March 1, 2009
Fullerton, Calif. - Redshirt freshman Nick Amuchastegui went unbeaten on the first day of the 2009 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships in Fullerton, Calif., earning himself a spot in tomorrow's 165-pound title match. Seven of nine Stanford wrestlers picked up wins and eight will wrestle in placement matches tomorrow.
As a team, Stanford earned 65 points and stands in seventh place.
Amuchastegui remains in the hunt for both an individual Pac-10 title and an automatic berth in the 2009 NCAA Championships that will be held later this month in St. Louis. The Talent, Ore. native can clinch both with a win over Boise State's Tyler Sherfey tomorrow night. Sherfey and Amuchastegui split a pair of meetings in the regular season.
Sophomore Cameron Teitelman also controls his own NCAA fate and will take on Adin Duenas of Cal State Fullerton in the 141-pound consolation semifinals tomorrow. Teitelman can secure his first career NCAA trip with a third place finish in his weight class.
Senior Luke Feist also can secure a trip to the NCAA Championships with an undefeated run tomorrow. Feist faces John Drake of Cal State Fullerton tomorrow in the consolation semifinals, and must win three consecutive matches, including a match for true second place, to earn an automatic spot in the national championships.
Two additional wrestlers - Tyler Parker and Lucas Espericueta - remain in the consolation bracket and could still qualify for an automatic berth. With a third place finish, each may have a chance to wrestle for true second and earn an automatic NCAA spot.
Junior Jake Johnson remains in the hunt for third place at 184 pounds and will wrestle Brice Arand of Oregon State tomorrow in his first match.
Sophomore Porfirio Madrigal (133 pounds) and freshman Matt Sencenbaugh (125 pounds) will wrestle in seventh-place matches tomorrow.
Sencenbaugh (11-24) won his pigtail match over Kevin Martinez by major decision to start the day, extending his win streak to a career-long five consecutive matches. Sencenbaugh was pinned in the championship first round, however, then lost to Brian Owen of Boise State in the first round of consolations. The rookie will wrestle Andre Gonzalez of Cal State Fullerton for seventh place tomorrow.
Madrigal (15-11) lost a pair of heartbreakers at 133 pounds, and will now look to best Arizona State's David Prado for seventh place tomorrow. In his first match, he just missed a reversal to upset Cal State Fullerton's second-seeded and 13th-ranked TJ Dillashaw. In his second match, he came two points short of an upset of third-seeded Thomas Kimbrell.
Teitelman (15-17) battled through a close pigtail match with Cal Poly's David Christian to earn an 8-7 win, but lost by major decision in the championship first round. In his first consolation match, however, Teitelman pulled out one of the most outstanding come-from-behind wins of the tournament. After falling behind 8-0 to Garrett Drucker, Teitelman turned him in the third period and earned his third pin of the year.
Parker (4-3) avenged his regular-season loss to Portland State's Henry Kofa to advance to the semifinals, but was unable to pull an upset of Oregon State's No. 16 Heinrich Barnes. Parker faces Barrett Abel of UC Davis in the consolation semifinals tomorrow.
Espericueta (26-14) picked up a decisive win over Joey Wilson of UC Davis in the first round, but was defeated by Cal Poly's No. 12 Chase Pami in the 157-pound semifinals.
Amuchastegui (28-5) won both of his matches, including a 12-4 major decision over Arizona State's Kyle DeBerry that propelled him into tomorrow's 165-pound title bout. Amuchastegui would be the first Cardinal freshman to win a Pac-10 title since Jimmy Aguirre did so as a rookie in 1993. Dave Lee (1985) and Aguirre are the only freshmen in school history to capture conference titles since the institution of the Pac-10 in 1980. With 28 wins on the year, he is already the fourth-winningest freshman in school history.
Freshman 174-pounder Victor Haug went 0-2 on the day and finishes his rookie season with an 8-23 record.
Johnson (29-15) defeated Jake Meredith of Arizona State in his first match, but came up just short of beating All-American Kirk Smith, the nation's fourth-ranked 184-pounder, in the semifinal round. Tied 1-1 in the final minute, a stalling call gave Smith the 2-1 edge. Johnson begins tomorrow in the consolation semifinals, looking to improve on his sixth-place finish from last season.
Feist (20-12) lost to Abe Otrambo of UC Davis in his first match, but turned around and scored a 4-1 decision over Arizona State's Jake Cranford in his second one. With the result, Feist secured no less than sixth place in the tournament and a spot as Stanford's ninth four-time Pac-10 placer. The senior also picked up his 20th win of the year against Cranford, marking his second career 20-win season. Feist is one win away from becoming the ninth wrestler in school history to post 80 or more career wins.
Eight Cardinal wrestlers are back on the mats tomorrow, with action beginning at 3 p.m. at Titan Gym in Fullerton.
Stanford Results
Pac-10 Championships
Fullerton, CA
March 1, 2009
125 pounds
Matt Sencenbaugh (1-2): maj. dec. Kevin Martinez (Portland State), 12-3; lost by fall to No. 17 Brandon Zoeteway (CS Bakersfield), 5:45; lost to Brian Owen (Boise State), 5-3.
133 pounds
Porfirio Madrigal (0-2): lost to No. 13 TJ Dillashaw (CS Fullerton), 4-2; lost to Thomas Kimbrell (CS Bakersfield), 5-3.
141 pounds
Cameron Teitelman (2-1): dec. David Christian (Cal Poly), 8-7; lost maj. dec. to Elijah Nacita (CS Bakersfield), 10-0; pinned Garrett Drucker (Oregon State), 5:53.
149 pounds
Tyler Parker (1-1): dec. Henry Kofa (Portland State), 4-0; lost to No. 16 Heinrich Barnes (Oregon State), 7-2.
157 pounds
Lucas Espericueta (1-1): dec. Joey Wilson (UC Davis), 11-4; lost maj. dec. to No. 12 Chase Pami (Cal Poly), 12-4.
165 pounds
Nick Amuchastegui (2-0): dec. Bryan Cantrell (Portland State), 2-0; maj. dec. Kyle DeBerry (Arizona State), 12-4.
174 pounds
Victor Haug (0-2): lost maj. dec. to Todd Noel (CS Fullerton), 15-5; lost maj. dec. to No. 14 Kyle Bressler (Oregon State), 18-6.
184 pounds
Jake Johnson (1-1): dec. Jake Meredith (Arizona State), 6-3; lost to No. 4 Kirk Smith (Boise State), 2-1.
197 pounds
Luke Feist (1-1): lost to Abe Otrambo (UC Davis), 5-2; dec. Jake Cranford (Arizona State), 4-1.