Bakersfield's Nacita, Orozco to Compete at 44th NWCA All-Star ClassicElijah Nacita and Riley Orozco will both compete at the 44th NWCA All-Star Classic.
Three Bakersfield Wrestlers Reach Finals at Pac10s
frustrating regular season behind them with a strong showing on day one of
the 2006 Pac10 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 20
win over No. 4 Bobby Pfennigs of Oregon State then downed the top seed,
Justin Pearch of Oregon by a 32 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 twotime defending Pac10 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 153 in the
first round, gave Busby a run early, but fell 62. 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 90 in the first round and Fullerton,s
Morgan Atkinson"the No. 5 seed"by a 62 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 96 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 157pounder 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 134 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.
Championship Pigtail"def. Marcos Orozco, UC Davis, 82
Championship 1st Round"lost to #2 Chad Mendez, Cal Poly, 144 MD
Consolation 2nd Round"def. Bricen Yakabe, Portland State, Fall (3:48)
Consolation 3rd Round"lost to #6 Cory Fish, Boise State, 50
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
Championship 1st Round"def. #4 Bobby Pfennigs, Oregon State, 20
Championship 2nd Round"def. #1 Justin Pearch, Oregon, 32
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final"vs. #3 Scott Jorgensen, Boise State
Championship 1st Round"def. #6 Jason Robbins, Arizona State, 40
Championship 2nd Round"lost to #2 Derek Moore, UC Davis, 113
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 3rd Round"vs. #5 Teddy Astorga, CS Fullerton
Championship 1st Round"def. Stewart Bogart, Oregon, 90 MD
Championship 2nd Round"def. #5 Morgan Atkinson, CS Fullerton, 62
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final"vs. #2 Tyler Sherfey, Boise State
Championship Pigtail"def. Cyle Hartzell, Oregon, Fall (4:28)
Championship 1st Round"lost to #1 Ben Cherrington, TF 150 (7:00)
Consolation 3rd Round"def. John Clark, UC Davis, 83
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 4th Round"#3 Tony Hook, Oregon State
Championship 1st Round"def. #4 Frank Richmond, UC Davis, Fall (6:39)
Championship 2nd Round"def. Robb Maxwell, Cal Poly, 62
MONDAY EVENING
Championship Final"vs. #3 Pat Pitsch, Arizona State
Championship Pigtail"def. Karras Kalivas, Portland State, Fall (1:49)
Championship 1st Round"def. #6 Luke Feist, Stanford, 64
Championship 2nd Round"lost to #2 Ken Cook, UC Davis, 134
MONDAY MORNING
Consolation 4th Round"vs. Chet McBee, Oregon
Championship Pigtail"lost to #4 Tyler Bernacchi, UC Davis, 63
Consolation 2nd Round"lost to #6 K.C. Walsh, Boise State, 136
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
Championship 1st Round"lost to #2 Matt Monteiro, Cal Poly, Fall (2:28)
Consolation 3rd Round"lost to #6 Chris Chambers, CS Fullerton, 95
TOURNAMENT COMPLETE
Championship 1st Round"Def. #6 Chris Dearman, Oregon, TF 161 (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