Cal Poly

Cal Poly to Open 2009-10 Season With Dual Saturday at Cal State Fullerton

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly officially opens its 2009-10 wrestling
Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. Pacific-10 Conference dual meet at Cal
State Fullerton.

John Azevedo, entering his seventh season as head coach of the Mustangs,
will utilize three NCAA qualifiers and six returning Pac-10 Conference
Championship placewinners in the season-opening dual meet against the
Titans.

Senior Chase Pami heads the list of returning Mustangs. The Cimarron
Memorial High School (Las Vegas, NV) graduate placed seventh at the NCAA
finals following his second Pac-10 title at 157 pounds. He was 27-9 as a
junior, including a 9-1 mark in duals.

Junior Filip Novachkov also qualified for the NCAA finals and posted a 1-2
mark at 133 pounds. He placed third at the Pac-10 finals and finished with a
23-9 overall record.

His younger brother, Boris Novachkov, redshirted the 2008-09 season after
compiling a 15-6 mark as a freshman, placing third in the Pac-10 finals and
qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Other returning Pac-10 placewinners are sophomore Ryan DesRoches, senior
Eric Maldonado and sophomore Bo Lukehart.

DesRoches placed fourth at 174 pounds and finished the year 16-13 while
Maldonado claimed fifth place at 149 pounds and was 12-13 for the season.
Lukehart was 7-18 overall and placed seventh at 197 pounds.

Cal Poly has produced nine champions in three preseason open tournaments.

DesRoches won the 174-pound title in the Cuesta and Menlo opens and sports a
6-0 mark. All six wins are by fall.

Lenny Romero at 285 won the Menlo Open title last weekend while Steven
Vasquez claimed the 174-pound title at Cuesta two weeks ago.

Cal State Fullerton will send five Pac-10 placewinners and one NCAA
qualifier against the Mustangs on Saturday.

Adin Duenas was third in the Pac-10 finals a year ago, qualified for the
NCAA finals and finished 16-9 on the year at 141. He will compete in the
44th NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 22 in Titan Gym.

Also selected to compete in the All-Star Classic is Titan 197-pounder John
Drake, who was 16-10 a year ago and placed sixth in the Pac-10 finals.

Other Titan standouts include 125-pounder Andre Gonzalez, 17-14 a year ago
and seventh in the Pac-10 finals; 285-pounder Kurt Klimek, 18-14 overall and
fifth in the Pac-10 finals a year ago; and 174-pounder Todd Noel, a Righetti
High School graduate who was 20-19 as a freshman and 15-17 as a sophomore at
Cal State Fullerton, placing sixth in last year's Pac-10 finals.

Gonzalez, Noel and 149-pounder Matt Lopez earned titles at the Embry-Riddle
Open last weekend while Klimek finished first at 285 in the Cal Baptist Open
two weeks ago.

The Mustangs have 12 dual meets on the schedule, six at home in January and
February, and also will compete in the Missouri Open, Las Vegas
Invitational, the Reno Tournament of Champions and the All-California Open.

The 2010 Pac-10 finals are slated for Feb. 26-27 at UC Davis and the NCAA
Championships will be held March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb.

Tentative Lineup
Cal Poly at Cal State Fullerton
125 -- Micah Ferguson (CP) vs. Andre Gonzalez (CSF)
133 -- Boris Novachkov (CP) vs. Eddie Garcia (CSF)
141 -- Filip Novachkov (CP) vs. Adin Duenas (CSF)
149 -- Eric Maldonado (CP) vs. Matt Lopez (CSF) or Nick Jordan (CSF)
157 -- Chase Pami (CP) vs. Matt Lopez (CSF) or Nick Jordan (CSF)
165 -- Steven Vasquez (CP) vs. Clayton Schulke (CSF)
174 -- Ryan DesRoches (CP) vs. Todd Noel (CSF)
184 -- Tyler Holt (CP) vs. Dylan Klink (CSF) or Mark Savalle (CSF)
197 -- Ryan Smith (CP) vs. John Drake (CSF)
285 -- Lenny Romero (CP) vs. Kurt Klimek (CSF)
Cal Poly Line-up

