UC Davis Picks Up 19-17 Wrestling Victory Over Cal Poly
Aggies use strong start to upend Mustangs
DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis captured wins in five of the first seven bouts on Friday as the Aggies beat Cal Poly 19-17 in a Pac-10 Conference wrestling win at The Pavilion before 2,144 fans who were able to watch UC Davis wrestling and gymnastics competitions simultaneously.
The event, billed as “Beauty & The Beast”, featured the Aggie gymnastics squad battling UC Berkeley, also on The Pavilion floor.
The UC Davis wrestlers improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10, while Cal Poly fell to 3-9 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
The Aggies led 19-7 after the first seven matches, earning wins from Pancho Manriquez (125), Derek Moore (133), Jesse Padilla (157), Frank Richmond (165) and Ronnie Silva (174). Moore’s win was by forfeit while Richmond had a 9-1 major decision over the Mustangs’ Steve Gee.
Cal Poly picked up wins from Steve Esparza (141), Jeff Owens (149), Ryan Halsey (184), Ralph Garcia (197) and Arturo Basulto (285). Both Ownens and Halsey won by major decision.
“Cal Poly was ranked first in the Pac-10 at the start of the season and we got a good win against them, “said Aggie coach Lennie Zalesky.
Manriquez opened the match with a 10-3 win over Josh Obregon at 125, scoring four takedowns in the match. Moore’s forfeit win gave UC Davis a 9-0 lead before Esparza used a trio of takedowns for a 6-2 lead on his way to a 7-3 win against Jeff Bristol at 141.
A rare four-point near-fall for Cal Poly’s Jeff Owens at 149 helped push him to an 8-1 lead after the first period and he never looked back with a 17-5 major decision over Daniel Murphree. Leading 9-7, UC Davis earned three straight wins, starting with Jesse Padilla who outscored Chip Forsythe, 18-11, at 157 after utlizing seven takedowns in the victory.
Frank Richmond followed with an 8-1 major decision at 165, scoring three points in the third period and getting another point for riding time. Ronnie Silva scored three points in the third period of his bout at 174 to beat Russell Caldwell, 8-2.
Halsey then major decisioned Bear, 18-4, Garcia edged Shelger, 5-3 and Basulto beat Maffia, 9-3 to rally Cal Poly down the stretch.
“It was a good win, “said Zalesky, “but we felt we should’ve finished stronger. We felt we could’ve won at least one of those final three matches.”
Cal won the gymnastics meet over UC Davis, 190.175-187.050. This marked the second consecutive year the Aggies have hosted the promotion with the two UC Davis teams.
UC Davis wrestling returns to actlion next Friday when it hosts Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
UC DAVIS 19, CAL POLY 17
125 – Pancho Manriquez (UCD) dec. Josh Obregon (CP), 10-3
(UCD 3-0)
133 – Derek Moore (UCD) wins by forfeit
(UCD 9-0)
141 – Steve Esparza (CP) dec. Jeff Bristol (UCD), 7-3
(UCD 9-3)
149 – Jeff Owens (CP) major dec. Daniel Murphree (UCD), 17-5
(UCD 9-7)
157 – Jesse Padilla (UCD) dec. Chip Forsythe (CP), 18-11
(UCD 12-7)
165 – Frank Richmond (UCD) major dec. Steve Gee (CP), 9-1
(UCD 16-7)
174 – Ronnie Silva (UCD) dec. Russell Caldwell (CP), 8-2
(UCD 19-7)
184 – Ryan Halsey (CP) major dec. Brandon Bear (UCD), 18-4
(UCD 19-11)
197 – Ralph Garcia (CP) dec. Reed Shelger (UCD), 5-3
(UCD 19-14)
285 – Arturo Basulto (CP) dec. Broc Maffia (UCD), 9-3
(UCD wins 19-17)
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