Nov. 23, 2003
Complete Brackets in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Fullerton, Calif - Brad Metzler (141) and Matt Gentry (157) both won their weight classes at Saturday's California Open held in Fullerton. Imad Kharbush (174) also made the final match in the elimination tournament, but fell to FSU's Eddie Gifford.
Matt Gentry, ranked 9th in the nation this week in the 157-pound class, won all five of his matches, including a technical fall of EARU's Morgan Scott and a dominant 12-6 victory over Bakersfield's Brian Cobb. Gentry remains undefeated this year. Brad Metzler wrestled his way to victory in the 141-pound class in a close 3-1 victory over Cal Poly's David Roberts. Earlier in the day Metzler recorded two falls and a narrow 1-0 victory over FSU's Dan Cadwallader in the semi-finals. Imad Kharbush won his first four matches of the day, all by a margin of two points or fewer, before losing to FSU's Eddie Gifford 18-3.
Ray Blake (157) lost in the first round, but then won six straight matches including a fall of Cal Poly's John Castelaandos and a major decision over fellow Cardinal Miguel Matta, before losing in the consolation final to Shane Seibert of FSU to take fourth place. Freshman Tanner Gardner (125) also wrestled well and reached the third round after recording a technical fall of Bakersfield's Juan Roda. He then lost to eventual runner-up Tony Franco of Cal Poly. Juston Johnson (133) also ran into trouble when he lost to the eventual champion Matt Sanchez of Bakersfield by a score of 8-4. Luis Vendrell (149) wrestled a tight match against eventual champion Brett Gordon of Titan, but lost by a score of 3-2. Senior John Garfinkel (184) disappointingly fell 3-1 in the first round against Harold Penson, but went on to win four matches in the consolation bracket.
The Cardinal now have a long break until their next tournament at the Midlands in Evanston, Illinois on December 29th and 30th. Their next home match is not until January 11 against Cal State Bakersfield.
Weight: 141
1st: Brad Metzler, Stanford University
2nd: David Roberts, Cal Poly
3rd: Juan Mora, Titan
4th: Chris Brines, Davis
Weight: 157
1st: Matt Gentry, Stanford University
2nd: Brian Cobb, Bakersfield
3rd: Shane Seibert, FSU
4th: Ray Blake, Stanford University
Weight: 174
1st: Eddie Gifford, FSU
2nd: Imad Kharbush, Stanford University
3rd: Leonel Sanchez, Titan
4th: Shannon Sams, Davis