There are some changes to the projected line-up I sent you earlier. Boris Novachkov will be the 133lber and Filip Novachkov will be the 141lber. Boris red shirted last season and was 9-0 in open tournaments including a win over Mangram or Oregon State. Filip placed 3rd in the PAC-10 and was a national qualifier at 133lbs. He started the season at 141bs and won the Missouri Open beating Ryan Prater of Illinois 9-8 in the finals. Filip decisioned Accordino of Hofstra 6-2 in the semis. Filip also placed in The Las Vegas invitational. He had win over Ciasulli of Lehigh, 6-2 . Filip dec. Diaz of Va Tech in a dual 6-2 as well as a major dec over Zach Bailey of Oklahoma. His losses were to Nauman of Pitt, Thorn of Minn, Parks of Ok. St, Jantzen of Harvard, Hochstrasser of Boise and Rodriquez of North Carolina. He was 3& 1 against Low of UCDavis. Filip also has wins against Rugirello of Hofstra in Las Vegas his Freshman year. In his red shirt season he beat Gallick of Iowa State in the Fullerton Open.

Other Line-up changes include 165lbs where Joel Shaw has decided not to wrestle. Red shirt freshman Steve Vasquez and Travis Rasmussen will battle for the starting spot. Ryan Smith will move up from 184lbs to 197lbs. He will be challenged by Bo Lukehart and Kelen Bragg, both sophomores. Junior Tyler Holt and Soph. Ben Crosby will battle it out for the 184lb spot.
Probable Starters:
125lbs Micah Ferguson,Sr
133lbs Boris Novachkov,So
141lbs Filip Novachkov, Jr
149lbs Eric Maldonado, Sr
157lbs Chase Pami, Sr
165lbs Steve Vasquez, RS Fr or Travis Rasmussen,RS Fr
174lbs Ryan DesRoches, So
184lbs Tyler Holt, Jr or Ben Crosby, So
197lbs Ryan Smith, So
285lbs Jim Powers, Jr

Other wrestlers who should see considerable action:
125lbs Jake Tanenbaum, So
133/141lbs Andy Wagner, Jr
141/149lbs Nick Fisher, RS Fr
149lbs David Christian, Sr, John Hooper, So
149/157lbs Geoff Doss RS Fr
157lbs Steve Thalin, Jr
197lbs Bo Lukehart, So, Kelan Bragg, So
285lbs Lenny Romero, So, Jeremy Pagaran, Jr

All the incoming freshman are probable red shirts
Bracamonte Stunned in First Session at Pac-10 Tournament

STANFORD, Calif. â*" Joey Bracamonte, the defending champion at 165
pounds was stunned in his quarterfinal match against Robb Maxwell of
Cal Poly in first session action at the Pac-10 Championships.

Maxwell 15-12 on the year, rolled in the match winning 18-7,
Bracamonte suffered just his second loss as his record falls to 19-2.

Wrestling in the opening pigtails Cyle Hartzell fought a tough match
against Cal-State Bakersfieldâ*s Daniel Atondo, with Atondo scoring
the pin victory. Also in the pigtails senior Joey Bracamonte opened
defense of his Pac-10 title with a 15-3 major decision victory over
Johnny Nunez of Boise State.

Shaun Dee was unable to get past his first round opponent losing to
Casey Phelps of Boise State, 11-6.

In the quarterfinals Justin Pearch, the number one seed at 133 rolled
off an 11-5 decision over T.J. Dillashaw of Cal State Fullerton.

Beau Malia wrestling for the Ducks at 125 fell in a major decision
loss to Tanner Gardner of Stanford.

Round 1

!57: Cyle Hartzell (UO) vs. Daniel Atondo (CSUB); Atondo wins by fall

165: Joey Bracamonte (UO) vs. Johnny Nunez (BSU); Bracamonte wins by
major decision 15-3

197: Shaun Dee vs. Casey Phelps (BSU); Phelps wins by decision 11-6

Second Round:

133: Justin Pearch vs. T.J. Dillashaw (CSUF); Pearch wins by decision
11-5

125: Beau Malia vs. Tanner Gardner (Stanford); Gardner wins major
decision 13-0

149: Stewat Bogart vs. Anthony Baza (CSUB) Baza wins by major decision
9-0

165: Bracamonte vs. Rob Maxwell (CP); Maxwell wins major decision 18-7

174: Chet McBee vs. Jeremy Larson; Larson wins major decision 12-3

184: Shane Webster vs. Kyle Bressler (OSU); Webster wins by TF 26-10

285: Chris Dearmon vs. Eric Parker; Parker wins by technical fall 16-1
Cal Poly Wrestling Coach Lennis Cowell Announces Retirement

- Cal Poly Wrestling -

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - Cal Poly wrestling coach Lennis Cowell, who led
the Mustangs for the past 18 years, is stepping down as head coach of
the program Cal Poly Athletic Director John McCutcheon announced
today.

