RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Lions, who a day before rose up the ranks to #15 in the nation, took on the NCAA Division I titans of Cal Baptist University. Punching above their weight, Vanguard was on the wrong side of the 39-9 score at the hands of the Lancers., who were celebrating Senior Day for their wrestlers.
What Happened? The first six bouts went the way of the Lancers. Joshua Whaley in the 125-pound matchup lost fall 1:38 while Mario Barrios (SR/Covina, CA) and Steven Kroesen (SO/Laguna Hills, CA) lost by major decisions. Zach Cunningham lost fall 2:29 in the 149-pound weight class and George Zuniga (FR/Selma, CA) suffered a major decision. Number seven Ricky Padilla lost a narrow 5-2 count before the Lions started getting in the mix. Armon Fayyazi (SR/Irvine, CA) won 3-1 in the 174-pound class for the first score for the Lions. He is the third ranked wrestler in the NAIA in that weight class. Baron Gaunt (FR/Torrance, CA) and Ryan Ortiz (FR/Orange, CA) would both suffer losses by fall.
Why Its Important? The battle is the first time the Lions have played a NCAA Division I program, which halts the Lions five match win streak. It also gave the first loses of the year to Barrios, Kroesen, Padilla, and Gaunt.
Notable Performances: Michael Ruiz (FR/Orange, CA), ranked 18th nationally, forced a marvelous upset over the #25 ranked heavyweight in the Division I ranks. He scored six points for the Blue and Gold with a fall 0:38 over Zach Schrader of CBU. This was the first career victory for Ruiz, in his fourth outing.
What They Said: Head Coach Caleb Flores – "I am pleased with how the team competed against CBU. They are a good Division 1 program, and our guys embraced the challenge and walked away with a couple big victories. Mike Ruiz pinning their ranked heavyweight shows that our guys were excited for the challenge and didn't back down."
What's Next: Friday, February 12th against Life Pacific University at 7:00 p.m.
#ClawsUp
