Feb. 26, 2012
BOISE, Idaho - The Stanford wrestling team finished third at the 2012 Pac-12 Championships, Sunday, scoring 125.0 team points at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho.
Senior Nick Amuchastegui (174 pounds) and junior Ryan Mango (125 pounds) claimed titles for the Cardinal. It marked the first time since 1986 that Stanford produced multiple conference champions. The last pair of teammates to win titles in the same season was Jeff Bradley and Dave Lee, who also both won championships in 1985 as well.
It is the second career conference title for Amuchastegui, who remains undefeated on the year at 20-0. He won the 165-pound title as a sophomore in 2010. Sunday, he posted a 10-5 decision over fourth-seeded Scotty Bacon of Boise State and defeated the two seed, Cal Poly's Ryan DesRoches, 5-4 in the championship bout.
Mango secured his first career conference title with a fall over Arizona State's Dalton Miller in 6:07 and a 14-3 major decision win over second-seeded Pat Rollins of Oregon State. The junior had previously finished third (2010) and fourth (2011) at the conference tournament. He is now 25-5 overall heading into the postseason.
Amuchastegui and Mango have earned automatic berths to the 2012 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., next month. It will be the fourth straight postseason appearance for Amuchastegui and the third straight for Mango. Amuchastegui will attempt to become only the second Cardinal wrestler to secure three All-America honors in his career. He finished fourth at 165 pounds in 2010 and was the runner-up at 174 pounds in 2011. Mango will be looking for his second All-America accolades after finishing sixth in 2011.
Stanford had three wrestlers finish second on Sunday. Junior 184-pounder Spence Patrick, seeded third, defeated the No. 2 seed Kevin Radford of Arizona State, 3-2 to advance to the title bout. There, he fell to the top seed Jake Swartz of Boise State, 5-1.
Junior Timmy Boone made a notable run in the tournament as well. The 149-pounder entered the day unseeded and knocked off the No. 2 seed Joel Smith of Arizona State, 2-0, in the first round and third-seeded Kyle Chene of Cal Poly, 3-1. He fell 12-4 in the title bout to top-seeded Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State.
Also finishing as a runner-up was redshirt sophomore Bret Baumbach at 165 pounds. He upset the No. 3 seed Holden Packard of Boise State, 7-5, and then posted a fall over second-seeded Adam Fierro of CSU Bakersfield in 4:02. He dropped an 8-1 decision to Cal Poly's Dominic Kastl in the title match.
Sophomores Garrett Schaner and Dan Scherer secured top-3 finishes for the Cardinal. Schaner posted a 10-0 major decision over Cal Poly's Gian pier Yanez before being pinned by second-seeded RJ Pena of Oregon State at 157 pounds. He then bounced back to defeat Arizona State's Kyle McIntosh, 10-4 and fourth-seeded Anthony Box of CSU Bakersfield, 8-2 for third place.
At heavyweight, Scherer dropped a 4-2 decision to second-seeded Levi Cooper of Arizona State in his first bout. He came back to post a fall over CSU Bakersfield's Frankie Hurtado in 5:44 and secured a 2-0 decision against J.T. Felix of Boises State to also place third.
Sophomore 197-pounder Alan Yen finished fourth at his first conference tournament, while 133-pounder Matt Sencenbaugh placed fifth and freshman Alex Manley took sixth at 141 pounds.
Up next, Stanford will wait to hear if any other wrestlers will qualify for the postseason and join Amuchastegui and Mango in St. Louis. The NCAA Championships will be held Mar. 15-17 at the Scott Trade Center.
Stanford's Tournament Results:
125 pounds
Ryan Mango (2-0; 1st): fall Dalton Miller (Arizona State) 6:07; maj. dec. Pat Rollins (Oregon State) 14-3.
133 pounds
Matt Sencenbaugh (1-2; 5th): lost to Brian Owen (Boise State) 20-9; lost to Shane McGough (Arizona State) 16-3; fall Jacob Tanenbaum (Cal Poly) 2:11.
141 pounds
Alex Manley (0-3; 6th): lost to Josh Strait (Boise State) 3-2; lost to Nathan Hoffer (Arizona State) 8-2; lost to Dalton Kelly (CSU Bakersfield) fall 2:36.
149 pounds
Timmy Boone (2-1; 2nd): dec. Joel Smith (Arizona State) 2-0; dec. Kyle Chene (Cal Poly) 3-1; lost to Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 12-4.
157 pounds
Garrett Schaner (3-1; 3rd): maj. dec. Gianpier Yanez (Cal Poly) 10-0; lost to RJ Pena (Oregon State) fall 2:59; dec. Kyle McIntosh (Arizona State) 10-4; dec. Anthony Box (CSU Bakersfield) 8-2.
165 pounds
Bret Baumbach (2-1; 2nd): dec. Holden Packard (Boise State) 7-5; fall Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) 4:02; lost to Dominic Kastl (Cal Poly) 8-1.
174 pounds
Nick Amuchastegui (2-0; 1st): dec. Scotty Bacon (Boise State) 10-5; dec. Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly) 5-4.
184 pounds
Spence Patrick (1-1; 2nd): dec. Kevin Radford (Arizona State) 3-2; lost to Jake Swartz (Boise State) 5-1.
197 pounds
Alan Yen (1-2; 4th): lost to Brent Chriswell (Boise State) 11-1; dec. Chace Eskam (Arizona State) 5-1; lost to Ryan Smith (Cal Poly) fall 3:58.
Heavyweight
Dan Scherer (2-1; 3rd): lost to Levi Cooper (Arizona State) 4-2; fall Frankie Hurtado (CSU Bakersfield) 5:44; dec. J.T. Felix (Boise State) 2-0.