John Azevedo, who has been Cowell's assistant coach the past two
years, will assume the head coaching position on an interim basis.

"I have held my dream job for 18 years, I loved what I did and I
couldn't leave the job to a better person (Azevedo)," said Cowell. "
Having the opportunity, I was fortunate to work with John McCutcheon
and his predecessor Ken Walker who provided every possible opportunity
for student-athletes to compete."

Cowell completed his 18th season as the Mustangs head coach in 2003,
leading Cal Poly to a 10-9 dual match record and a fourth place finish
at the Pac-10 Championships.

"We appreciate Lennis' many years of dedicated service to Cal Poly
and its student-athletes and wish him the best," said McCutcheon.
"This is also a great opportunity for John (Azevedo) to take over a
program that is competitive at the national level".

During his tenure as the head coach, Cowell recorded 12 winning
records in dual matches, 14 Pac-10 Conference individual champions,
eight Division I All-Americans and three top-five individual place
winners at the NCAA Division I Championships. Cowell tallied a
167-147-8 dual match record in his 18-year career.

As a collegiate wrestler for the Mustangs Cowell twice earned
All-American honors after finishing third in the 1965 NCAA Division II
Championships in the 130-pound weight class and again In 1966 with a
fourth in the same weight class. The 1966 team won the school's first
ever NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship.

Following his collegiate career, Cowell was an assistant at Cal Poly
before becoming the head coach at Cuesta Community College. He had a
one-year stint with Allan Hancock College in 1972 before returning to
Cuesta in 1973.

Cowell then went on to coach at the high school level, coaching at
San Luis Obispo High School from 1974-78 before beginning a 7-year run
at Clovis West High School. At Clovis West, Cowell won state titles
in 1983 and '84 and amassed an 85-dual match winning streak. In 1985,
he won the National High School Coach of the Year award and earned
Southern Regional Coach of the Year honors in 1983.

Azevedo is a former Olympian and NCAA Champion and has served as an
assistant coach at Cal Poly under Cowell the past two seasons. The
native of Modesto, CA is a 1980 Cal State Bakersfield graduate and
earned his NCAA title in 1980. He amassed a 122-2 record during his
collegiate career and was a three-time All-American.

Cal Poly Wrestling- Halsey Named Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year

WALNUT CREEK, CA - Redshirt freshman Ryan Halsey (Oceanside, CA) was named
the Pacific-10 Conference Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday morning, marking
the first time in Cal Poly history a Mustang has received the honor.

With a 29-10 record, Halsey was tied for the team lead in wins with senior
David Schenk (Anderson, CA) and led the team in pins with eight. He won the
184-pound title at the Pac-10 Championships, becoming Cal Poly's seventh
Pac-10 champion in school history. He posted a 2-2 record at the NCAA
Championships last March.

Arizona State's Eric Larkin was named Wrestler of the Year, while his coach,
Thom Ortiz, was named Coach of the Year.

Cal Poly Wrestling- Mustangs Defeat Oregon, 22-15

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA- Trailing 15-6 after six matches, the Cal Poly wrestling
team won the last four matches of the meet to defeat Oregon, 22-15, at Mott
Gym Wednesday night. With the win, the Mustangs are now 9-6 on the season
(5-1, Pac-10), while Oregon fell to 5-10 (4-4, Pac-10).

In the 157-pound match, Nick Hopping scored five points in the space of 0:12
in the third period to break a 0-0 tie to bring Cal Poly within one point at
7-6. Although the Mustangs dropped the next two matches, a win by Ryan
Halsey at 184, followed by a David Schenk major decision at 197 propelled
the Mustangs to the victory. Cal Poly cliched the victory with a forefit in
the 125-pound match.

The Mustangs return to action Feb. 7, when they visit Portland State.

Cal Poly 22, Oregon 15
133- Nate Ybarra (CP) dec. Jacob Boyles, 12-5
141- Casey Hunt (UO) maj. Andy Kim, 17-6
149- Tony Overstake (UO) dec. Matt Cox, 6-4
157- Nick Hopping (CP) dec. Branson Phillips, 5-0
165- Luke Larwon (UO) dec. Keith Kroeger, 4-1
174- Shane Webster (UO) T-fall Brett Schumann, 24-6 (5:50)
184- Ryan Halsey (CP) dec. Tony Rolen, 12-6
197- David Schenk (CP) maj. Jake Leair, 16-4
Hwt.- Dan Howe (CP) dec. Neil Phillips, 3-1
125- Joel Mittelman (CP) wins by forefit