterfinals. McDonough pinned Lomas at the 4:54 mark. Lomas will face teammate Tyler Iwamura (R-So., San Diego, Calif., Santa Fe Christian HS) in the consolation round of 16 on day two of the tournament.

Iwamura was entered in the tournament as a wildcard at 125 pounds. Iwamura started session I by defeating Matt Fusco of Rutgers 2-0. In the round of 16, Iwamura lost to the No. 3 seed Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma 12-2.  Patterson is ranked fifth in Division I at 125. Iwamura wrestled Cal Poly's Brittain Longmire in his first match of the consolation bracket where he defeated Longmire 6-0. Iwamura defeated Eric Olanowski of Michgan State in overtime 10-8.

Riley Orozco (R-Sr., 197, Fallon, Nev., Churchill County HS) was awarded the fifth seed at 197 pounds.  Orozco picked up a 3-1 victory over Maryland's Dallas Brown to begin his tournament run. Orozco faced Pac 10 rival Ryan Smith of Cal Poly in the round of 16 and won 9-5. Orozco lost to the No. 4 seed, Wartburg College's (Iowa) Byron Tate 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Tate is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the NCAA Division III ranks. Orozco has a double bye in the consolation bracket on the final day of the meet. Orozco will open day two against Michigan State's Tyler Dickenson.

Jose Mendoza (R-Fr., 133, Selma, Calif., Selma HS) earned the eighth seed at 133 pounds and earned a victory via technical fall (15-0) over Stanford's Matt Sencenbaugh in the first round. Mendoza but fell to the ninth seed, Rider's Jimmy Kirchner by tech fall in the round of 16. In the first round of the consolation bracket, Mendoza was defeated by UW-Parkside's Cody Zimmerman 8-1.

Trevor Hall (Sr., Battle Ground, Wash., Battle Ground HS), the No. 9 seed at 165, lost in the first round of the tournament to Bucknell's Cody Lear 7-4. Hall matched up against Northern Iowa's Nick Pickerall in the first round of the consolation bracket. Hall advanced with a 7-2 victory. Hall wrestled Clarion's Bekzod Abdurakmonov and pinned the competitor from Pennsylvania 1:09 into the first overtime.  Hall's tournament ended in overtime, 6-4, to Iowa State's Michael Moreno.

“We had some tough matches today,” said CSUB Head Coach Mike Mendoza. “Riley dropped a close match in the quarterfinals but is looking to wrestle well tomorrow and finish strong.  Frank and Tyler both wrestled well.  Unfortunately, they will be wrestling each other to place tomorrow. Both are capable of placing high tomorrow.”

CSUB is tied for 23rd (11.5) in the team race. Thursday's action at the Midlands Open begins at 12 p.m. (CST) with the finals set for 7:20 p.m. (CST).

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